Simmons, J.E. (2016) Museums. A History. London: Rowman & Littlefield

Abstract

Museums convincingly achieves the aim of giving a general summary of the key themes of the museum’s history. The author does not fail in missing a point: he offers a comprehensive history of museums from the ancient world to contemporary times, focusing on well-known historical examples of museum collections taken from different parts of the world and on contemporary subjects of debate in the museum world, producing a valuable synthesis of this wide topic. I recommend this book to museum studies students interested in the history of museums, but also to scholars who would like to have a complete and valuable summary of the subject.