Rating: 
Summary: More Fiction than Fact
Review: Charles van Doren attempts the daunting task of summarizing and cataloguing all of recorded history in 412 pages. This work is remarkable in many respects but fails on an equal number of counts. Some time periods and characters are barely given consideration and others are obviously personal favorites of the author. He depises all people of faith but absolutely adores pseudo-scientists like Darwin and Freud. After reading the book, one comes away with the suspicion that certain historical events were intentionally distorted. Objectivity is not his strongest characteristic. The only redeeming part of this history is the stellar biographies of men like Einstein and daVinci and Columbus. The reader appreciates the broad scope of history presented here, but wonders why the author feels compelled to offer agnostic ramblings. Had he attempted to stick to historical fact, this book would have been much more valuable and trustworthy. One also wonders if the author handed the book to his teenage grandson and asked him to finish it. In the last chapter, the man who mocks religion as an antiquated hindrance to the pursuit of knowledge turns to science fiction as a type of savior. He says that "the best writers of this popular genre have much to teach us. They are futurologists by profession, where most of us are rank amateurs" (390). He goes on to explain his theory that Earth was once visited by extraterrestrial aliens who may or may not have left a sign of their passing which may or may not be a "booby trap" (392). If only the book had ended a chapter early, the reader would finish the book with some measure of respect for the author. Instead, the reader gets the distinct impression that Charles van Doren lives his life completely inside of his head and cannot distinguish between fact and fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: History of Knowledge-a primer for interesting conversation.
Review: Charles Van Doren does a fine job of providing an enlightening overview to history and sociology. I've enjoyed the book twice now, given it as gifts, and recommended it to many friends and aquaintenances. I found his insight and perspective on historical characters and discoveries to be most valuable. Being a technical person, I find Van Doren helps me understand the the evolution of history...he combines events, individuals, and discoveries into (what appear to be obvious) relationships. Many times throughout the book, I would think to myself: "Now I understand!"The book comes with a delightful bonus; it provides the reader with a refreshed interest in historical events and personalities. This makes for engaging conversations... topics from Henry XIII to Marco Polo. How about: the history and significance of "zero", or the demise of the Aztecs?Further, Van Doren provides insight into the similarities and origins of different religions.It's a great book you can pick up and put down, read a little, skim a section... fun to have around even as reference.
Rating:
Summary: Only Religious Fools Could Hate This Book!
Review: This book is both concise AND well written. It gives a thorough compilation of all the major achievements of the human race - in the areas of science, art, technology, medicine, politics, etc....The only poor reviews given to this book are from those who feel threatened by its anti-religious overtones. But why shouldn't it have such subtext? Has not religion and religious beliefs remained a hindrance towards the acquisition of ALL great knowledge?? Just look at how the Catholic Church has demonized great men like Copernicus and Galileo. Anyone who believes that religion is antiquated and that factual knowledge as well as logic and truth should be held in higher regard than humanity's need for an "all knowing father-figure," should read and enjoy this book. And for those who are still caught in the web of religion, please read Freud's "Future of an Illusion," and have the courage to drop the safety net under your feet.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful, Valuable Overview
Review: There exist very few books quite like this one. Van Doren rushes in where others fear to tread, yet he is no fool. Rather, he quite successfully distills into a concise, single volume most of the major intellectual thoughts and events that have occurred across the millennia. Furthermore, he writes in an engaging and interesting style, producing a work both readable and extremely useful. Forgotten what the "Glorious Revolution" was all about? Ever wondered what is to be found in Einstein's theories? Don't know your Plutarch from your Petrarch? This book has the answers, and much more besides. Van Doren's not perfect. He stumbles a bit, I think, in his handling of certain developments in the 19th and 2th centuries. In particular, his treatment of the causes of the First World War, and the important inter-war period in Europe, leaves a little to be desired. His examination of post-Rennaissance art is sparse. And his treatment of religion, while solid, seems to stop abruptly at the Protestant Reformation. Nevertheless, he absolutely shines when dealing with antiquity and the middle ages, and his book is about as good a treatment of the various subjects as you're likely to find under any one cover, or by any one author.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely for history lovers
Review: This is an excellent history text. I've used it as a reference for years, although I haven't read it through from beginning to end at any time. So you want to know when Newton influenced physics and wrote his books? What about Descartes? Arsitotle? It's all in there. It covers how knowledge was created and spread throughout history. This book seemed obviously influenced by James Burke's "Connections" science series on TV. I can't think of many better influences actually, as it was one of the best learning series ever done for television. Because of the small size of the book, it's more of an overview than a super-detailed historic tome, but I am always surprised at how much the author does cover. I've rarely found a significant scientific or knowledge discovery/event that has been missed in the text. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: This guy is nuts
Review: He makes WAY too many mistakes and states everything like it's fact!! He says that Shakespeare's plays weren't even written by Shakespeare himself, but by someone else and Shakespeare took the glory. HELLO! That's the story that Shakespeare wrote himself! He also uses views of cults when "explaining" Christianity. He states that Jesus went to hell for three days, after He was crucified. THE BIBLE NEVER SAID THAT!!! This is a cultic belief and is not Christian. He provides no footnotes and expects us to take is work for fact and not even question him. He makes many more careless mistakes, and I think that his book is sick and twisted. Don't waste your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Author clearly favors socialism and less technology
Review: The fellow gives substantial credit to the Greek and Roman contributions to knowledge, but rather than simply lauding Aristotle's achievements and recognizing the limits of some of his theories, he frequently returns to his mistakes to point out that the lack of womens rights and slavery until the last century or so are largely his fault because he believed slaves and women to be inherently inferior and the rest of civilization agreed. Other dubious claims: - Technology is causing people to lose touch with the pastoral ideal living standard
- Machines will one day revolt against humans and have human reasoning abilities
- Some redistribution of wealth is important
- Modern, anti-structure art forms (cubism) were progress
- Freud, Marx, Hegel, Kant, Mann, Kafka and the ilk were visionaries of truth
- Uncertainty in life is so substantial so as to make the pursuit of precision pointless
- All of the chaos / uncertainty / unknowability therorists are visionaries
- The French revolution was one of the greatest of all time Although I enjoyed the first half of the book, I start to question its validity given the author's bias to the irrational demonstrated in the second half of the book. I become suspect that he might have omitted or misinterpreted facts in the first half as well.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent primer on history.
