A History of the World in 50 Pieces
- Author Tom Service
- Narrator Tom Service
- Publisher Ebury Publishing
- Publish Date 13 November 2025
- Run Time 6 hours and 12 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Art music, orchestral and formal music, General and world history, History of music, Social and cultural history.
Click to open directly in the xigxag app.
Flexible Pricing & Rewards For Listening
At xigxag, the more you read, the less you pay* on select audiobook and x-book® titles, as in the table below. Pricing updates automatically in the app and resets one year after your first purchase. And you can always find a selection of brilliant titles available for only £3.99.
*Only the full price titles you buy count toward your personal pricing tier. Full price titles don’t include Listen for Less or other books bought with a voucher or discount code.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
Explore how music has changed our world through 50 pieces across classical, folk and world traditions with BBC presenter Tom Service, in this official Radio 3 compendium.
Music transports us and defines us. As a form of expression, it has been passed down through oral tradition, musical notation and recordings in a chain of connection that spans the globe, across the millennia. A History of the World in 50 Pieces follows that chain, collating 50 pieces of classical music that reflect our changing politics, social structures and technological development, and how composers, musicians and listeners have shaped those currents of history.
From Bach to Beethoven, Songlines to Saariaho, Hildegard of Bingen to the Happy Birthday song, Tom Service offers a fresh take on pieces that many of us think we know, and many more we might not. With each short, sharp analysis, he expands the typical canon and tests the boundaries of what we understand to be ‘classical music’ – or even music at all, such as the sounds of the earth’s rotation, and the songs of humpback whales.
An official BBC Radio 3 publication, A History of the World in 50 Pieces is a book for anyone curious about the power of music and how it shapes us and connects us.
© Tom Service 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
About xigxag
Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.
Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.
Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.