- Paperback: 811 pages
- Publisher: Vintage Books; 1st Vintage Books Ed edition (1 Dec 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0679743758
- ISBN-13: 978-0679743750
- Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 4.2 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,029,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
By piecing the lives of selected individuals into a grand mosaic, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel J. Boorstin explores the development of artistic innovation over 3,000 years. A hugely ambitious chronicle of the arts that Boorstin delivers with the scope that made his Discoverers a national bestseller.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found 'The creators', as a narrative piece, to lack the in-depth analytical reasoning that the subject demands. Boorstin builds a mosaic of his subject from specific characters and creative 'advances' throughout history, and whilst he succeeds in opening the door to a piecemeal understanding of creative progression, we do not gain insight into the ebb and flow of creativity from one era to the next. In effect, we are viewing the outcomes rather than the underlying driving forces behind creativity. I enjoyed this book for its short and succinct precis on individual heroes and their life's work, but ultimately yearned to know more about the zeitgeist from which they sprang - or ultimately created.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I think I was looking and hoping for stories behind the great works of art Boorstin researched. What I got in most cases was a description of the work. Since I'm familiar with most subjects covered in this book, I kept wondering why I wasn't reading or appreciating the work itself. At times this book is too detailed, recalling too many passages from particular works or focusing too much on one work and too little on others. I suppose the last statement is a judgement call, but this is a source for my dislike of this book.
Format:Paperback
This unfortunately myopic and "catholic" work offers a readable overview of many of the great artists of Europe (and a smattering located elsewhere). But the treatment of non-European traditions demonstrates a series of basic misunderstandings regarding the cultures the author (nearly) explains-away. (For example: No creation story in Vedic Cosmology? Please.) And, unfortunately, when dealing with European art, there are few analyses that set this work apart from, say, a long string Cliff's Notes or the articles one would find in a decent encyclopedia.
That said, if you have no idea who Leonardo was, or want to learn the basic structure of the Canterbury Tales, this book will help. Beyond that, I find the themes which unite the author's "summaries" insulting -- or banal, at best.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
past vistas illuminate the present
certainly one of the better books i've read. boorstin's grasp of humanity's collective conscious over the ages is staggering. Read more
Published on 6 Aug 1999
A xenophobic and small minded disappointment.
After reading his other book, The Discoverers, I was all fired up to read The Creators. In general I am more an arts than a sciences person; I liked The Discoverers so much I was... Read more
Published on 20 Nov 1997
Thick but readable, and more than worth the time
Boorstin's approach to history is mind-engaging and his work is invaluable. His is not a textbook of historical "facts," but a cover-to-cover masterpiece of hard... Read more
Published on 2 May 1997
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