Discoverers

Rating:
Summary: A superb treatment of human inquiry
Review: The Discoverers is a truly remarkable treatment of a selection of the individuals who at various points in history have enriched our understanding of the world by breaking free from pervasive orthodox notions. The work is divided into four smaller "books": Time deals with improvements in the calendar and clockmaking; The Earth and the Seas deals with the evolution of our understanding of the large-scale physical aspects of the planet from the ancient Greeks through the "Great Interruption" in Europe when the achievements of the Greeks were forgotten in favor of religious dogma and culminating in the 15th and 16th century Age of Exploration; Nature deals with astronomy through Galileo, microscopy, medicine, taxonomy, and evolution; and Society treats the development of printing and the rise of social science and ends in a somewhat strangely-placed chapter about atomic theory and electromagnetism.

In his note to the reader at the book's outset, Boorstin states that one of his chief goals was to allow the reader to understand the intellectual context in which these discoverers lived, so that we can see why it was that the orthodoxy had such a firm hold and thus further appreciate the magnitude of the discoveries being dealt with. I'd have to say Boorstin succeeds wonderfully in doing this, and therein lies the really great strength of the book. Boorstin's liberal use of enjoyable quotes from primary sources from the time periods he deals with helps us understand where both the discoverers and their opponents are coming from and also makes the book quite fun to read. There were things in the book that I already knew a good deal about, and others about which I knew quite little, but because Boorstin's style is both novel and extremely readable, I was able to maintain avid interest in his treatment of the subjects with which I was familiar, but still was very easily able to follow the book in my weaker spots. This really is a rare balance, and Boorstin is to be commended for maintaining it.

It is of course impossible to compress the entire history of human discovery into a 700-page book, so Boorstin inevitably passes over a number of things. Some pretty major areas of inquiry (off the top of my head, genetics, pure mathematics, and sociology come to mind) receive no substantial treatment. Boorstin generally prefers discussing the earliest trailblazers in a given field rather than those who are most responsible for the full development of the field--as an example, in cultural anthropology he devotes several pages each to Lewis Morgan and James Tylor (respectively a sort of grandfather of the field and its often-neglected founder), one paragraph to Franz Boas (the father of American anthropology and one of the first anthropologists to be outspoken on public policy issues), and scarcely a word to anyone else. If memory serves, the only discoverers who did much of their work in the 20th century to merit even a full paragraph are Boas, Freud, and Keynes. Also, The Discoverers is fairly Eurocentric. Although substantial amounts of attention are paid to Chinese and Muslim discoverers, this attention usually functions as a means of comparison on a fairly specific matter to what was going on in Europe. Achievements in the non-European world only seldom are examined in strictly their own context and for their own sake.

But any single book on such a wide subject will have to leave out a great many deserving people, and the important thing is that Boorstin's treatment of the people he chose to treat is really excellent. It's not a complete history, and I would certainly be interested in reading any books of similar quality that deal with people Boorstin left out, but I have to agree with Alistair Cooke's assessment that there's probably not another person in this generation who could even attempt to write a volume at the level of The Discoverers.

Rating:
Summary: This was one of my college textbooks.
Review: I was very lucky to have Daniel Boorstin's "The Discoverers" assigned as a textbook for an undergraduate class I took back in the spring of 1988 on European Expansion and Colonization from 1450-1750. Ordinarily, history textbooks are a bit dry. I enjoyed reading them enough to end up only one class short of a double major in History, but this one stood out head and shoulders above the rest.

For a change, the text completely held my attention. Instead of only reading the assigned portions, I read the entire book. Upon discussing this with my classmates, I learned that each of them had done the same.

Perhaps my memory is tainted because this was an overall fun class where we studied actual sailable scale models of caravels built using the actual techniques of the time. But, I recently finished re-reading the book and it was just as much fun the eighth or ninth time around. I've read it so many times that I've lost count.

The two sections that I've always found riveting are the discovery of longitude and Captain Cook muddling around Antarctica. This book is just wonderful. I only wish that the sequel, "The Creators", was just as good. I found that one to be a bit rambling.

Rating:
Summary: Read this Now!
Review: This book is just amazing. I'm only halfway through it, I'm more of a fiction fan than anything else, and I just can't put it down. I've been entertaining my co-workers with tidbits of information I've picked up through my reading of this book, and the one thing I find most wonderful is the fact that the author does not ignore the East. My US public education in "world" history was pretty much limited to England and how events affected them...this is giving me a far more global view of things, which I find incredible. I am enjoying it so much I bought the Americans series, the Creators, and the Seekers - all without even being through this one yet. I'm looking forward to curling up with more of his fascinating books.

Rating:
Summary: excellent reading
Review: This is a great way to learn about world history and the development of science. Without being dry or ponderous, Mr. Boorstin covers topics ranging from the measurement of time to great names in history (explorers, scientists, medical, etc.). I find myself re-reading chapters even now, after I have had the book for over 5 years.

Rating:
Summary: Top of the list
Review: My favorite book. I read it once every two or three years, just for the enjoyment. It's easily the most interesting book I've read, with seemingly a revelation to some forgotten question on every page (particularly early on in the book. I know it sounds crazy, but the first 350 - 400 pages really fly!) Simply, it's about how man observed the world around him and his struggle to get a handle on it, use it, catologue it. (intermingled with about 20 biographies). Calenders, clocks, maps, the great voyages of discovery (both West and East, like Colombus and Polo), telescopes, microscopes, fossil records, evolution.....etc. If one has any interest at all in either history or science, this book is a pleasure to read.

Rating:
Summary: What happened to the rest of history?
Review: I don't know how you can write a book on Discovery and the scientific achievements brought on by, and contributing to, discovery without acknowledging the Islamic Civilization which spanned almost a thousand years. The author starts with the Hellenistic period, and in less than one paragraph cites the contribution of Muslim empires as mere translators and preservers of Greek knowledge, and then devotes the rest of the book to European achievement.

What happened to the one thousand years of history from the fall of Rome (Rome included much of the Middle East) to the rise of Europe?

This type of cursory "brush over" constitutes intellectual dishonesty. For a much better dissertation of Discovery read Toby Huff's Islam, China and the West.

Rating:
Summary: Extrordinary,one of the best history books ever written
Review: This is a fantastic work If you have never understood history and the development of civilization, this book is for you. I've read it at least six times and get something new each time. Bought copies for my children. I buy everything Boorstin writes now.

Rating:
Summary: This is the history book I wish I'd had in school.
Review: I never really understood the concept of "history" as a subject until I read this book. For the first time I saw the study of history as more than an endless series of dates and battles and facts about a lot of people many of whom the world is generally better off without. I learned a lot.

I did notice a few minor technical errors in the history of time section. I found another section rather boring. Overall, however, I think it's an incredible intellectual tour-de-force that is well worth reading, if only for enlightenment about the stifling effect "the church" has had on progress.

Rating:
Summary: An Epic Book of Great Proportions
Review: When you've finished reading this book, you'll realize just how little you actually learned in college. There is so much important and mind-boggling information in this book ... well, let's just leave it at that ...

Rating:
Summary: a great book for history lovers
Review: I love this book! Daniel J. Boorstin depicts parts of history that you don't learn in a classroom. He teaches the in depth parts of our culture by going beyond what made people the most famous, and teaches what other great things they have done in their lives. He answers questions people have been wondering in their every day lives and expands on it. I have learned so much about what humans have done to improve and to educate each generation, and amazed at what some have discovered without recognition. I can't put this book down, and that's why I love it the most