Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This title's stated thesis is to unfurl a two million-year history of the world through 100 objects in the British Museum. Each chapter features a handmade object or set of objects that tells a story about previous civilizations. Starting with one of the earliest surviving hand tools from Africa's Olduvai Gorge, the span of history concludes with a 21st-century object representative of today's world (you have to finish the audiobook to learn what it is). This is not a traditional history but rather an interesting reflection on the changes in human societies. This is an alluring audiobook, one that can be listened to in short or long increments. The musical background that opens and closes each chapter is evocative the first few times you hear it but quickly becomes annoying. Some chapters include background sounds of visitors in the museum, which can set a mood or prove irritating depending on the listener. MacGregor, who provides the narration, has been the British Museum's director since 2002. Recommended for everyone who enjoys history or is interested in how humans have changed and progressed through time.-Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll.-Penn Valley Lib., Kansas City, MO (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

This remarkable volume could at first glance be seen as an exhibition catalogue with color photos of objects from the British Museum's rich collections, selected and presented by museum director MacGregor. Instead, BBC Radio 4 collaborated on the selection of 100 objects and divided them into 20 sets of 5 for given weekly programs. Almost all the weekday presentations included a comment from selected "experts and commentators," presumably delivered orally on the radio and quoted in the book format. "Exploring a distant world through things is not only about knowledge but also imagination, and necessarily involves an element of poetic reconstruction"--especially important for radio listeners. One could easily criticize the portrayal as too dominated by objects from rich, powerful men and the presentations as too formulaic. But then, no major museum is a random collection of objects, and no selection is by definition without its limits. Presenting "a history of the world in 100 objects" is, as MacGregor appropriately allows, "Mission Impossible." Despite the odds, the British Museum and BBC Radio 4 staffs have provided a broad, imaginative, and generally coherent world history well worth reading. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General collections/public libraries. J. L. Cooper emeritus, DePauw University

Kirkus Book Review

Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.