Introduction: why a book on beads -- The beginnings -- Antiquity: from Neolithic times to the Roman Empire -- Europe: the late Roman Empire to the Renaissance -- Prayer beads -- The world of Islam -- The Age of European expansion -- Africa -- The Far East: China, Korea, and Japan -- India -- Central Asia -- Southeast Asia and the South Pacific -- Middle and South America -- North America -- The special beads: amber and pearls -- The magical eye bead -- Contemporary: Europe and North America -- Bead shape table -- The timeline of bead history.