Living with the Gods

He shows how human beings have always used religion and objects as a way to understand the world around us, from finding some accommodation with light, water and the seasons, to attempting to find some approach towards death. ... Anyone wishing to deepen, if not change their life, will certainly benefit from this remarkable book

Douglas Murray, Evening Standard

Superbly illustrated, with objects and people and places that range far beyond the museum doors, to almost every corner of the world

Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

Neil MacGregor is pre-eminently a teacher. He possesses the teacher's two vital gifts, which are the ability to distinguish things that are interesting from things that are not, and the capacity to change the second category into the first ... a mind-expanding book

John Carey, Sunday Times

The David Attenborough of things that don't move ... Think of it as his Blue Planet

Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times

Our eyes are opened to ways of being human that are unlike anything we could ever experience for ourselves ... Not only is the ancient past made accessible, our present reality is also made strangely questionable

Angela Tilby, Literary Review

The strength of the book is its thoughtful and sometimes provocative reflections on religion and religiosity through this exceptional range of artefacts

Linda Hogan, Irish Times

This scholarly, elegantly written book is a reminder of how seldom, when visiting a museum, most of us take the time to inquire into what lies behind the objects we look at. Living with the Gods is a celebration of curiosity

Caroline Moorehead, Guardian