Rating: 
Summary: Thick but readable, and more than worth the time
Review: Boorstin's approach to history is mind-engaging and his work is invaluable. His is not a textbook of historical "facts," but a cover-to-cover masterpiece of hard thinking and insight. Boorstin's heroes of the imagination will become yours, and you'll feel you really owe him a big one
Rating: 
Summary: A very non-historically accurate book
Review: A monotonous, inaccurate look at boring topics such as stone age architecture.
Rating: 
Summary: A xenophobic and small minded disappointment.
Review: After reading his other book, The Discoverers, I was all fired up to read The Creators. In general I am more an arts than a sciences person; I liked The Discoverers so much I was sure that I would be in exstacy over The Creators. But, O what a disappointment. I knew that I might be in trouble when the laudatory quote on the back of the book was from George Will, whose slightly intellectual and grossly ignorant comments grace too many newspaper editorial pages. I was not wrong. Mr. Boorstin begins by trashing all cultures that are not European. He then trashes all religions that are not Christian in the attempt to prove that only Christians can create. His thesis seems to be that only the glorious Christian religion allows for true creativity, allows the human soul to soar blah blah blah. The book is particularly unctuous when it trashes other religions and religious expressions. The Vedic Scholars of Hinduism become backwards polytheists incapable of reason or true spiritual feeling. Etc. For a person of wide learning and open mind the beginning of the book The Creators is a hard go. Several times, I almost put it down never to finish it. Once one is able to pass the initial chapters of the book, the rest is a readable and rather enjoyable survey of the creative arts in the west. Within these limitations the book is OK. Not special. It is nice to revisit authors and painters that are loved. And it puts fire in the belly to return to these beloved artists and experience them again. In this, it does a service. But, if you are not familiar with the creators of western civilization, I would imagine that you would find the book boring. It does often presume a wide knowledge base in the arts. You can talk about Monet all you want, but if someone has never seen a Monet painting your talk is all empty, signifying nothing. Why is it that the folks like Boorstin, and Bloom and Will and etc aren't able simply to love western culture without needing to trash everyone else to prove its superiority? Do you have to think that the parthenon is unimaginative in order to think that the Sistine Chapel is beautiful? Why is it that Mr. Boorstin feels the need to discard the arts of the world in order to be awestruck by the arts of the west?
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating survey of creativity--with a despairing end
Review: Another excellent book by Boorstin as he surveys the development of creative activity. Especially interesting was his tracing of drama and music to its ancient Greek roots. But the book really dragged at the end as he detailed the immoral and desperate personal lives of some of the modern creative geniuses.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating survey of creativity--with a despairing end
Review: Another excellent book by Boorstin as he surveys the development of creative activity. Especially interesting was his tracing of drama and music to its ancient Greek roots. But the book really dragged at the end as he detailed the immoral and desperate personal lives of some of the modern creative geniuses.
Rating:
Summary: If only there were more fire
Review: Boorstin is well- intentioned, serious, tremendously knowledgable. He knows how to choose interesting topics for his work. A history of the heroes of the imagination sounds extremely interesting. The problem is that Boorstin writes with a dry flatness perhaps better suited to chronicling minor inventions of Americans changing everyday life, than great geniuses. I truly looked forward to this work but read it with a certain disappointment. And this when I admire Boorstin and know him to be one of the finest American historians.
Rating:
Summary: past vistas illuminate the present
Review: certainly one of the better books i've read. boorstin's grasp of humanity's collective conscious over the ages is staggering. in our derivitive, post-modern, world it is utterly refreshing to accompany such an intellect on his bold quest for meaning. at times, the words ignited my mind. with regard to the painfully politically correct, knee-jerk, contention that boorstin is biased against non-western cultures, i assert; chill out.
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Summary: A Literary Hero for our time
Review: Daniel Boorstin makes no apology for being a Jewish liberal in the classical Western sense. In fact he states that he sees history from a "Euro-centric" perspective, which, after all only makes sense since that is his and our heritage. He is writing a book for mainly Americans about the history of creation. It is the 2nd of the "Knowledge Trilogy": The Discoverers, this book and "The Seekers". If the Discoverers covered the searching mind then the Creators is a study of the searching soul. Covering topics as far apart as music, art, poetry, religion, architecture, literature, psychology and science, he skillfully reviews the history of man's search for himself. His quirky yet factual tidbits of history enlighten the story of (mainly) Western culture although he does examine aspects of other cultures. If you are a person interested in all things human then this is the book for you. The Creators has been criticized for its so-called "Western" outlook as if that automatically made the work suspect. Why is the European viewpoint less worthy than say, an Arab viewpoint? The West has profoundly affected the world - and continues to do so today - unlike any other culture with such ideas as liberty, democracy, pluralism and individualism. And what kind of person denigrates their own culture for no other reason than its trendy to do so? This is a magnificent work that will keep you enthralled for days. Get it now
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Hero for our time
Review: Daniel Boorstin makes no apology for being a Jewish liberal in the classical Western sense. In fact he states that he sees history from a "Euro-centric" perspective, which, after all only makes sense since that is his and our heritage. He is writing a book for mainly Americans about the history of creation. It is the 2nd of the "Knowledge Trilogy": The Discoverers, this book and "The Seekers". If the Discoverers covered the searching mind then the Creators is a study of the searching soul. Covering topics as far apart as music, art, poetry, religion, architecture, literature, psychology and science, he skillfully reviews the history of man's search for himself. His quirky yet factual tidbits of history enlighten the story of (mainly) Western culture although he does examine aspects of other cultures. If you are a person interested in all things human then this is the book for you. The Creators has been criticized for its so-called "Western" outlook as if that automatically made the work suspect. Why is the European viewpoint less worthy than say, an Arab viewpoint? The West has profoundly affected the world - and continues to do so today - unlike any other culture with such ideas as liberty, democracy, pluralism and individualism. And what kind of person denigrates their own culture for no other reason than its trendy to do so? This is a magnificent work that will keep you enthralled for days. Get it now
Rating:
Summary: The Creators follows Formula
Review: Following the same formula from this book's predecessor, The Creators assist the reader in knowing how the content will be structured. Unfortunately, the life of the book does not take the same shape, and the book follows an uncomfortable, almost klutzy pattern. The self-contained essays of the Western Cultures' heroes, such as Dante, Shakespeare, Proust, Franklin and Kafka offer great insight into their lives as each one is examined. The reader learns the motivations, shortcomings and egos of each of our literary forefathers, but they are examined in silos. Rich with information and wanton of symbiosis, The Creators may impress the reader to continue reading out of gravitas versus enjoyment. To learn more about Western Culture, one would be remiss to pass up on reading The Creators. But, it is not a must read for the casually interested.
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