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zahanm's review against another edition
5.0
Neil MacGregor makes this point, but it's worth repeating: history is written by winners. Written history in particular, which is the bulk of how we know our past, is written by those winners that know how to write. Since this is a history told through the lens of objects, we're able to give those people a voice who may never have spoken up otherwise.
Though this book can never be comprehensive, it does try to be representative – giving the shape of the full arc of human history. From the Olduvai gorge in Africa, to the Incas terrorizing their neighbors in South America, to the great capitals of Samarkhand and Constantinople, to the forgotten islands of the world: the Isle of Lewis and Easter Islands – we sweep through it all, in the dizzying story of human progress.
I want to re-visit this regularly, since it will take many passes to gain familiarity with the basic contours – but I think it'll be worth it.
Though this book can never be comprehensive, it does try to be representative – giving the shape of the full arc of human history. From the Olduvai gorge in Africa, to the Incas terrorizing their neighbors in South America, to the great capitals of Samarkhand and Constantinople, to the forgotten islands of the world: the Isle of Lewis and Easter Islands – we sweep through it all, in the dizzying story of human progress.
I want to re-visit this regularly, since it will take many passes to gain familiarity with the basic contours – but I think it'll be worth it.
fictionfan's review against another edition
5.0
‘This really was a discovery worth taking your clothes off for.’
It is Neil MacGregor’s passion for sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge that makes this book such an enjoyable read. I heard a few of the programmes when he presented ‘A History of the World…’ on Radio 4 and was surprised at how interesting he could make a discussion of objects that we couldn’t see. The same thing applies to the book. Although there are small black and white pictures of each of the objects and a few colour plates of some of them, mostly we have to use our imagination based on MacGregor’s descriptions. This doesn’t detract from the interest though because in reality the objects are merely jumping off points for MacGregor to discuss the various cultures that have arisen and faded during humanity’s reign over the world.
Each bite-size piece focuses on one period of time in one place but they are grouped into time periods and themes which show the different cultures which shared the planet and how they interacted, or didn’t, with each other. For me, this was a novel and very effective way of looking at world history. Like most people, I expect, my knowledge of British and European history far outweighs my knowledge of the history of the rest of the world. MacGregor uses themes such as The Rise of World Faiths and The First Global Economy to show the differences and similarities of what was happening across the world at roughly similar times, and to show how trade and commerce influenced almost every part of the world by disseminating ideas and values along with goods.
At times I felt I wanted to know more about a particular subject and found that a little frustrating, but this book could be seen in some respects as a taster to inspire the reader to look for more extensive histories of the cultures and periods that most interested him/her. Enjoyable, educational and inspiring – what more could you ask from a history?
PS The title of the review refers to neither Mr MacGregor nor myself thankfully – but to George Smith, first man to decipher the Flood Tablet – Chapter 16.
NB This book was provided for review by Amazon Vine UK.
It is Neil MacGregor’s passion for sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge that makes this book such an enjoyable read. I heard a few of the programmes when he presented ‘A History of the World…’ on Radio 4 and was surprised at how interesting he could make a discussion of objects that we couldn’t see. The same thing applies to the book. Although there are small black and white pictures of each of the objects and a few colour plates of some of them, mostly we have to use our imagination based on MacGregor’s descriptions. This doesn’t detract from the interest though because in reality the objects are merely jumping off points for MacGregor to discuss the various cultures that have arisen and faded during humanity’s reign over the world.
Each bite-size piece focuses on one period of time in one place but they are grouped into time periods and themes which show the different cultures which shared the planet and how they interacted, or didn’t, with each other. For me, this was a novel and very effective way of looking at world history. Like most people, I expect, my knowledge of British and European history far outweighs my knowledge of the history of the rest of the world. MacGregor uses themes such as The Rise of World Faiths and The First Global Economy to show the differences and similarities of what was happening across the world at roughly similar times, and to show how trade and commerce influenced almost every part of the world by disseminating ideas and values along with goods.
At times I felt I wanted to know more about a particular subject and found that a little frustrating, but this book could be seen in some respects as a taster to inspire the reader to look for more extensive histories of the cultures and periods that most interested him/her. Enjoyable, educational and inspiring – what more could you ask from a history?
PS The title of the review refers to neither Mr MacGregor nor myself thankfully – but to George Smith, first man to decipher the Flood Tablet – Chapter 16.
NB This book was provided for review by Amazon Vine UK.
siobhanward's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
This took me a while to read through, but it was a format that lent itself best to reading in small chunks, rather than one go-through. I'm not approaching this review from the point of view of addressing the British Museum's possession of these items - definitely way too big a conversation for a Goodreads review!
Anyway, overall the book was decent. I appreciate that MacGregor used artifacts to tell the story of the bigger picture of what was happening in the world at the time that the object was made or was being used. It was a lot of information to absorb but it was well-written, but definitely fairly dense.
Anyway, overall the book was decent. I appreciate that MacGregor used artifacts to tell the story of the bigger picture of what was happening in the world at the time that the object was made or was being used. It was a lot of information to absorb but it was well-written, but definitely fairly dense.
hadewygh's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
It took me several years to finish this book. Yet everytime I put it down after I while I was drawn to it again. I bought it during my first visit of the British Museum and I was able to find out more about objects I had seen. This book however is not a museum catalogue, but a history of the world told by 100 objects. Each of them tell you about world events and cultures from the past. The 100th object is well chosen, it offers hope and makes me curious about the next 100 objects.
thearbiter89's review against another edition
4.0
An historical account of human civilizations as told through its variegated products - from functional stone axes in the Paleolithic to credit cards in the information age. The one thing not quite clear from that title is that all these objects reside somewhere within the cavernous halls of the British Museum.
