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A review by zahanm
A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor
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.