A History of the World in 10½ Chapters tells a series of apparently unconnected stories ranging from a woodworm’s eye view of the journey on Noah’s Ark to an astronaut’s quest for its final resting place. Full of pastiche and learned disquisition, heart-stopping documentary, and heart-lifting revelation, these stories are in fact all linked by a complex weave of inquiry into history itself—into love, myth, and fabulation. It’s about everything that matters, told with brilliant imagination, intelligence, and humor.