Book description
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.
Neil MacGregor has been Director of the British Museum since August
2002. He was previously Director of the National Gallery in London from
1987 to 2002.
