LoveReading Says
A distillation of mankind’s history through the objects that remain, a carefully chosen 100 objects from one of the earliest stone tools known to exist to the object Neil MacGregor has chosen to represent our own time. Taken from the British Museum’s own collection the objects reflect not only human history but the wealth of the Museum’s collections. The book is a wonderful object in its own right but you may wish to listen to the original BBC Radio 4 programmes which are available on audio CD.
Shortlisted for the Galaxy Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award 2011.
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The Lovereading view...
Takes an 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. An intellectual and visual feast, it is one of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years.
Sue Baker
Find This Book In
| Primary Genre |
History
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A History of the World in 100 Objects Synopsis
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 one hundred 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.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781408469880 |
| Publication date: |
2nd June 2011 |
| Author: |
Neil MacGregor |
| Publisher: |
BBC Physical Audio an imprint of BBC Audio |
| Format: |
CD-Audio |
| Primary Genre |
History
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Neil MacGregor Press Reviews
'A History of the World in 100 Objects ... has been 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.' -- John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph
'Highly intelligent, delightfully written and utterly absorbing' -- Timothy Clifford, Spectator
'Allen Lane has done Mr MacGregor proud... The objects have been beautifully photographed, Mr MacGregor's voice comes through distinctively 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' Economist
'This is a story book, vivid and witty, shining with insights, connections, shocks and delights'-- Gillian Reynolds, Daily Telegraph
'The style is authentic, personal and humorous. MacGregor could not have skewered our pretensions better...Look on our works, ye mighty, and despair' -- Andrew Roberts, Financial Times
'Brilliant, engagingly written, deeply researched' -- Mary Beard, Guardian
