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19th out of 117 books
—
49 voters
A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future
A one-voume reference to the history of ideas that is a compendium of everything that humankind has thought, invented, created, considered, and perfected from the beginning of civilization into the twenty-first century. Massive in its scope, and yet totally accessible, A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE covers not only all the great theories and discoveries of the human race, but also...more
Paperback, 448 pages
Published
March 17th 1992
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1991)
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The Past and Present parts were very well done but...
...the future part was a different story. More on that later.
Van Doren's A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future is a truly remarkable book. He breaks down a number of key philosophies and religions and makes them palatable to the reader and also demonstrates their influence over time. It is a very well written book - very enjoyable to read.
He is particularly good at succintly describing why the end of the Roman Empire was such a...more
...the future part was a different story. More on that later.
Van Doren's A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future is a truly remarkable book. He breaks down a number of key philosophies and religions and makes them palatable to the reader and also demonstrates their influence over time. It is a very well written book - very enjoyable to read.
He is particularly good at succintly describing why the end of the Roman Empire was such a...more
Oct 12, 2012
Michael
added it
This is a sad and unnecessary work. Indeed, how anyone with the intellect of Van Doren could write such a flawed and careless piece is almost incomprehensible. To begin, his work is Western biased, leaving very little space devoted to the remarkable achievements of non-Western civilizations and cultures. Perhaps Mr. Van Doren would have benefited himself and his work by examining the works of such scholars as L.S. Stavrianos. Emanuel Wallerstein, Peter Stearns, and other world systems historians...more
This overview of the achievements of human knowledge ranges from the ancient past to the final decade of the 20th century, was published in 1991. It stems, therefore, from an American point of reference when hope and confidence at least in the Western world was possibly at its highest point, and even provokes the author into making tentative (and from our place in time, possibly quite amusing) but interesting predictions for the next hundred years which in themselves also call for a cautious but...more
One of the few books I return to over and over again. A wonderful supplement to History akin to Durant's Lessons of History. Van Doren breaks down the lessons learned from various historical periods: the ancient world, the Greeks (where for example, he traces the development of Thales Question through various philophers), the Romans who learned or stole from the Greeks and added their own pragmatism, the 1000 year experiment with God called the Middle Ages , the newfound Humanism of the Renaissa...more
Charles Van Doren takes the reader through an overview of the pivotal events, people, and achievements of world history.
The most exciting chapter is the final one entitled The Next Hundred Years. The author takes more personal liberty here to make predictions based on his knowledge of technology in 1991, the year the book was published, and educate guesses from historical events. It can be argued that his description of the "Companion computer" aka "knowbot" has truly been realized 20 years lat...more
The most exciting chapter is the final one entitled The Next Hundred Years. The author takes more personal liberty here to make predictions based on his knowledge of technology in 1991, the year the book was published, and educate guesses from historical events. It can be argued that his description of the "Companion computer" aka "knowbot" has truly been realized 20 years lat...more
Charles Van Doren allows too much of his own personal beliefs to be evident throughout this book. One expects the author of history books to at least try and be objective and when he is not...the expectation is that he would explain why. Charles Van Doren does not explain the reason for his worldview and the book is lacking for that reason. In addition, the book was written in 1991. It was painfully dated in the latter chapters regarding the history of knowledge of the present and future. It is...more
Jul 24, 2011
Dеnniz
added it
Though I genuinely enjoyed the book, I feel obliged to highlight couple of glaring factual mistakes I detected. They both deal with Russia and as a Russian I could not pass them unnoticed. The Russo-Japanese War was started by Japan with a surprising attack. The author states opposite.
Next, he confuses Belorussians (literally "White Russians") with White Guards, who fought Reds in the Russian Civil War and had mostly nothing in common with these people, apart from sounding alike to a certain deg...more
Next, he confuses Belorussians (literally "White Russians") with White Guards, who fought Reds in the Russian Civil War and had mostly nothing in common with these people, apart from sounding alike to a certain deg...more
In a relatively short 412 pages, this book lays out with remarkable clarity and insight the journey of knowledge that humans have made over the past 6000 years. Van Doren compares the knowledge and societies of major ancient civilizations, and discusses in detail once-revolutionary ideas such as “zero” or alphabets. He reveals just how much Western culture owes to the Greeks of the last few centuries BC, as well as the additions of their Roman successors.
The “great social experiment” of the Mid...more
The “great social experiment” of the Mid...more
This is a fascinating and comprehensive book about how we know we know, and how we came to know it. I bought this for two dollars at a used book sale, so it was a great deal.
Van Doren is a smart guy - according to the author blurb, he's got advanced degrees in mathematics and literature. You can tell, because those are the two subjects he concentrates most on in this book.
But you'll find out lots of interesting things. For example, how Aristotle was used to justify slavery and the slave trade....more
Van Doren is a smart guy - according to the author blurb, he's got advanced degrees in mathematics and literature. You can tell, because those are the two subjects he concentrates most on in this book.
But you'll find out lots of interesting things. For example, how Aristotle was used to justify slavery and the slave trade....more
Feb 28, 2008
R.L. Calixto
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
The Good, the Oppressed and the Hungry
Recommended to R.L. by:
I saw it in a duty-free shop as LAX. How appropriate!
I've given this book as a gift to about a dozen different people! If you love history, cultures, and man's progress, and seeing the "bigger picture", you will enjoy this book! If you read between the lines, this book offers "the biggest picture", that is, world peace.
