A chipped stone that was one of the first things ever made by human hands; a clay tablet telling the story of the great flood centuries before the Bible; a broken hunter's spear dropped by one of the earliest settlers in America; a hoard of gold abandoned in the Wars of the Roses.every object tells a story. Neil MacGregor's radio series A History of the World in 100 Objects has been a unique event that has set a new benchmark for public service broadcasting in the UK and across the world. This book will be the tie-in to that event, faithfully reproducing the scripts describing the objects that made us who we are, with pictures of the objects themselves, as they were discussed in each episode. It will also be a kaleidoscopic book of history that tells the story of human civilization in an unprecedented way. Writer and presenter Neil MacGregor tells the fascinating stories behind the objects, which range from primitive tools to great works of art, told chronologically from almost two million years ago up to the present day. The 100th object is yet to be chosen, but will be a contemporary item that will be acquired by the British Museum. Through the stories of these objects the book explores key events in human history, highlighting often unexpected connections and universal themes.

No book has described and shown the history of humankind quite like this before.