History of the World in 1,000 Objects

by D.K. Publishing

From the watch Napoleon used to synchronize with his generals at Waterloo and Chinese David vases believed to be the oldest example of blue and white porcelain to the US Constitution and the Mayan Dresden codex, the oldest book written in the Americas, History of the World in 1,000 Objects provides a completely fresh perspective on the history of the world.

With objects revealing how our ancestors lived, what they believed and valued, and how these items helped shape civilization, History of the World in 1,000 Objects contains a treasure trove of human creativity from earliest cultures to the present day. Objects are grouped chronologically, under key themes, from art to the history of technology, and together help paint a unique picture that provides detailed insight into each culture.

In addition to stunning specially-commissioned photographs, History of the World in 1,000 Objects is packed with timelines and maps that make it easy to compare how people lived at different times and in different parts of the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, World History, Childrens

480 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2014

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Пълно потапяне за любителите на красиви картинки. Предметите са красиви, разпръснати из всички епохи, и - естествено - фокусът е англоцентричен, като поглед към света и степенуване. Любимите ми Месопотамия и Персия са достойно представени, за разлика от Византия и за сметка на всякакви западни варвари, които обаче са се кичили с ювелирни брошки. Описанията са доста зле, нищо не значещи, често изобщо не се посочва откъде е предметът, например варненското неолитно златно съкровище. Приятен албум, нищо ново и особено, но пък добро качество.

[Christine Jeffords · Rating 4 out of 5]

By my actual count, this book provides images of 1738 objects (assuming that you define an "object" as a free-standing item that might be seen in a museum, like the Smithsonian). They range from Paleolithic to Yesterday, from crude stone tools to Telstar. There are weapons and tools, inventions that changed history, clothing, household items, art, objects of veneration--a little of everything, which isn't surprising considering that the Smith is sometimes referred to as "the nation's attic." Of course, with such a large assortment, the compilers couldn't give a lot of attention to any particular one, and, as we used to say in fandom, your mileage may vary. The book is also big and awkward--a rest of some kind will be useful to the reader. But as a whirlwind tour of the development of human culture, science, and technology, it succeeds very well, and should lead you to your own investigations--and perhaps a thousand objects of your own choosing.

[Ray Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now here's a 'picture book' that is a sumptuous treat. Illustrated, as only DK can, with etched high resolution photographs it tells the story of the emergence of human culture through objects that have been collected since antiquity. Its a handy refresher on ancient civilisation, but more than that, a clever telling of how humans progressed through small but powerful advances in technology. Woven together with sparse but still engaging text, this was simply impossible to put down over the holidays.

[Nell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pictures, not-so-great labels on them. While a few labels would say something about why an item was designed a certain way, or influences that affected it, most of the labels were of the sort that "This is a helmet. It has a nose guard." Not an actual quote, but the general idea. It was worse at the beginning of the book, and somewhat better towards the end, but it still felt shallow.

[RumBelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Human ingenuity and inventiveness were the focus of this book. Starting at the Neolithic Period, and ending in the early 2000's, this book was a chronicle of human history through the objects we as people created. Arrowheads and figurines carved out of stone, tapestries and paintings and vases, fashion from the useful to the scandalous to the excessive, weapons of war, sculpture and art made from every material imaginable, these were just a small sampling of the items described. The book was broken up into large historical periods, then within those, they were fine tuned and described in more detail. At the end was a timeline of human history showing our progression, and evolution and how our skills evolved and grew over time.

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

This encyclopedia introduces 1,000 objects related to human civilization, from ancient humans 1,000 years ago to modern humans.

All items are super valuable, including grave items excavated from around the pyramids of Egypt, ritual vessels excavated from the Hittites, where Turkey is now located, trade items from China, and ruins from ancient Greece.

You can immerse yourself in the romance of 1000 years ago while looking at the objects featured in this book.

[Prundeanu Ciprian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read by all means, tries a very visual approach to explaining history by using various objects. While the actual history part cannot, for obvious reasons, be tackled in too much detail, the objects presented make a lot of the chapters/periods memorable, which is always a plus as you get older.

[Kristina Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

It definitely makes a better coffee table book than one to read straight through (but I'm a history nerd so of course I read it all xD ). All the pictures were great and there is a handy timeline in the back. I just wish it also had maps. I found myself needing to google places, especially borders and countries from historical time periods.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful way to look at the history of humanity throughout the world by looking at objects (I think mostly in the Smithsonian Museum's collections). Fascinating for those who like history but also who like to see particular objects that humans produced in our long history on this planet.

[Kimhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good effort to collect ancient relics from different times and civilisation around the world. Gives some insight and appreciation of the culture and society thinking of those times.

[♥ Ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book

[Alberto Tebaldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

very entertaining

[Ming's fantasy myth library · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

beautiful book, the reading journey is like entering a world museum.

[Dan Curnutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a truly fun and amazing book. First of all be aware that this book weighs a bunch. When the package first showed up from Amazon I didn't think it was a book, it was just too heavy. But upon opening it up here was this treasure inside that is becoming one of my favorite fun things to look through, read and learn from.

No I have not finished the entire book, that will take a long time. But what is so amazing are the pictures of the items that are being described and the stories that they tell.

The book is laid out by different time periods of history. Then within those time periods they have amassed pictures of items from pottery to petticoats. Then they describe each item and it's relationship to that period of history.

As a reference book this will be a fun addition to any library, your children can start looking through it and find items of interest that will help them create even more informed essay's on history for their education. I think also that this will help teach kids and adults alike about history in a fun way. It truly is a stunning piece of work and one that you will not want to hide away, but place on a coffee table and keep handy for times of learning and enjoyment.

I think also this would be a great addition to a home library for those who home school, your kids will love it.

Enjoy!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love DK publishing books with their photo-laden way of learning. This book, however was somewhat disappointing (but just somewhat). Not every image had a date (or approximate date) attached and I guess I thought that would have been included. The images were by span of time, however to give them their due. Also, I wanted to know the significance of why some objects were included in the "history of the world" while others were not.

Overall, a good look at the history of the world in what I think were 1,000 pictures. (That's the other thing that bothered me, I thought the objects would be numbered 1 - 1,000. But alas, they weren't).

[David W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a very long while since I did anything here. I guess the lure of facebook and twitter and youtube were just too strong. 😅 Even though I never actually stopped reading books.

This is one of many Dorling Kindersley books I'm tackling this year. I was always more of a non-fiction reader. This is a great insight into history via archaeology and object preservation, though I guess if you didn,t know the historical contexts beforehand, you'd find the notes very confusing.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting items. However the descriptions don't have enough info on where and when items come from. Basically not a particularly informative history book but lots of nice pictures to supplement one that is.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book, even down to the endpapers. Selections were varied and cross-cultural. The book was sizable and absolutely gorgeous. Highly recommended.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed looking at this book. There were many fascinating objects included and I should have liked to have shared this book with my mother. I hope to find similar books in future.