A History of the World in 100 Objects

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People are surrounded by a range of objects that practically tell the history of the world’s development, yet no one pays enough attention to them. The same can be said about the history of the world as [people know it. Everyone can name a variety of characters that defined the course of history, yet the material objects that conceal an essential part of history are barely paid any attention to. The director of the British Museum has decided to address the specified issue and correct the mistake of disregarding the elements of culture that represent the evolution of the world. MacGregor offers a field trip to the British Museum, picking 100 objects that best represent the history of the world.

The book is split into several parts in accordance with the hallmark events in the history of the humankind. Starting with the description of the Mummy of Hornedjitef, MacGregor dwells on the roots of the concept of material culture in the evolution of the humankind. The author draws correlations between the above stages of development and the concepts that defined the eras under analysis. For instance, starting with the objects that he claims to make people human, MacGregor transfers to the time period that he dines as glorifying the need to consume and procreate. The artworks that define the establishment of state and the related authorities follow, continued by the analysis of the artefacts of the era of science and literature.

The author ingeniously ties different aspects of people’s lives in various eras to the artworks created at the time, making it obvious that the change in the material culture are inevitably triggered by the alterations in the political, economic, and social relationships as well as the concepts and ideas that these relationships are based on. Moreover, MacGregor marks the point at which the shift from the ideas of the Enlightenment to the concept of mass production occurred. Consequently, the cultures and the ideas that inspired the creation of the objects listed by the narrator are explored in depth.

MacGregor ends his book with the chapter devoted to the description of solar energy and its current use, making it clear that the continuous development that the humankind has been witnessing is far from being over. MacGregor specified that the choice between the elements of the contemporary culture was very hard as it was supposed to mark both the end of the story and the beginning of new and breathtaking opportunities that are just waiting around the corner: “What single object can possibly sum up the world in 2010, embody the concerns and aspirations of humanity, speak of universal experience and at the same time be of practical, material importance to a great many of us in the world now?” (MacGregor 523). Ending on a powerful and ambiguous note, the book suggests that the humankind is bound to produce the objects that will be enough for a hundred more sequels.

Telling the history of the world with the help of manmade objects is a challenging task, mostly because there is an endless number of ideas and innuendoes that one can read into these things. The objects crafted by people may vary from strikingly stupendous to miniscule, yet, on their own merits, they can barely impress the general audience. When viewed through the lens that MacGregor offers the reader to wear, the above objects gain unexpectedly large significance and become explicitly influential. The author, therefore, displays materialistic objects as the artwork inspired by a change in people’s worldview, the influence of various concepts and ideas, the manifestation of changing theories about the society and the world, in general. Placing the above objects in the context of various cultures, MacGregor helps understand the people and the ideas that served as prerequisites for the creation of the artworks.

What makes the reading process fascinating is that, when connecting the objects described with the history that created them, MacGregor does not shy away from addressing the events that can be viewed as dubious at best. For instance, the author’s rendition of the factors that the Muslim art was shaped by the concept of caliphate is rather daring as MacGregor makes quite a bold statement concerning the current tendency for the Muslim art to incorporate the ideas of the caliphate rebirth: “The yearning for one Islamic community, inspired and guided by the world of God alone – that dream, first clearly articulated in physical form on the coin struck in Damascus more than 1,300 years ago, is still very much alive” (MacGregor 39). The elegance, with which the author addresses controversies regarding the societal and the political issues, is truly worth admiration. As a result of these delicate steps, MacGregor does not contribute to the development of conflicts and the creation of any form of awkwardness in his readers.

In addition, the choice of the objects is rather wise as MacGregor locates the most original and peculiar items to consider in his narration. Whenever he ends the description of a certain item, the reader cannot help begging for more, which clearly is the sign of a good book and excellent writing. One might argue that some of the objects described in the book lack the air of wonder that others have; for instance, someone who is not interested in archaeology might find it tedious to read about the Clovis Spear Point and the events that lead to its discovery. However, with a focus on the development of the society and the struggles that it took to reach the essential goals, MacGregor manages to make the most mundane things inspiring:

Mundane everyday items, discarded long ago as rubbish, can tell some of the most important stories of all in human history – in this case, how modern humans took over the world, and how, after populating Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe, they finally got to America. (MacGregor 41)

The author, therefore, turns the objects that would have been viewed by any other source as commonplace and transforms them into something extraordinary that changed the world history. MacGregor does not exaggerate the weight of the inventions created by the humankind, either. Instead, he provides an honest overview of the things that may not have got the attention that they needed. What is considered quotidian by today’s standards is reborn in his book as one of the levers that altered the course of the world history, which makes the book a very exciting read.

