From Achaemenid silver to the Ziwiye treasure, Alexander the Great to Jean-Antoine Watteau, through Greek vases, Japanese pottery, Nebuchadnezzar, Quetzalcoatl and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the "Companion Guide" provides an entertaining and informative introduction to the objects in the British Museum. There are more than 300 A-Z entries in which each chosen object is fully described and illustrated in colour.

Suggestions for further reading accompany each entry and the guide is comprehensively indexed and cross-referenced, making it a useful elementary research tool for those with a general interest in the Museum's collections. It is equally attractive as a souvenir.