"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

A History of the World in 100 Objects

MacGregor, Neil

Arts & Photography

Penguin Books

Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in 100 Objects takes a bold, original approach to human history, exploring past civilizations through the objects that defined them. Encompassing a grand sweep of human history, A History of the World in 100 Objects begins with one of the earliest surviving objects made by human hands, a chopping tool from the Olduvai gorge in Africa, and ends with objects which characterise the world we live in today. Seen through MacGregor's eyes, history is a kaleidoscope - shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising, and shaping our world today in ways that most of us have never imagined. A stone pillar tells us about a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance to his people; Spanish pieces of eight tell us about the beginning of a global currency; and an early Victorian tea-set speaks to us about the impact of empire. An intellectual and visual feast, this is one of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years. 'Brilliant, engagingly written, deeply researched' Mary Beard, Guardian 'A triumph: hugely popular, and rightly lauded as one of the most effective and intellectually ambitious initiatives in the making of 'public history' for many decades' Sunday Telegraph 'Highly intelligent, delightfully written and utterly absorbing ' Timothy Clifford, Spectator 'This is a story book, vivid and witty, shining with insights, connections, shocks and delights' Gillian Reynolds Daily Telegraph

History

World

Penguin UK

From the renowned director of the British Museum, a kaleidoscopic history of humanity told through things we have made. 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 invented math-or came up with money?
The history of humanity is a history of invention and innovation, as we have continually created new items to use, to admire, or to leave our mark on the world. In this original and thought-provoking book, Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, has selected one hundred man-made artifacts, each of which gives us an intimate glimpse of an unexpected turning point in human civilization. A History of the World in 100 Objects stretches back two million years and covers the globe. From the very first hand axe to the ubiquitous credit card, each item has a story to tell; together they relate the larger history of mankind-revealing who we are by looking at what we have made.
Handsomely designed, with more than 150 color photographs throughout the text, A History of the World in 100 Objects is a gorgeous reading book and makes a great gift for anyone interested in history.

History & Criticism

Viking

In 2010, the BBC and the British Museum embarked on an ambitious project: to tell the story of two million years of human history using 100 objects selected from the Museum’s vast and renowned collection. Presented by the British Museum’s Director Neil MacGregor, each episode focuses on a single object—from a Stone Age tool to a solar-powered lamp—and explains its significance in human history. Music, interviews with specialists and quotations from written texts enrich the listener’s experience. On each CD, objects from a similar period of history are grouped together to explore a common theme and make connections across the world. Seen in this way, history is a kaleidoscope: shifting, interlinked, constantly surprising, and shaping our world in ways that most of us have never imagined. This box set also includes an illustrated booklet with additional background information and photographs, and each CD includes PDF images of the featured objects.
20 CDs. 25 hrs.

A History Of The World: In 100 Objects

Science & Math

BBC Books

Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in 100 Objects takes a bold, original approach to human history, exploring past civilizations through the objects that defined them. Encompassing a grand sweep of human history, A History of the World in 100 Objects begins with one of the earliest surviving objects made by human hands, a chopping tool from the Olduvai gorge in Africa, and ends with objects which characterise the world we live in today. Seen through MacGregor's eyes, history is a kaleidoscope - shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising, and shaping our world today in ways that most of us have never imagined. A stone pillar tells us about a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance to his people; Spanish pieces of eight tell us about the beginning of a global currency; and an early Victorian tea-set speaks to us about the impact of empire. An intellectual and visual feast, this is one of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years. 'Brilliant, engagingly written, deeply researched' Mary Beard, Guardian 'A triumph: hugely popular, and rightly lauded as one of the most effective and intellectually ambitious initiatives in the making of 'public history' for many decades' Sunday Telegraph 'Highly intelligent, delightfully written and utterly absorbing ' Timothy Clifford, Spectator 'This is a story book, vivid and witty, shining with insights, connections, shocks and delights' Gillian Reynolds Daily Telegraph Neil MacGregor has been Director of the British Museum since August 2002. His latest book, Shakespeare's Restless World is an enthralling exploration of Shakespeare's world, and of the minds of his audiences, based on Neil MacGregor's new 20-part BBC Radio 4 series. MacGregor was previously Director of the National Gallery in London from 1987 to 2002.

History Of The World In 100 Objects,A

ALLEN LANE

Quand les hommes se sont-ils mis a porter des bijoux ou jouer de la musique ? Quand les vaches ont-elles ete domestiquees et pourquoi donnons-nous leur lait a nos enfants ? Ou sont nees les premieres villes et a quoi devons-nous leur triomphe ? Qui a developpe les mathematiques - ou a invente la monnaie ? L'Histoire de l'humanite est une histoire d'invention et d'innovation: nous avons continuellement cree, utilise ou admire de nouveaux objets. Avec ce livre revolutionnaire, Neil MacGregor dresse un portrait inattendu de l'evolution humaine. Il demontre le pouvoir qu'ont les choses de nous connecter avec une incomparable immediatete a des hommes tres eloignes dans l'espace et dans le temps, et de permettre a toute l'humanite d'avoir une voix dans notre histoire commune. Une colonne de pierre nous raconte comment un grand empereur indien invitait son peuple a la tolerance, une piece de huit espagnol nous montre la naissance de la monnaie unique, un service a the du debut de l'ere victorienne nous fait voir le poids d'un empire... Du hachoir des gorges d'Olduvai en Afrique - l'un des objets les plus anciens produits par la main de l'homme - a la lampe a energie solaire ou la carte de credit, Une Histoire du Monde en 100 Objets nous fait voir l'histoire comme un kaleidoscope - changeante, interconnectee, constamment surprenante.

Une Histoire Du Monde En 100 Objets (French Edition)

Les Belles Lettres

Eine Geschichte der Welt in 100 Objekten

Europe

Beck'sche CH Verlagsbuchhandlung Oscar Beck

der Hörverlag

La historia del mundo en 100 objetos (Spanish Edition)

Americas

Debate

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