In fact, the tendency for the author to draw correlations between the process of creating specific objects with the changes in the society that may have spurred it has been noticed and appreciated. In her titular article, Glory Maxwell claims that the arguments provided by MacGregor make the writing “not a traditional history but rather an interesting reflection on the changes in human societies” (Maxwell 43). Although the book is unlikely to stir a heated discussion, it will definitely prompt a range of original ideas regarding the subject matter, therefore, shaping the reader’s concept of material culture and the connection between it and the theories that defined the course of the social development.

Similarly, the review by Cooper points clearly to the fact that the author’s choice of objects for the discussion is rather elaborate and thought-provoking. However, Cooper brings out an interesting criticism of the work that could raise a few eyebrows. According to the author of the review, “One could easily criticize the portrayal as too dominated by objects from rich, powerful men and the presentations as too formulaic” (Cooper 1940). Indeed, the criticism has a rather valid point about the use of the tools that belonged primarily to the upper-class people.

Indeed, taking a closer look at the history of the material culture, one must admit that the objects defining the course of the world’s further development usually belonged to influential people. In fact, Cooper later rebuts his own doubt concerning the objectivity of the researcher: “But then, no major museum is a random collection of objects, and no selection is by definition without its limits” (Cooper 1940). The above statement has a very valid point. The history of the world can hardly be represented by common objects that are viewed as a part and parcel of the everyday reality. Therefore, it is essential to pick the objects that have left a mark in the world history and, therefore, are rather valuable from both the financial and the cultural perspectives.

The author should also be credited for managing to embrace every single era from antiquity to modern times by picking only 100 objects. The challenge was very tough given the huge number of items that have been created over the time period under analysis. Nevertheless, MacGregor coped with the issue in question in a very intelligent manner by giving each era an equal amount of time and effort. Tying in the cultural, the economic, the political, and the social changes that occurred to people of the designated time period, MacGregor captured the lightning in a bottle that the phenomenon of progress is. Giving every exhibit the attention that it deserves, the author creates a map of cultural evolution marking the pivotal points of the world’s development.

The experience that the book gave its readers, therefore, can be considered extraordinary. If one had to nitpick, however, the overall tone could be defined as slightly slumberous due to the monotone narration. Stylistically, A History of the World in 100 Objects can be viewed as a well put together list of things. The above characteristics of the book can be viewed as very harsh in light of the positive aspects mentioned above and, therefore, not quite fair. However, there is a grain of reason in it as the author does not experiment with the genre that he has chosen much. Instead, he uses the manner of storytelling that helps him remain on the safe side and draw the attention of students, scholars, and general audiences alike to his creation.

Apart from the pacing of the book, which could use a bit of originality, the lack of continuity in the description of the objects needs to be brought up. While entertaining, the facts listed in A History of the World in 100 Objects do not follow a chronological order, which makes it quite hard to identify any patterns of material culture evolution. The author encourages the readers to make their own conclusions regarding the progress of the humankind as far as material culture is concerned. Although the strategy chosen by MacGregor could be viewed as an attempt to prompt the audience’s understanding of material culture, one cannot help seeing the above detail as the sign of laziness.

The overall impression of the book, therefore, can be viewed as positive. MacGregor does a very good job of making dry facts entertaining and creating the environment, in which the reader gets immersed immediately after reading the first passage, is beyond inspiring. MacGregor offers his readers a unique and thrilling adventure by offering them to glance through the veil of time and track down the history of the humankind. Embracing a variety of eras, the author sheds light on the progress of the human thought and the ways, in which people view the universe. More importantly, the objects described by the author allowed understanding how people’s concept of themselves in the context of the world, the universe, and their culture, has changed over thousands of years. Although the book has minor problems, it still is a magical introduction to the world of the objects of culture and art.

Works Cited

Cooper, Jim L. “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” Choice 41.10 (2012): 1940. Print.

MacGregor, Neil. A History of the World in 100 Objects. London, UK: Penguin Books, Ltd. 2010. Print.

Maxwell, Gloria. “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” Library Journal 136.19 (2011): 43. Print.

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A History of the World in 100 Objects

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