
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Over 3 million years ago, our ancestors realised that rocks could be broken apart for sharp edges, to cut and slice meat. The discovery made for a good meal. It also changed the fate of our species and our planet.
In this lively and learned book, Chip Colwell charts three great leaps in humankind's relationship with objects and belongings, from the discovery of tools to the production of endless commodities. How did we start out as primates who needed nothing, and end up as people who need everything? With colourful characters, astonishing archaeological discoveries, and reflections from philosophy and culture, Colwell's quest for answers takes readers to places both spectacular and strange: the Italian cave featuring the world's first painted art; a Hong Kong skyscraper where a priestess channels the gods; a mountain of trash whose height rivals Big Ben or the Statue of Liberty.
Humans make stuff, but our stuff makes us human—and our love affair with things may be our downfall. With landfills brimming and oceans drowning in plastic, now is the time for a fourth and final leap for humanity: to reevaluate our relationship to the things that make, and could break, our world.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- On the Origin of Things: An Introduction
- LEAP 1: MAKE TOOLS
- 1. First Things First
- 2. The Matter at Hand
- 3. Everything under the Sun
- LEAP 2: MAKE MEANING
- 4. A Thing of Beauty
- 5. Articles of Faith
- 6. All Things to All People
- LEAP 3: MAKE MORE
- 7. In the Thick of Things
- 8. A Material World
- 9. Too Much of a Good Thing
- On the Future of Things: A Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Key Terms and Concepts
- Notes
- References
- Index
- Back cover