A History of the World in 100 Objects
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3.2 • 170 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
"An enthralling and profoundly humane book that every civilized person should read."
--The Wall Street Journal
The blockbuster New York Times bestseller and the companion volume to the wildly popular radio series
When did people first start to wear jewelry or play music? When were cows domesticated, and why do we feed their milk to our children? Where were the first cities, and what made them succeed? Who developed math--or invented money?
The history of humanity is one of invention and innovation, as we have continually created new things to use, to admire, or leave our mark on the world. In this groundbreaking book, Neil MacGregor turns to objects that previous civilizations have left behind to paint a portrait of mankind's evolution, focusing on unexpected turning points.
Beginning with a chopping tool from the Olduvai Gorge in Africa and ending with a recent innovation that is transforming the way we power our world, he urges us to see history as a kaleidoscope--shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising. A landmark bestseller, A History of the World in 100 Objects is one f the most unusual and engrossing history books to be published in years.
“None could have imagined quite how the radio series would permeate the national consciousness. Well over 12.5 million podcasts have been downloaded since the first programme and more than 550 museums around Britain have launched similar series featuring local history. . . . MacGregor’s voice comes through as distinctively as it did on radio and his arguments about the interconnectedness of disparate societies through the ages are all the stronger for the detail afforded by extra space. A book to savour and start over.”
—The Economist
Customer Reviews
Worthwhile
Interesting and informative. Well researched and informed.
History through art
This book reminds me why I liked art history 101 so much. The formal and aesthetic aspects of a painting or sculpture sometimes eluded me, but an objets de art or a historical scene can fire the imagination and transport ones mind to the distant past in the same way a brilliant written narrative can. This book's value then is not the glossy photos of world treasures but rather MacGregor's admirable way of using the artifact as a touchstone for historical, political sociological, psychological and and literary musings. So much more inspired than the didactic analyses of well-meaning' but tiresome museum docents.
Director of Eng. FAC & operation
It enlightened me to see how so many civilized cultures run around a circle when it comes to embracing humanity, freedom, and tolerance.