Win! A History of the World in 100 Objects
By Hazel Phillips,
Stemming from the BBC series by the same name, this hefty tome ($45, Allen Lane) will come in handy for both regaling family with fascinating facts should Christmas day prove rainy, and as a weapon to thunk someone round the head, should they steal your pudding.
Author Neil MacGregor has chosen 100 objects from various points in the human historical journey, from Stone Age tools to the credit card.
Each object tells a story and a describes a piece of history, linked to things such as global currency, or the impact of empire.
Take, for example, these objects and their associated madcap phrases: A coin with the head of Alexander ("Dead reputations are usually more stable and manageable than living ones"), the Lothair Crystal depicting Susanna and the Elders ("Royal divorces generally mean political trouble"), or the Hawaiian Feather Helmet – no joke ("Cook was dead, killed by the same people who gave him the helmets. Something had gone drastically wrong").
The range is stupefying; an Egyptian mummy case opens the book, and a solar powered lamp and charger ends it.
It's a visual and intellectual feast of knowledge and history wrapped up in one, and one of the most fascinating books published since Paris Hilton's Confessions of an Heiress.
WIN WIN WIN! YES! WIN!
Would you be stoked as a prehistoric fire if you found a copy of this book under the Christmas tree, come Baby Jesus' birthday? We have one copy to give away to a curious reader. To enter, email idealogmag@gmail.com and tell us what your favourite ever object is and what you like to do with it. (Oooooh, rudies.) Entries close December 21, 2011.
Comments
John Steedman
The Wheel…..
Best invention ever.
Everwhere you look, not just for getting you from A to B.
have a look at cogs, pulleys, etc in your office printer, your clock, to name a couple.
Dannielle
The world globe - in my hands I can hold and spin all those marvellous maps and faraway places. If I spin really fast, it looks like our borders really don't matter…
Simon Thompson
The Ball - the foundation of so much of our sport. Where would mankind be without good exercise and the bonus of deep intellectual sporting analysis, such as… “don't kick it, pass it!…. don't pass it, kick it!”
Margaret Lewis
The safety-pin - in every first-aid kit, rescue pack, wardrobe, wallet and handbag.
Where would we be without it?
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