A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future (Paperback)

~ (Author) "BY THE TIME written history began, some fifty centuries ago, mankind had learned much more than our primitive ancestors knew..." (more)
Key Phrases: positional notation, United States, Don Giovanni, City of God (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Van Doren's provocative, encyclopedic guide to great thinkers, concepts and philosophical trends was a BOMC and History Book Club selection in cloth.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Van Doren, once editorial director of the Encyclopedia Brittanica , has produced a miniature encyclopedia, organized to show that there is progress in knowledge. He praises Columbus for giving us "a world well on the way to the unity it experiences today." India is mentioned as the source of the caste system. The Chinese gave us Confucius, but Van Doren notes their main legacy seems to be good recipes for tyranny. He warns that some good knowledge is unpleasant: we must now control our technology. Ultimately, the best knowledge for him is Western scientific knowledge since it is cumulative, meaning that better theories nearly always replace worse ones. An avid reader of Popular Mechanics who went to sleep in Peoria, Illinois in 1920 and awoke today with this book in her/his hands would probably find their ideals intact, needing only new technical knowledge and preparation for Van Doren's predicted revolt of intelligent machines. Van Doren has distilled the ideology of scientific progress into a neat, short drink that should win him a place on every library shelf.
- Leslie Armour, Univ. of Ottawa, Canada
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345373162
• ISBN-13: 978-0345373168
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,488 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone interested in history, January 5, 2001

By	doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

At last a concise and brilliantly connected history of thought. Beginning with the "knowledge of the ancients" (which, to my pleasure, included information from ancient India, China and the Americas as well as from Egypt and the Middle East), Van Doren covers all the great theories and discoveries of the human race. Although I read it cover to cover, it would be just as useful (and enjoyable) to dig in and read it piecemeal.

The contributions of Einstein, Newton and Galileo are here, as are the ideas of Buddha, Martin Luther and Boethius. This is more than just a cataloguing of ideas and discoveries, though. Portraits of these individuals are made, and their contributions are placed in historical context. What is most remarkable, however is that van Doren has managed to squeeze all this information into a mere 412 pages.

The only shortcoming of the book is perhaps is length - but Van Doren sets out only to summarize, highlight and explain. With this in mind, he does an admirable job. The book is simply fascinating, and I highly recommend it.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ambitious project, May 17, 2003

By	FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Charles Van Doren undertook an ambitious project in this book, which according to its cover blurb purports to be 'a compendium of everything that humankind has thought, invented, created, considered, and perfected from the beginning of civilisation into the twenty-first century.'

There are, alas, a few things missing, as this book only has a bit over 400 pages. But that does not really detract from the thesis of the book; it is certainly a worthy outline of human history, particularly approached through the lens of intellectual achievement and the advance of knowledge.

Van Doren, as you may recall, is the Van Doren who got caught up in the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. Ironic that this fate should befall him, as his learning would obviously put to shame the current crop of would-be millionaires so popular on the television today. But, I digress.

Van Doren spent the two decades before writing this book as an editor for Encyclopedia Britannica. He has put together a worthy outline to knowledge, broad in scope and with just enough detail to satisfy the hunger and whet the appetite simultaneously.

`The voluminous literature dealing with the idea of human progress is decidedly a mixed bag. While some of these writings are impressive and even inspiring, many of them are superficial, perhaps even ridiculous, in their reiteration (especially during the nineteenth century) of the comforting prospect that every day in every way we are growing better and better.'

Van Doren does believe in progress, but not in inevitable progress. He distinguishes between general knowledge and knowledge of particulars, and explores the inter-relationship of knowledge and happiness:

`The desire to know, when you realise you do not know, is universal and probably irresistible. It was the original temptation of mankind, and no man or woman, and especially no child, can overcome it for long. But it is a desire, as Shakespeare said, that grows by what it feeds on. It is impossible to slake the thirst for knowledge. And the more intelligent you are, the more this is so.'

Van Doren explores the advance of knowledge by time periods, then divided into general discussions with a specific centre. I give as an example the outline of topics in the chapter entitled An Age of Revolutions

An Age of Revolutions
- The Industrial Revolution
- Human Machines and Mechanical Humans
- An Age of Reason and Revolution
- John Locke and the Revolution of 1688
- Property, Government, and Revolution
- Two Kinds of Revolution
- Thomas Jefferson and the Revolution of 1776
- The Declaration of Independence
- Property in Rights
- Robespierre, Napoleon, and the Revolution of 1789
- The Rise of Equality
- Mozart's Don Giovanni
- Goethe's Faust

Van Doren's own agenda and prejudice show through (a desire for the curbing of the rights of nation-states in favour of a one-world government, for instance -- without much detail about how that government would be constituted; after all, he is a realist who recognises that there's no point to such idle speculation in a history text), but he always returns to his charge of presenting the history of the whole through various parts.

His final chapter, entitled `The Next Hundred Years' examines the possible developments and societal changes (which we are already beginning to see) due to computers, chaos science, increased space exploration, genetic engineering and genome mapping, and an ever-present companion in history, war.

This is a well-written exploration of world history written with clarity and style. It makes an excellent companion piece for almost any intellectual field.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History of Knowledge-a primer for interesting conversation., November 17, 1997

By A Customer

Charles Van Doren does a fine job of providing an enlightening overview to history and sociology. I've enjoyed the book twice now, given it as gifts, and recommended it to many friends and aquaintenances. I found his insight and perspective on historical characters and discoveries to be most valuable. Being a technical person, I find Van Doren helps me understand the the evolution of history...he combines events, individuals, and discoveries into (what appear to be obvious) relationships. Many times throughout the book, I would think to myself: "Now I understand!" The book comes with a delightful bonus; it provides the reader with a refreshed interest in historical events and personalities. This makes for engaging conversations... topics from Henry XIII to Marco Polo. How about: the history and significance of "zero", or the demise of the Aztecs? Further, Van Doren provides insight into the similarities and origins of different religions. It's a great book you can pick up and put down, read a little, skim a section... fun to have around even as reference.