Which human made objects count as our legacy?

? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Neil MacGregor’s A History of the World in 100 Objects is the story of… well, us. This eye opening — and absurdly entertaining — exploration of human history and culture uses the lens of material artifacts to tell us about our past, from antiquity until quite recently. In a novel approach to understanding our human experience, MacGregor selects 100 objects from various periods and cultures to tell our story: From a two-mn-year-old Olduvai stone chopping tool to the contemporary credit card, each object is a focal point to unraveling the intricate narrative of its own time. But the curation of the objects isn’t just random: MacGregor reveals the interconnectedness of civilizations and shared experiences through the carefully selected items. He works on contextualizing them in a framework of historical, social, and cultural significance. Beautiful illustrations and photographs accompany the text, making it easy to appreciate the details of each object — ones that we may not have been able to ever see otherwise. The author’s approach is uniquely compassionate, fostering a sense of empathy and kinship with our ancestors through seemingly mundane objects. If you are a history aficionado or want to include a visually-pleasing table top read, pick up this book.