Free Full Book Summary and Review
https://www.bookey.app/book/at-home
iPhone Download Link：https://share.bookey.app/D19t6smsr7
Android Download Link：https://share.bookey.app/uAWKh12sr7
Bookey App:https://www.bookey.app
When it comes to history, we tend to believe that it only concerns significant events, famous figures, the succession of monarchs, and the rise and fall of dynasties, rather than ordinary people. The author of this book believed so too until he purchased a 150-year-old apartment in the English countryside. This happened to be a former Church of England rectory.
During a discussion on local historical and archaeological discoveries, the author suddenly came to realize that even Einstein, a historical figure, would have spent a large part of his life thinking about eating, dating, and his holidays. To a great extent, history is an accumulation of people doing quite ordinary things.
One afternoon, the author was playing with salt and pepper shakers, and a thought occurred to him. Why, out of all the spices in the world, would only these two appear on every household table? Another day, while dressing, another thought occurred to him. Why did all of his suit jackets have a row of buttons sewed on every sleeve; wasn’t this pointless? Then, he wandered from room to room in his apartment and slowly realized each functional area, facility, and item surely could not have appeared at the very beginning of private home life. When did they in fact appear? And, for what reason?
As such, the author started to thoroughly research the answers to these questions and came to the decision to write a book about the history of household life. But when he started, he realized that it would not be such a simple book, as each item in the house had such a momentous history. He later wrote that his most prominent finding was that “whatever happens in the world, whatever is discovered or created or bitterly fought over, eventually ends up, in one way or another, in your house.” In other words, houses are museums of history, and there is splendid history hidden behind every single room.