Review: A friend of mine recommended this book to me this way: "this book is like going back to school, and remembering everything you forgot. You will be taught by fabulous history teachers who will make sense out of whole of human history. Because historical events will make sense, you will understand and remember them so much better than the first time around, when you thought they were just random and boring." My friend was absolutely right. I have been on a history kick ever since. Charles Van Doren is really a tragic character. He is of "Quizz Show" fame. This movie described the historical events, whereby a young, attractive U of Columbia teacher (Charles Van Doren) got caught in the scandal of the TV game show 21, and was ousted of university circles for ever. The only way he was still able to teach was through this book and others. After reading this book, you will agree he succeeded and redeemed himself.
Rating:
Summary: An ambitious project
Review: Charles Van Doren undertook an ambitious project in this book, which according to its cover blurb purports to be 'a compendium of everything that humankind has thought, invented, created, considered, and perfected from the beginning of civilisation into the twenty-first century.' There are, alas, a few things missing, as this book only has a bit over 400 pages. But that does not really detract from the thesis of the book; it is certainly a worthy outline of human history, particularly approached through the lens of intellectual achievement and the advance of knowledge. Van Doren, as you may recall, is the Van Doren who got caught up in the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. Ironic that this fate should befall him, as his learning would obviously put to shame the current crop of would-be millionaires so popular on the television today. But, I digress. Van Doren spent the two decades before writing this book as an editor for Encyclopedia Britannica. He has put together a worthy outline to knowledge, broad in scope and with just enough detail to satisfy the hunger and whet the appetite simultaneously. 'The voluminous literature dealing with the idea of human progress is decidedly a mixed bag. While some of these writings are impressive and even inspiring, many of them are superficial, perhaps even ridiculous, in their reiteration (especially during the nineteenth century) of the comforting prospect that every day in every way we are growing better and better.' Van Doren does believe in progress, but not in inevitable progress. He distinguishes between general knowledge and knowledge of particulars, and explores the inter-relationship of knowledge and happiness: 'The desire to know, when you realise you do not know, is universal and probably irresistible. It was the original temptation of mankind, and no man or woman, and especially no child, can overcome it for long. But it is a desire, as Shakespeare said, that grows by what it feeds on. It is impossible to slake the thirst for knowledge. And the more intelligent you are, the more this is so.' Van Doren explores the advance of knowledge by time periods, then divided into general discussions with a specific centre. I give as an example the outline of topics in the chapter entitled An Age of Revolutions An Age of Revolutions
- The Industrial Revolution
- Human Machines and Mechanical Humans
- An Age of Reason and Revolution
- John Locke and the Revolution of 1688
- Property, Government, and Revolution
- Two Kinds of Revolution
- Thomas Jefferson and the Revolution of 1776
- The Declaration of Independence
- Property in Rights
- Robespierre, Napoleon, and the Revolution of 1789
- The Rise of Equality
- Mozart's Don Giovanni
- Goethe's Faust Van Doren's own agenda and prejudice show through (a desire for the curbing of the rights of nation-states in favour of a one-world government, for instance -- without much detail about how that government would be constituted; after all, he is a realist who recognises that there's no point to such idle speculation in a history text), but he always returns to his charge of presenting the history of the whole through various parts. His final chapter, entitled 'The Next Hundred Years' examines the possible developments and societal changes (which we are already beginning to see) due to computers, chaos science, increased space exploration, genetic engineering and genome mapping, and an ever-present companion in history, war. This is a well-written exploration of world history written with clarity and style. It makes an excellent companion piece for almost any intellectual field.
Rating:
Summary: Breezy, Informative, Quirky, Entertaining
Review: WARNING!!! This book has a Western bias!!! I have wondered why it is considered immoral or abnormal for an author who lives in the West, was educated in the West and posseses a Western philosophical, religious and scientific background to have a Western bias. If all cultures were morally equivalent they would have similar outcomes and that is certainly not the case. That aside, this is a wonderful primer on both the theory and history of knowledge. The sheer scope of the work is what makes it enticing. And the range of what he covers is astounding. It may not be as deep as one likes, nor as far-ranging, but it does accomplish its stated goal - to inform us of the long, sometimes difficult search for knowledge. I do not agree with all the author's conclusions but he backs them up; nothing is spoken or claimed in a vaccuum. Some will most assuredly disagree with the importance he places on Christianity in the scheme of things but as Daniel Boorstien has pointed out over and over, the Judeo-Christian environment encouraged thinkers and generally maintained a receptivity for original thinking not found in other cultures that remained wedded to the past. And it is undeniable that Christian Europe created a revolution of ideas that revolutionized and conquered the world in a short span. As many have stated, the last third of the book suffers from an unavoidable problem - the passage of time. It reminds one of the oxymoron "instant analysis" which usually fulfills the former and rarely the latter. Still, despite the myopia, some of the ideas he suggests are provocative and even witty. Get a copy and enjoy.
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