A History of the World in 100 Objects

The blockbuster New York Times bestseller and the companion volume to the wildly popular radio series

Neil MacGregor has blazed an unusual path to international renown. As director of the British Museum, he organized an exhibit that aimed to tell the history of humanity through the stories of one hundred objects made, used, venerated, or discarded by man. The exhibit and its accompanying BBC radio series broke broadcasting records and MacGregor’s book became a bestselling sensation on both sides of the Atlantic and a huge Christmas hit, with more than 100,000 copies in print in the United States alone.

Examining items from a chopping tool from Africa’s Olduvai Gorge to the credit card, A History of the World in 100 Objects is an engrossing and profoundly original work of history that will captivate readers for many years to come.

Neil MacGregor is a worldrenowned museum director who has transformed the British Museum since he took charge in 2002. Before that, he was the director of the National Gallery in London. A tremendously popular presenter on BBC television and radio, he was appointed as a member of the Order of Merit, the highest civil honor in the U.K., in 2010.