In 2010, the BBC and the British Museum embarked on an ambitious project: to tell the story of two million years of human history using one hundred objects selected from the Museum's vast and renowned collection.Presented by the British Museum's then Director Neil MacGregor, each episode focuses on a single object - from a Stone Age tool to a solar-powered lamp - and explains its significance in human history. A stone pillar tells us about a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance...

From Neil MacGregor, the author of A History of the World in 100 Objects, this is a view of Germany like no otherFor the past 140 years, Germany has been the central power in continental Europe. Thirty years ago a new German state came into being. How much do we really understand this new Germany, and how do its people now understand themselves?Neil MacGregor argues that uniquely for any European country, no coherent, over-arching narrative of Germ...

World-renowned art historian Neil MacGregor takes us across Britain to discover local museums and their hidden gemsNeil MacGregor, former director of the National Gallery and the British Museum, knows the importance of public museums. In The Museums That Make Us, he takes us around the country to visit twenty local museums and to talk to their curators, staff and local figures about the most prized objects in their collections. Often a chi...

All ten episodes of BBC Radio 4’s ambitious global series, presented by Neil MacGregor‘Insightful, provocative, satisfying’ TelegraphWith the United Kingdom on the brink of potentially momentous change, historian and broadcaster Neil MacGregor embarks on a worldwide voyage to discover how Britain is perceived from abroad.Visiting Germany, Egypt, Nigeria, Canada, India, Singapore, the United States, Spain, Australia and Pola...

From Neil MacGregor, the acclaimed creator of A History of the World in 100 Objects and the Director of the British Museum, comes a unique, enthralling exploration of the age of William Shakespeare to accompany a new BBC Radio 4 series.Shakespeare lived through a pivotal period in human history. With the discovery of the New World, the horizons of Old Europe were expanding dramatically - and long-cherished certainties were crumbling. Life was exhilaratingly uncertain. What...

Following the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, a panoramic exploration of peoples, objects and beliefs from the celebrated author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany'Riveting, extraordinary ... tells the sweeping story of religious belief in all its inventive variety. The emphasis is not on our differences, but on shared spiritual yearnings' Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times, Books of the YearO...

From Neil MacGregor, the author of A History of the World in 100 Objects, this is a view of Germany like no otherToday, as the dominant economic force in Europe, Germany looms as large as ever over world affairs. But how much do we really understand about it, and how do its people understand themselves?In this enthralling new book, Neil MacGregor guides us through the complex history, culture and identity of this most mercurial of countries by tell...

New Perspectives on Structural Change is a comprehensive edited volume that outlines both the historical roots and state-of-the-art debates on the role of structural change in the process of economic development, including both orthodox and heterodox perspectives and contributions from prominent scholars in this field. The volume consists of four main sections. The first section covers the theoretical foundations of the structural change literature. The second section presents an ...

Indonesia's gross domestic product growth rate declined significantly after the Asian financial crisis (AFC) of 1997–1998. The country's potential and balance-of-payments growth rates are only about 5.5% and 3%, respectively. One important reason is that the country's industrialization pace declined after the AFC. Today, Indonesia is still exporting many unprocessed natural resources and simple manufactures (not complex products) with a low income elasticity of demand. This report analyzes...

This book explores recent drivers of Asia’s growth and economic development. The analysis is based on a database created by the authors. It covers a large number of economies, including 39 from Asia for the period 1990–2020.The database and the analysis in the book use novel indicators of development. It is structured along four areas: productivity and structural change, global value chains (GVCs), economic complexity, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The book offers ins...

In this major new BBC radio series, Neil MacGregor investigates the role and expression of shared beliefs through time and around the world.One of the central facts of human existence is that every society shares a set of beliefs and assumptions - a faith, an ideology, a religion - that goes far beyond the life of the individual. These beliefs are an essential part of a shared identity. They have a unique power to define - and to divide - us, and are a driving force in the politics...

What was life like for Shakespeare's first audiences? In a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, how did Elizabethan play-goers make sense of their changing world? What did the plays mean to the public when they were first performed? In this fascinating series, Neil MacGregor attempts to answer these questions by examining twenty objects from that turbulent period. There are grand objects such as a communion chalice, a Venetian goblet, and Dr Dee's mirror, as well ...