In prehistoric caves, drummers used natural acoustics to recreate natural sound. In classical Europe, orators turned the human voice into a lyrical instrument; and in modern metropolises we are battered by the roar of sound that surrounds us. In the first narrative history of the subject which puts humans at its centre, and coinciding with the author’s major Radio 4 series on the same subject, acclaimed historian David Hendy describes the history both of noise – and of listening.