287:, came to believe that the Creator wished them to unravel the secrets of His universe. Scientific research, discovery and education became intertwined with the moral good and were elevated to lofty goals within Western societies. Conversely, Hindus did not explore the seas due to the caste system (some were forbidden to travel over salt water), Muslims became satisfied with the Arabian status quo and China, with an increasingly weak central government, lost its drive for exploration and withdrew to its own borders. Most importantly, the active public dissemination of scientific knowledge – geographical, cosmological, medical, mechanical, anthropological – never became common practice outside the Judeo-Christian world. China, for example, only allowed the ruling class indulgence in scientific ventures.
302:"I have observed that the world has suffered far less from ignorance than from pretensions to knowledge. It is not skeptics or explorers but fanatics and ideologues who menace decency and progress. No agnostic ever burned anyone at the stake or tortured a pagan, a heretic, or an unbeliever." People, not movements, were the driving force of human progress. He became an exponent of tradition, wary of the implications of
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217:, is a history of human discovery. Discovery in many forms is described: exploration, science, medicine, mathematics, and more-theoretical ones, such as time, evolution, plate tectonics, and relativity. Boorstin praises the inventive, human mind and its eternal quest to discover the universe and humanity's place in it.
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while questioning image-crafted politicians, entertainers, academics and sports "heroes". He exalts genuine discoveries (calendar, printing press, medicine) and bemoans media-driven ones of the modern age. His works, therefore, emphasize such "pre-image" concepts as the importance of the individuals,
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A third theme is the role of tradition and experience in shaping mankind's history. Throughout the work he demonstrates how the discoveries of one individual are built upon the efforts of those who came before. This long chain of incremental improvements – one generation improving or amplifying the
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In "A Personal Note to the Reader", Boorstin writes "My hero is Man, the
Discoverer. The world we now view from the literate West ... had to be opened by countless Columbuses. In the deep recesses of the past, they remain anonymous." The structure of the book is topical and chronological, beginning
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The role of religion and culture is another recurring theme. Boorstin, a reform Jew, has been described as a "secular, skeptical moderate
Northeastern liberal of the New Deal rather than the New Left school." The purpose of religion (and God) was not personal salvation but establishing a societal
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and ideological politics. As a postmodern writer, he grasped the new reality created by media, what he called "image reality" in which the vehicle (newspaper, book, movie, television show, billboard) assumes more importance than the reality it portrays or describes. This new reality can be
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248:) resonates with tales of individuals, their lives, beliefs and accomplishments. They form the building blocks of his tale and from them flow descriptions and commentary on historical events. In this respect he is like other historians (
327:(1991) he left the following in the comment book: "A perverse, historically inaccurate, destructive exhibit. No credit to the Smithsonian." In 1975, he resigned as President of the
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results of previous generations – contrasts sharply with the idea of overthrowing the current order and replacing it with revolutionary ideas originating not in experience but in
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264:, to name a few) who give prominence to the individual and the incremental approach to history. Thus, in the chapter "In Search of the Missing Link", he features
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in the 1930s he grew to distrust all forms of fanaticism and political ideology and sought to show how such fanaticism was always detrimental to human progress.
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merits an entire chapter ("God said, Let Newton Be!") devoted to his life and accomplishments.
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This latter term is surprising since
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Boorstin's writing has been praised, but he has also had his critics. He has been called
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Some people have alleged that the book's cover which has a colorized version of an
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Boorstin's book, particularly chapter 14, "A Flat Earth
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after an attempt was made to inject radical politics into the scholarly body.
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for the picture, which describes it as "based on a 16th
Century Woodcut".
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The
Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search to Know His World and Himself
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the misconception that medieval intellectuals took the world to be flat
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The West as
America: Reinterpreting Images of the Frontier, 1820-1920
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wrote of potential dangers it posed to a continuing liberal society.
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Despite the fact that he served as director of the
Smithsonian
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to the exclusion of other cultures, nationalistic and even
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family, tradition, religion, capitalism and democracy.
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A History of Man's Search to Know His World and
Himself
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He suggests that Jews and
Christians, primarily from
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613:. In Stephen Harris and Bryon L. Grigsby (ed.).
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197:, published in 1983, and is the first in the
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473:12. "Widening the Communities of Knowledge"
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702:History books about scientific discoveries
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319:National Museum of History and Technology
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439:4. "The Geography of the Imagination"
280:anchor that inspired public morality.
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465:11. "Cataloguing the Whole Creation"
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615:Misconceptions about the Middle Ages
193:is a non-fiction historical work by
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495:Michael Lind (September 6, 1998)
435:Book Two – The Earth and the Seas
428:2. "From Sun Time to Clock Time"
590:The Politics of American Studies
707:History books about exploration
727:History books about philosophy
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675:From Experience to Experiment
448:7. "Sea Paths to Everywhere"
712:History books about medicine
611:"The Myth of the Flat Earth"
567:War Stories at Air and Space
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329:American Studies Association
722:History books about science
445:6. "The American Surprise"
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697:20th-century history books
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456:8. "Seeing the Invisible"
431:3. "The Missionary Clock"
221:in the prehistoric era in
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27:Book by Daniel J. Boorstin
609:Louise M. Bishop (2010).
526:– "The Chinese Reach Out"
425:1. "The Heavenly Empire"
308:Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr
155:(hbk) 0-394-72625-1 (pbk)
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442:5. "Doubling the World"
30:Not to be confused with
717:Books about mathematics
497:Western Civ Fights Back
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374:described as a type of
295:. Once a member of the
37:For the 2012 film, see
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514:– "Why Not the Arabs"
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367:political correctness
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380:Christopher Columbus
598:on January 9, 2001.
469:Book Four – Society
452:Book Three – Nature
403:image by Flammarion
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732:Random House books
501:The New York Times
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262:Richard Hofstadter
562:John T. Correll.
547:Daniel Boorstin.
413:Table of contents
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242:The Creators
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99:Random House
312:Brian Barry
270:Tycho Brahe
258:Louis Hartz
246:The Seekers
210:The Seekers
686:Categories
656:2010-07-23
634:26 January
483:References
356:postmodern
89:Historical
619:Routledge
335:Criticism
132:paperback
128:hardcover
95:Publisher
652:. Corbis
293:ideology
168:11399771
77:Language
223:Babylon
126:Print (
80:English
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233:Themes
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59:Author
227:Egypt
139:Pages
85:Genre
636:2014
623:ISBN
386:and
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162:OCLC
148:ISBN
130:and
110:1983
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