Neil MacGregor

Traces the stories of one hundred human innovations to explain their pivotal role in shaping civilization, from weapons and the domestication of cows to currency and music.

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Tie-in with the radio program that ran on BBC 4 in 2010, discussing 100 objects chosen from the collections of the British Museum, ranging in age from two million years ago to the present.

Celeste Richardson

A History of the World in 100 Objects was such a unique, fun, informative way to kick of not just a new year but a new decade. Unfortunately 2020 has proven itself to be a dumpster fire in almost every way, but I’m incredibly grateful for my co-bloggers, who are not only lovely people but my very best friends. We talk every single day, and even though I might never meet them face to face, these relationships are the most important I have outside of my family. TS sent both Emma and myself a copy of this book, and we three decided to read it together over the course of 100 days. It was such a lovely experience to share across continents.

When it comes history, I view it very much in the same vein I view my Novel Notions friendships: I might never get to experience these events and locations myself, but I can connect with them through the marvels of modern technology and the thoughts written by others to be shared with the world. I might never make it to the British Museum but, through this book, I am able to admire 100 of the objects that live there, and gain insight both into the objects and what they say about the cultures they represent and the world at large through MacGregor’s careful research and philosophical examination, as well as the thoughtful interviews he conducted and included in this book. MacGregor did a wonderful job of balancing scholarship and storytelling. He raised a lot of profound questions. And he did all of this while carefully including as many historically important eras and events as possible, as well as representing as wide a swatch of the globe as he could manage. Something I very much appreciated was his inclusion of the mundane among the precious, the balance of everyday and extraordinary he was able to strike.

Reading this book with TS and Emma was a wonderful experience. I appreciate MacGregor giving us an avenue by which we were able to travel the world together.

This book takes a dramatically original approach to the history of humanity, using objects which previous civilisations have left behind them, often accidentally, as prisms through which we can explore past worlds and the lives of the men and women who lived in them. The book's range is enormous. It begins with one of the earliest surviving objects made by human hands, a chopping tool from the Olduvai gorge in Africa, and ends with an object from the 21st century which represents the world we live in today. Neil MacGregor's aim is not simply to describe these remarkable things, but to show us their significance - how a stone pillar tells us about a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance to his people, how Spanish pieces of eight tell us about the beginning of a global currency or how an early Victorian tea-set tells us about the impact of empire. Each chapter immerses the reader in a past civilisation accompanied by an exceptionally well-informed guide. Seen through this lens, history is a kaleidoscope - shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising, and shaping our world today in ways that most of us have never imagined. An intellectual and visual feast, it is one of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years.

A History of the World in 100 Objects

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