Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

The Discoverers

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

Part of Knowledge Series

Author Daniel J. Boorstin
Look inside
Paperback
$25.00 US
Knopf | Vintage
On sale Feb 12, 1985 | 768 Pages | 9780394726250
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
Winner of the History of Science Society Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize


Boorstin's companion volume to The Creators and The Seekers is a vivid, sweeping, and original history of human discovery.

“Compellingly readable . . . a remarkable narrative of the grand intellectual venture of humankind, rich in fascinating, often dramatic details.” —The Wall Street Journal

“History written in the grand style. . . . I cannot readily recall another book from which I learned so many new things...few indeed will be the readers who do not themselves become discoverers.” —Washington Post Book World
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
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

About

Winner of the History of Science Society Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize


Boorstin's companion volume to The Creators and The Seekers is a vivid, sweeping, and original history of human discovery.

“Compellingly readable . . . a remarkable narrative of the grand intellectual venture of humankind, rich in fascinating, often dramatic details.” —The Wall Street Journal

“History written in the grand style. . . . I cannot readily recall another book from which I learned so many new things...few indeed will be the readers who do not themselves become discoverers.” —Washington Post Book World

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

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

Additional formats

Other books in this series

  • 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
    Vintage
    Oct 26, 1999
  • The Creators
    The Creators
    A History of Heroes of the Imagination
    Daniel J. Boorstin
    9780679743750
    $21.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Sep 28, 1993
  • 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
    Vintage
    Oct 26, 1999
  • The Creators
    The Creators
    A History of Heroes of the Imagination
    Daniel J. Boorstin
    9780679743750
    $21.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Sep 28, 1993

Other Books by this Author

Related Articles

Literature History Sociology

Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Every May we celebrate the rich history and culture of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Browse a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators that we think your students will love. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

Read more

Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Literature History Sociology
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)