Instead of writing a review, I will copy this following column I wrote about this book. It is also a subject that I am currently outlining as a book, having the same title, The Formula for World Peace. Here is the column:
The Formul...more
Instead of writing a review, I will copy this following column I wrote about this book. It is also a subject that I am currently outlining as a book, having the same title, The Formula for World Peace. Here is the column:
The Formul...more
Fantastic read and remarkably comprehensive. The book manages to take you through long and important periods of human history in a quick, clear and concise manner yet somehow manages not to skip on the detail.
The amount of information covered and given in the book is substantial and as such it is the kind of book you can pick up again and again and always learn something new. You can dive in and out of most pages as well without needing to have read those previous to it.
The amount of information covered and given in the book is substantial and as such it is the kind of book you can pick up again and again and always learn something new. You can dive in and out of most pages as well without needing to have read those previous to it.
Sep 12, 2007
Ray Fu
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone who doesn't just read one section of a book and write reviews on it.
Shelves:
basicthingsyoushouldknow
So far, everyone I have seen who has reviewed this book did not bother to read it. They just have a thumb up their ass talking about a piece of chapter that. This book gives a chronological rundown of major movements in mankind's history, beginning with how we started from nomadic herders, leading through early Egypt, Dark Ages and all sub ages underneath, that have cuminated and contributed to our own current state and level of knowledge. In the final Chapter, he starts to give possible outcome...more
His theory for the future is the world will team up in a super global government, civil war will break out, and then computers will become our masters. But not only will they rule over humans but they will be better at it then we are. He may actually be onto something there
This book turned out to be an enormous disappointment. I've read chunks of it but could not bring myself to read it cover to cover, just didn't seem worth it because there is absolutely no objectivity in Van Doren's writing. He considers the history of knowledge of the West as equivalent to 'everything mankind has ever thought'. This is a classic example of the west's arrogance and ignorance. It's like as if the rest of the world didn't even exist because of course they were all savages waiting...more
By Charles Van Doren who proves that he was more than just a character for Ralphe to play in Quiz Show.
A Broad Stroke history of philosophy and science. Bogs down a bit in the "what to expect in the future" sections, but enlightening and enjoyable.
A Broad Stroke history of philosophy and science. Bogs down a bit in the "what to expect in the future" sections, but enlightening and enjoyable.
Any book of this kind will inevitably leave something good out. Nevertheless, I liked this book and have always appreciated books that try to be comprehensive. If you want the five-star experience then read this book along with "World of Ideas : The Dictionary of Important Ideas and Thinkers" by Chris Rohmann
This was pretty good. Easy read. Brief overview of important people and events throughout history. Obviously this was not all encompassing but I felt like it did a good job outlining important parts of history.
A very important book, for anyone who wants to understand how we've gotten to this point. If the progress of human civilization can be marked by the progresion of ideas, this book explains and theorizes how all of our current ideas have been ultimately spawned from the first civilizations. I read this on a twelve hour train journey from Inverness Scotland to Dover, before a crossing to France, and my whole view on the world around changed both figuratively and literally.
(This book, combined with...more
(This book, combined with...more
A most amazing book by a most amazing mind. It should be required reading for anyone leaving high school and entering college. Written with the philosophy of Dr. Ian Malcolm of Jurassic Park.
A one-voume reference to the history of ideas that is a compendium of everything that humankind has thought, invented, created, considered, and perfected from the beginning of civilization into the twenty-first century. Massive in its scope, and yet totally accessible, A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE covers not only all the great theories and discoveries of the human race, but also explores the social conditions, political climates, and individual men and women of genius that brought ideas to fruition th...more
An interesting read for the time line and overall perspective, but not terribly insightful. More breadth than depth and not enough breadth, but still interesting to read.
A nice and admirably thorough survey of mostly Western European history, primarily intellectual history. Van Doren is the main subject of the Robert Redford film Quiz Show.
Sep 05, 2007
Christian Clarke
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Friends and Lovers
Shelves:
history
Read the last chapter. Van Doren sees a world run by artificial intelligence, ala Blade Runner or the Matrix. His argument as he presents it feels right to me, even if it's painted with the same brush as the Terminator trilogy. Then again, who's to say the future cyborgs didn't send James Cameron back in time to make Terminator? By the way, Dr. Nick Bostrom of the Future of Humanity Institute at OXFORD, believes there is a 20 percent chance current human beings are computerized simulations creat...more
The author takes on a subject that is too big and his lack of deeper knowledge is showing in some chapters, which are trite and sometimes even erroneous. Still an interesting read in parts, but nothing to write home about.
Bigger picture of science evolution, i was surprised to find out how Geology as a science played one of the biggest roles in science evolution and leaps.
Informative. A book I needed to read, but didn't really want to. The purpose was to give me ideas on essay writing on the GRE. It did help.
This book presents thoughts, inventions,and creations, in a concise form from the beginning of civilization to the twety-first century.
You're left with a much firmer grasp of the whole of human history and progress after finishing this book. Very comprehensive. Maybe TOO comprehensive in some cases. The author throws a lot of names out there, oftentimes names that never pop up again. This isn't surprising really. History is complicated and messy. In some cases it feels like there is just no way to retain this information though.
It doesn't help that he jumps back and forth in time in many cases. It kind of breaks the thread.
A go...more
It doesn't help that he jumps back and forth in time in many cases. It kind of breaks the thread.
A go...more
Another high school read. It's well-written, but should be renamed A History of European Knowledge.
Sep 14, 2009
Albie
added it
A History of Knowledge : Past, Present, and Future by Charles Van Doren (1992)
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Charles Lincoln Van Doren is an American intellectual, writer, and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he confessed before the United States Congress that he had been given the correct answers by the producers of the show Twenty One.
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“...they are able to forgive themselves, as a wise man once said, for being human. That is knowing that life is hard and virtue rare, they keep the ancient faith that it is better to love than to hate, to live fully even if imperfectly.”
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