Not being a materials-minded person, I was not always enraptured by MacGregor's loving descriptions of the various artifacts he chooses to showcase. But the broad, cross-civilizational scope of this history means that interesting themes and connections can emerge from the narrative. The story of human products suggests that in many cases, ancient civilizations interacted and impacted each other in surprising ways, transmitting ideas and technologies that turn up, like telltale fingerprints, in each other's cultural artifacts, languages, ideas, and fates.
One striking example of this interaction effect - the conversion of Romans to Christianity meant that the demand for Yemeni frankincense collapsed. This led to the decline of pre-Islamic Yemeni wealth and cleared the slate for the eventual domination of the Arabian peninsula by Islam. A story of connectedness told by the story of the cast-bronze hand of a wealthy Yemeni spice merchant, made as an offering to a local god.
And human experience is largely common too. Every culture worships some god or gods and expresses it in their art. Vainglorious kings and puissant emperors emblazon their legacies on tapestries and porcelain artefacts. Curious naturalists gaze at the world and stars with ingenious tools. The story of human history is one that finds resonances and repetitions across cultures, which can make the history a little repetitive but nevertheless emphasizes its cadences.
And I can respect the book's earnest desire to inform the reader that these artifacts are not dead and static relics, belonging to a dragon's hoard of pilfered treasures, but living testaments that still contain as-yet-hidden knowledge, to be gradually revealed as technology improves. Perhaps this is an indirect sort of apologia for the acquisitive tendencies of the British museum - as a repository of artefacts taken from their homes by inquisitive and unheeding agents of empire. As if to say, perhaps these were stolen from you, but here, in the Museum, with the best tools and expertise at our disposal, they will be well-placed to illuminate your own shrouded histories.
But I do wish MacGregor, being the former Director of the Museum, as it were, could have spent a little bit more time talking about the elephant in the room that is the fact that the only reason such a book is possible at all is due to the legacy of acquisitive empire. Rather than sweep it under the carpet, it might have been more instructive to see MacGregor grapple with this issue in a head-on and honest fashion - to defend keeping to the status quo, or perhaps offer a few insights to the Museum's current stances, or even offer a sort of way forward on how to "decolonize" the collection without impacting the march of human knowledge too much. As it is, a few tentative sentences in the foreword and naught thereafter represents a bit of a missed opportunity, borne out of a desire to avoid wading into controversial waters.
I give this: 4 out of 5 Qianlong-inscribed bi
Not being a materials-minded person, I was not always enraptured by MacGregor's loving descriptions of the various artifacts he chooses to showcase. But the broad, cross-civilizational scope of this history means that interesting themes and connections can emerge from the narrative. The story of human products suggests that in many cases, ancient civilizations interacted and impacted each other in surprising ways, transmitting ideas and technologies that turn up, like telltale fingerprints, in each other's cultural artifacts, languages, ideas, and fates.
One striking example of this interaction effect - the conversion of Romans to Christianity meant that the demand for Yemeni frankincense collapsed. This led to the decline of pre-Islamic Yemeni wealth and cleared the slate for the eventual domination of the Arabian peninsula by Islam. A story of connectedness told by the story of the cast-bronze hand of a wealthy Yemeni spice merchant, made as an offering to a local god.
And human experience is largely common too. Every culture worships some god or gods and expresses it in their art. Vainglorious kings and puissant emperors emblazon their legacies on tapestries and porcelain artefacts. Curious naturalists gaze at the world and stars with ingenious tools. The story of human history is one that finds resonances and repetitions across cultures, which can make the history a little repetitive but nevertheless emphasizes its cadences.
And I can respect the book's earnest desire to inform the reader that these artifacts are not dead and static relics, belonging to a dragon's hoard of pilfered treasures, but living testaments that still contain as-yet-hidden knowledge, to be gradually revealed as technology improves. Perhaps this is an indirect sort of apologia for the acquisitive tendencies of the British museum - as a repository of artefacts taken from their homes by inquisitive and unheeding agents of empire. As if to say, perhaps these were stolen from you, but here, in the Museum, with the best tools and expertise at our disposal, they will be well-placed to illuminate your own shrouded histories.
But I do wish MacGregor, being the former Director of the Museum, as it were, could have spent a little bit more time talking about the elephant in the room that is the fact that the only reason such a book is possible at all is due to the legacy of acquisitive empire. Rather than sweep it under the carpet, it might have been more instructive to see MacGregor grapple with this issue in a head-on and honest fashion - to defend keeping to the status quo, or perhaps offer a few insights to the Museum's current stances, or even offer a sort of way forward on how to "decolonize" the collection without impacting the march of human knowledge too much. As it is, a few tentative sentences in the foreword and naught thereafter represents a bit of a missed opportunity, borne out of a desire to avoid wading into controversial waters.
I give this: 4 out of 5 Qianlong-inscribed bi
dance64's review against another edition
3.0
It was pretty interesting. I grew a little bored towards the middle and began flipping through it more than reading it seriously, but it was definitely interesting to be reading about all these different objects and seeing what they said about civilization at the time or how it may have shaped it in some way or another.
sachbuchleserin's review against another edition
3.0
Bei 50 % abgebrochen bzw. pausiert.
Das Hörbuch ist richtig gut vertont und an sich sehr interessant. Ich finde nur, dass man wirklich sehr viele Hintergrundinfos braucht, um entspannt folgen zu können. Teilweise fehlten mir die Übergänge zwischen dem ein und anderen Abschnitt.
Das Hörbuch ist richtig gut vertont und an sich sehr interessant. Ich finde nur, dass man wirklich sehr viele Hintergrundinfos braucht, um entspannt folgen zu können. Teilweise fehlten mir die Übergänge zwischen dem ein und anderen Abschnitt.
davidcorell22's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0