A History of the World in 100 Objects [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

"Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see." -- 1 Samuel 4:15 (NKJV)

Let me address right away the objections that some will have to this outstanding resource:

1. The photographs are often dim and unclear. Yup. That's true. But the point of the book is to tell the story of the objects, not to highlight them as things of beauty as might be the case for a painting or a sculpture.

2. The electronic version costs a lot more than $9.99 and is almost as much as the hardcover. Yup. I thought that hardcover was inexpensive for what it is. Buy that one if you don't want to spend a lot for your Kindle.

If you get past those problems, I think you'll love this book. It's like having several of the world's top authorities on each of 100 objects tell you deep meanings that you wouldn't grasp by visiting the British Museum on your own and staring at the objects.

I was very impressed by the selection process, finding objects that convey interesting information at several levels. For instance, an object might tell you something about who made it and how it was used. These objects also have significance in terms of where the elements of the object came from (frequently indicating long-distance trade that you probably wouldn't have expected). Further, aspects of the objects may also reveal something about common human instincts that show up in many different cultures at about the same time. In addition, you get a sense of chronology that you probably didn't know in terms of what each civilization was doing at the same time.

While it would be nice if 100 objects would tell all of human history, that's frankly impossible. A more accurate title for the book would probably be something like "Multicultural Dimensions of Human Experience Represented in 100 Objects from the British Museum." So don't let the title lead you to make unrealistic assumptions about the book.

To me, a handful of the objects were so fascinating that I would have felt rewarded simply by having those few pages.

Here are my favorites:

--Olduvai Handaxe
--Swimming Reindeer
--Ain Sakhri Lovers Figurine
--Jomon Pot
--Jade Axe
--Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
--Minoan Bull-leaper
--Mold Gold Cape
--Chinese Bronze Bell
--Ceremonial Ballgame Belt
--Sutton Hoo Helmet
--Maya Relief of Royal Blood-letting
--Vale of York Hoard
--Kilwa Pot Sherds
--Ife Head
--Taino Ritual Seat
--Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent
--Ming Banknote
--Jade Dragon Cup
--Mechanical Galleon
--Kakiemon Elephants
--Akan Drum
--Hawaiian Feather Helmet
--North American Buckskin Map
--Australian Bark Shield
--Jade Bi
--Hokusai's The Great Wave
--Suffragette-defaced Penny
--Russian Revolutionary Plate
--Throne of Weapons

When you get the book, see what you think.

I particularly liked the way that commenting scholars were selected who should have a superior cultural and historical perspective on the objects.

One of my sons and his wife work in a well-known museum. I've recommended the book to them as a way to gain perspective on how to tell a collection's story in more complete and compelling ways.

Bravo, Director MacGregor!

Was für eine spannende Idee: die Welt zu erklären anhand von 100 Museumsobjekten. Neil MacGregor, Direktor des British Museum, hat zunächst für den BBC eine Artikelserie entwickelt, in der er Stücke seines Museums als besonders charakteristisch für einzelne Epochen oder Entwicklungsstufen der Weltgeschichte definiert und dann - eben nicht nur beschreibt sondern anhand der Stücke die Welt erklärt. Soviel Bildung wie er möchte man haben. Es ist ein Riesenvergnügen, das Buch zu lesen, man bekommt Lust auf einen Besuch des Museums, vor allem aber: man bekommt Lust auf eine vertiefte Beschäftigung mit der Welt!

Bei amazon.co.uk gibt es schon jede Menge Rezensionen, also am besten dort nachlesen.

Ich kann nur sagen: es ist eine tolle Idee, die gesamte Weltgeschichte anhand von 100 Exponaten zu erklären (alle zu besichtigen im British Museum). Das ganze passiert ganz unprätentiös, mit vielen überraschenden Interpretationen. Das beste: die Texte gibt es beim BBC zum herunterladen, so dass man die opulenten Bilder anschauen kann und dabei Neil MacGregor zuhören kann (I am actually holding the object right now...) und das zu dem fantastischen Preis! Ich freue mich schon auf die nächste Reise nach London.