The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself by Daniel J. BoorstinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Today in our interconnected global community we take for granted how much we know about the world around us, but not so long ago every aspect of our modern world would have been considered fantasy but through individuals who expanded the knowledge of their time our world was made. The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin is a historic tale of individuals that pushed the boundaries of human discoveries in the physical realm and more theoretical ones.
Boorstin begins his book with how the calendar came about and finished with how the atom went from concept to fact and in between he covered how time got measured, how the earth was measured then fully mapped out, how plants and animals were classified, and finally how everything about man from the inside out and his creation of science shaped himself and the world. In almost 700 pages Boorstin explores how individuals—all men to be honest—built on the work of others even if it meant they undercut that had come before to revealing something new and unknown, even if it went up against “the establishment” whether that meant the academic consensus or the all-powerful Church, with each segment focusing on a different avenue for discoveries near seamlessly transitioning from one to another. Boorstin’s focus is on the West, he does give China a spotlight early one though to show a cultural contrast, and one needs to come into the book with full knowledge that it will be European-focused.
The Discoverers is the first of a trilogy series by Daniel Boorstin on “Knowledge”, a hefty book that covers a wide range of human adventures into their world.
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