"This art historian's survey of sculpture is really more of a 40,000-year history of mankind, drawing a through line from prehistoric ivory carvings to contemporary pop art as she explores humans' inherent drive to create." - The New York Times "Groundbreaking." - Katy Hessel, author of The Story of Art Without Men "This lively and passionate book celebrates all the ways that sculpture roots us into firsthand physical experience, both of the world and our innermost feelings." - Sir Antony Gormley, sculptor "This retelling is a revelation--sculpture takes flight!" - Kate Bryan, author of How to Art "An eye-opening, soul-stirring wonder of a book. Jo Baring has traveled to some of the most remote places on Earth to tell the story of sculpture through the people and places that made them. She doesn't seek to pluck out the heart of a sculpture's mystery, but guides us--gently, wittily, and insightfully--toward finding the power and meaning in them for ourselves. A glorious blend of travel and nature writing, history and biography, this is a book about things made of metal, wood, and stone that gets to the heart of what it is to be human." - Jessie Childs, author of The Siege of Loyalty House "Like visiting a gallery with a knowledgeable friend, this personal journey with Jo Baring through her specialist subject is guided not by chronology but by passion and intrigue.

Following connections between works as they speak to one another across time and cultures, she skillfully weaves together a compelling case for the power and magic of sculpture. Totem is a captivating inquiry into the curious human impulse to capture the intangible in the most physical of forms." - Joe Tucker, author of The Secret Painter.