Ideas That Changed the World

""Ideas are at least as powerful agents for change as material exigencies, economic needs, environmental constraints, and all the other proposed determinants."" So writes noted Oxford historian Fernandez-Armesto in this overview of scores of ideas dating back to prehistoric times. The ideas examined are not always soothing or progressive: cannibalism (""typically...human and cultural""); a revival of interest in ancient Egyptian magic during the Renaissance (useful because ultimately""alchemy fed into chemistry, astrology into astronomy""); and anti-Semitism. The book is culturally inclusive: the Zen concept of Mu (the way masters""baffled their pupils into enlightenment"") is here, as is jihad. Each idea is examined in a generously illustrated two-page spread, with suggested readings and links to other ideas in the book. This wide-ranging volume offers great browsing and a panoply of ideas for consideration.