A history of knowledge : past, present, and future / Charles Lincoln Van Doren

Here is a compendium oí everything that humankind has thought. invented. created. considered. and perfected írom the begmnmgof civilization into the twenty-íirstcentury. Massive in il.s scope and yet totally acces.sible. A History of Knowledgc covers not oniy all thegreat theories and discoveries of the human race. bul .liso explores the social conditions. political climates. and individual men and women oí genius that brought ideas to truition throughout history. You ll find capsule portraits oí the people whose thinking has shaped our worid through their contributions to art. science. literature. and world history: Ruddha. Einstein. Leonardo da Vinci. Picasso. Aristotle. Edison. Shakespeare. Ceorge Eliot. and dozens more. In surveying the great worid civilixations. A History of Knowledge aiso explains such essentials as the Greek ideal oí justice. how Columbus's discoveries led to the Aírican slave trade. the political and social conditions that sparked the invention of the scientific method. and many other key movements and concepts that have continuing relevance today. Indeed. readers who crave a single all-inclusive reference volume to intellectual history will find themselves dipping into the indispensable A History of Knowledge again and again