Tuesday, September 25, 2012

"A" History of the World in Two Books: one about objects, the other about drinks



A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor
OUR APPRECIATIONS ABOUT THIS BOOK
  • The author is very conscious of the simultaneous development of objects and ideas (writing, coins, etc.) in multiple places and didn’t just talk about Africa or other “traditional” places
  • He included objects from all over the world to tell a sequential history of the world
  • Why did corn become a “god” in the Americas and not squash or beans?
  • He included biological changes (brain size, nutrition, etc.) along with the social changes (farming, artisans, communities, etc.)
  • The ceremonial jade axe story (4000 BC) is one of our favorites
In preparation for our meeting to discuss the HISTORY OF THE WORLD in 100 object or 6 glasses, think about your own life  What 6 objects represent your history?  Our own personal list of objects that influenced our life included:
  • German pretzels
  • Cat/kitten
  • Photograph of Rex Smith (the actor/singer)
  • Paper & pencil (or writing instrument)
  • Car
  • Boston Sunday Globe
  • Wearing braces
  • Special doll received from Dad who was in the Air Force
  • Beads (“hippie era”)
  • Water
  • House
History of the World in 100 Objects – A description of objects

BBC – A list of objects

100 Objects in 5 minutes – a quick video of all the objects
 
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (you might want to consider reading his other book, An Edible History of Humanity)

OUR APPRECIATIONS ABOUT THIS BOOK
  • Each drink represented an era of history
  • Each drink influenced the next drink
  • Coffee and tea might have happened simultaneously, rather than sequentially
  • All the drinks are tied to economics
  • Drinks were tied to social structure, including children in that societal structure
  • Globalization could also have been represented by McDonalds, but then it wouldn’t have been a drink
  • He focused a lot on the Middle East (The Fertile Crescent) and we sometimes forget how important that part of the world is to world history
History of the world in 6 glasses – great little video

General History
History of the World in 7 Minutes – a quickie world history video