| The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World |  | Author: Daniel J. Boorstin
Creator: Donald Monat
Publisher: Publishing Mills
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $38.92
You Save: $1.03 (3%)
New (6) Used (9) Collectible (2) from $4.99
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 2001050
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 8
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.1 x 2.4
ISBN: 1575110490
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9781575110493
ASIN: 1575110490
Publication Date: May 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand NEW in factory sealed shrink wrap.
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Amazon.com Review
Renowned historian Daniel J. Boorstin completes the trilogy he began with The Discoverers and The Creators. The first volume covered explorers, scientists, and historians in their quest for raw knowledge, while the second book describes writers, painters, and composers in their pursuit of inspiring art; The Seekers describes people searching for an understanding of human existence--"Man is the asking animal," notes Boorstin. It's a big, bold theme, and although The Seekers is the shortest work in the trilogy, it's still vintage Boorstin: incredibly learned, richly anecdotal, and casually profound. It begins with the prophets of the Holy Land and the philosophers of ancient Greece, continues through the Renaissance, and concludes with the modern era of the social sciences. "In this long quest [for understanding], Western culture has turned from seeking the end or purpose to seeking causes--from the Why to the How," writes Boorstin. That's a neat summary of Western intellectual development over several thousand years. What other author could put it so succinctly? Boorstin is generally stronger with material that is more recent and more secular, but this is an accomplished book and a worthy capstone to an outstanding three-volume effort. --John J. Miller
Product Description
Throughout history, from the time of creation to our own modern age, the human race has sought the answers to fundamental questions of life: Who are we? Why are we here? This audiobook is a history of our greatest Western heritage of ideas, told through the lives of people who still speak to us, from Moses, Aristotle, Plato, Thacydides, Thomas Moore, Machiavelli, Voltaire, Karl Marx, Carlyle, Emerson, and Einstein--to mention only a few.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 Enjoy the ride October 4, 2008
Guillermo Maynez (Mexico, Distrito Federal Mexico)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This books completes the excellent trilogy by Boorstin on the adventure of knowledge. "The Creators" tells us the saga of imagination and creativity. "The Discoverers" tells the story of curiosity and the thirst for adventure, the eagerness to know. And "The Seekers" talks about Man's permanent struggle to understand his world. Religion and philosophy have tried to find definitive answers to basic questions. As in his other books, this one is written with the easiness and amenity characteristic of Boorstin, mixing explanation of the thinkers' philosophy with brief recounts of their lives and temperaments. The anechdotical matters, since the book's subject is not so much theories as persons. The cast of characters is fascinating. It begins with myth, with the Biblical Moses, Isaiah, and Job. In talking about the latter, he addresses the fundamental question: why do bad things happen to good people?
Then he makes a brief stop to explain the fundamental difference between "Western" and "Eastern" religions: the former separate Good from Evil, while the latter incorporate both as essential components of the world. Necessarily, the monotheist goes crazy trying to explain Evil. Polytheists do something else. Then come the three great Greeks, possibly the first truly free men. Another reviewer here is right when he says that the most dangerous people are those who claim to have find final answers, the fanatics. Socrates fought them, Plato tried to join with them (and produced enormous harm with his theories, from where even Marxism comes), and Aristotle returned to common sense with his Realistic philosophy. Then comes Christianism, with its intellectual contributions, like monastery and university, but also with its chains around freedom of thought (not to talk about freedom of expression). The Reformation and its heroes. The discovery of History by Herodotus and Thucydides. The Utopians; Bacon; Descartes and the discovery of the Self as the unity of the world. Machiavelli, Locke, Voltaire, Jefferson, and Rousseau (the most harmful and repellent thinker in history), side by side with Hegel and Marx. Culture above Nation: Spengler and Toynbee. Carlyle and the Heroes. Kierkegaard's Existentialism. William James's Stream of Consciousness, and finally Acton, Malraux, Bergson and Einstein. This book is a delight in learning.
Magesterial historian of science March 21, 2008
Donald J. Weinshank (East Lansing, MI USA)
I actually purchased these volumes for a friend, having read them some time ago. History of science at its best.
 OH June 1, 2007
The Seekers by Daniel J. Boorstin
`The story of Man's Counting Quest to Understand His World'
We all have this question, who am I? Where am I? What is the world? We use our eyes to see the world, we use our mind to observe the world, and try to find the meaning of life. Generation to generation, our ancient give us some ways to get closer the wisdom. This book `the seekers' is a story of civilization. Other than seriously academic research, Daniel introduces you an easy and funny story to approach the history of the world. The seekers on their days lead the world progress. They think deeply how to make the world better. The special part of `the seeker' is Daniel tell you lots of interesting episode about the seekers. The book just give you a brief introduce about the seekers and their books. That's not enough. I write down a booklist. I hope I understand them more advanced.
OH June 1, 2007
The Seekers by Daniel J. Boorstin
`The story of Man's Counting Quest to Understand His World'
We all have this question, who am I? Where am I? What is the world? We use our eyes to see the world, we use our mind to observe the world, and try to find the meaning of life. Generation to generation, our ancient give us some ways to get closer the wisdom. This book `the seekers' is a story of civilization. Other than seriously academic research, Daniel introduces you an easy and funny story to approach the history of the world. The seekers on their days lead the world progress. They think deeply how to make the world better. The special part of `the seeker' is Daniel tell you lots of interesting episode about the seekers. The book just give you a brief introduce about the seekers and their books. That's not enough. I write down a booklist. I hope I understand them more advanced.
 Not About seeking the meaning of life September 22, 2006
Will Kalif (New England, USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I thought this book would lend insight into humanity's quest to understand the meaning of life but it doesn't do this. There are some tiny allusions to this but for the most part the book is about some of the larger figures in history (from Socrates to Kant)and how their search for meaning in their lives had an impact on the flow of civilization.
One interesting insight that is shown but never said is how each person was driven to his view of our world based on what situation the world was currently in and what he did to bring about change in the world. It gives a sense of malleability to what life is all about. It almost says that life is about whatever is going on right now. I was hoping for an insight into an underlying truth to it all but there was none and none of the figures portrayed in the book even hinted at trying to find one.
The Basic premise of the book is about the cultural changes we have made over the centuries from God Fearing, to self examination, to simple living, the growth of science as a belief system, and so on.
Overall an interesting read but it is a history through short bios of a variety of people and an interesting analysis of how general thought has changed over time. If you are a seeker yourself you will get little insight here.
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