'A writer of genius' - William Dalrymple 'Remarkable' - Kwame Anthony Appiah'Utterly
captivating' - Anthony Doerr Can anyone really own a culture? This magnificent account argues
that the story of global civilisations is one of mixing sharing and borrowing. It shows how
art forms have crisscrossed continents over centuries to produce masterpieces. From Nefertiti's
lost city and the Islamic Golden Age to twentieth century Nigerian theatre and Modernist poetry
Martin Puchner explores how contact between different peoples has driven artistic innovation in
every era - whilst cultural policing and purism have more often undermined the very societies
they tried to protect. Travelling through Classical Greece Ashoka's India Tang dynasty China
and many other epochs this triumphal new history reveals the crossing points which have not
only inspired the humanities but which have made us human.
