A history of the world in 100 objects
by Neil MacGregor · first published 2010
10mentions
8recommended by
10HN commenters
2010–2025first – last mentioned
80% recommend20% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Tells human history through 100 archaeological objects from the British Museum, with short accompanying radio programs that add background and context; suited to general readers curious about artefacts and museums.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Neil MacGregor's radio series 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' has been a unique event that has set a benchmark for public service broadcasting in the UK and across the world. This book will be the tie-in to that event, reproducing the scripts describing the objects that made us who we are.
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…Two Nations Divided. By Amanda Foreman The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of Americaâs Great Migration. By Isabel Wilkerson Pearl Buck in China: Journey to the Good Earth. By Hilary Spurling A History of the World in 100 Objects. By Neil MacGregor Economics and business The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. By Michael Lewis More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of the New Elite. By Sebastian Mallaby High Financier:…
on “Economist books of the year (science and technology picks)” ↗1.Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture by Matt Goulding 2.Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks 3.A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor 4.Ernest Hemingway on Writing by Ernest Hemingway 5.Seven Elements That Have Changed the World: An Adventure of Ingenuity and Discovery by John Browne.
on “Ask HN: Books on specific topics that have applied to many areas of your life?” ↗I too am fascinated by artefacts. Neil MacGregor's "A History of the World in 100 Objects" is a favourite book of mine, for example (and I have a physical copy!). But, here's the rub, once analysed, understood, etc., (which for a simple image we can do readily; we already knew about the producer,…
on “World's oldest periodic table chart found in St. Andrews” ↗I highly, highly recommend A History of the World in 100 Objects (particularly the out of print 2011 hardback, which is not available from any non-Amazon sources I could find.) As you can guess from the title, it tells the story of human history through archaeological…
on “Archaeologists find 3000-year-old sword, exceptionally well preserved” ↗…* Radiolab http://www.radiolab.org/ * StartUp http://gimletmedia.com/show/startup/ * Freakonomics http://freakonomics.com/radio/ * Planet Money http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/ * A History of the World in 100 Objects http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ahow * In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04v59gz Specifically about design: * 99 Percent Invisibile http://99percentinvisible.org/category/episode/
on “Ask HN: Favorite podcasts?” ↗As an aside, the excellent History of the World in 100 Objects is currently available for download. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nrtd2/episodes/downloads
on “British Museum makes 1.9M images available for free” ↗The British Museum's "A History of the World in 100 Objects" is a fantastic way of exploring some of the items in the museum. The short radio programs give a great background and context to each item: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/a_history_of_the_world....…
on “Indoor Google Street View of the British Museum” ↗…Brownworth's 12 Byzantine Emperors - Jamie Redfern's Hannibal and the Punic Wars - Jamie Redfern's The History of Alexander the Great - Tony Cocks' Binge Thinking History - The Ancient World - The History of the World in 100 Objects
on “Ask HN: What podcasts do you listen to regularly?” ↗A History of the World in 100 Objects: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/programme
on “Marcus du Sautoy's "Brief History of Mathematics" (10 MP3 episodes)” ↗…of the house and relieve the burden of being cloistered indoors with endless zoom calls. Then the walks started feeling refreshing; my mind wandered freely, sometimes listening to engaging podcasts ("A history of the world in 100 objects", several BBC In Our Time episodes, etc), sometimes reaching out to distant family members / friends / colleagues in different regions. Net-net, I appreciated both the remote connections of (sometimes…
on “Early Morning Walks” ↗