"The Discoverers" by Daniel J. Boorstin

Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004)
Publisher:New York : Random House, [1983]
Copyright Date:©1983
ISBN: 9780394726250
Characteristics: xvi, 745 pages ;,24 cm

The overview of this book says that it is "An original history of man's greatest adventure: his search to discover the world around him. In the compendious history, Boorstin not only traces man's insatiable need to know, but also the obstacles to discovery and the illusion that knowledge can also put in our way. Covering time, the earth and the seas, nature and society, he gathers and analyzes stories of the man's profound quest to understand his world and the cosmos."

This book is one of three Mr. Boorstin wrote in this same vein, the others being "The Creators" and "The Seekers".I haven't read either of these yet, but they are on my list, and will be reviewed in time.

The Discoverers was a fascinating book, and even thought it took me a long time to read it (684 pages of text) it was well worth the time. I believe this book (and possibly the other two mentioned above as well) would make fantastic texts for a history or anthropology class at the University level. Granted that the majority of students might not read them, but those that did would benefit immensely from the information to be gained.

The book is separated into four major divisions Time, The Earth and the Seas, Nature, and finally Society. Within each of these are sub sections that breakdown the divisions into more manageable works. These are sub sequentially separated into chapters dealing with a specific idea.

The detail with which Mr. Boorstin was able to present this information is wonderful. An example of this from the section of Time is: "Part I: The Heavenly Empire" which deals with rudimentary astronomy and it relation to astrology and how it was connected with religion and how they all influenced various historical events.

"Part II: From Sun Time to Clock Time" traces the development of time keeping through its many phases. Including Calendars, Sun Dials, Clocks, Time Keeping at Sea which allowed for the determination of longitude, etc.

I could go on and give an overview of the entire book, but then you wouldn't have to read it, which is something you should definitely do! All in all this was a great book, and I'm looking forward to reading the next ones in the series, however I won't be reading them right away as it will take me a while to digest all the information presented in this volume.