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The Discoverers

A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself

Part of Knowledge Series

Author Daniel J. Boorstin
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Paperback
$25.00 US
Knopf | Vintage
5.1"W x 8"H x 1"D   | 19 oz | 24 per carton
On sale Feb 12, 1985 | 768 Pages | 9780394726250
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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.
"Compelling readable. . . . A remarkable narrative of the grand intellectual venture of humankind, rich in fascinating, often dramatic details."—The Wall Street Journal

"A sumptuous, totally engaging panorama. No one who reads it will look at the chronicle of human ingenuity in the same way again." —David McCullough

"Written with great verve . . . [Boorstin's] learning, wit, and lucidity should ensure that he will bring pleasure to a large group of reader."  —The New York Review of Books

"History with a human touch."  —Newsday

"A grand and exhilirating voyage, a bold attempt to circumnavigate the intellectual globe."  —The Philadlephia Inquirer
Daniel J. Boorstin was the author of The Americans, a trilogy (The Colonial Experience, The National Experience, and The Democratic Experience) that won the Francis Parkman Prize, the Bancroft Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 1989, he received the National Book Award for lifetime contribution to literature. He was the director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and for twelve years served as the Librarian of Congress. He died in 2004. View titles by Daniel J. Boorstin
Book One: Time
The Heavenly Empire
From Sun Time to Clock Time
The Missionary Clock

Book Two: The Earth and the Seas
The Geography of the Imagination
Paths to the East
Doubling the World
The American Surprise
Sea Paths to Everywhere

Book Three: Nature
Seeing the Invisible
Inside Ourselves
Science Goes Public
Cataloguing the Whole Creation

Book Four: Society
Widening the Communities of Knowledge
Opening the Past
Surveying the Present

About

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.

Praise

"Compelling readable. . . . A remarkable narrative of the grand intellectual venture of humankind, rich in fascinating, often dramatic details."—The Wall Street Journal

"A sumptuous, totally engaging panorama. No one who reads it will look at the chronicle of human ingenuity in the same way again." —David McCullough

"Written with great verve . . . [Boorstin's] learning, wit, and lucidity should ensure that he will bring pleasure to a large group of reader."  —The New York Review of Books

"History with a human touch."  —Newsday

"A grand and exhilirating voyage, a bold attempt to circumnavigate the intellectual globe."  —The Philadlephia Inquirer

Author

Daniel J. Boorstin was the author of The Americans, a trilogy (The Colonial Experience, The National Experience, and The Democratic Experience) that won the Francis Parkman Prize, the Bancroft Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 1989, he received the National Book Award for lifetime contribution to literature. He was the director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and for twelve years served as the Librarian of Congress. He died in 2004. View titles by Daniel J. Boorstin

Table of Contents

Book One: Time
The Heavenly Empire
From Sun Time to Clock Time
The Missionary Clock

Book Two: The Earth and the Seas
The Geography of the Imagination
Paths to the East
Doubling the World
The American Surprise
Sea Paths to Everywhere

Book Three: Nature
Seeing the Invisible
Inside Ourselves
Science Goes Public
Cataloguing the Whole Creation

Book Four: Society
Widening the Communities of Knowledge
Opening the Past
Surveying the Present

Other books in this series

  • The Seekers
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  • The Creators
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    A History of Heroes of the Imagination
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  • The Seekers
    The Seekers
    The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World Knowledge Trilogy (3)
    Daniel J. Boorstin
    9780375704758
    $21.00 US
    Paperback
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  • The Creators
    The Creators
    A History of Heroes of the Imagination
    Daniel J. Boorstin
    9780679743750
    $21.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Sep 28, 1993

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