The flush toilet and the discovery of the potato. The Declaration of Independence and the invention of plastic. The first novel and man's first steps on the moon. These are some of the 100 most important events, discoveries and magnificent moments of the past 1,000 years, as selected and ranked--by the editors of LIFE in this highly readable and lushly illustrated tour of the millennium. It's an encyclopedic and entertaining account of human progress from 1001 to the present--a book you'll want to save for the next 1,000 years.