kayman17's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, a hugely captivating panorama-style history in creativity, creation, and creating (in the broadest sense). From creation myths, to art, to the beginnings of photography and filmmaking, this history covers, essentially, from Cro Magnon to roughly the 1980s. Boorstin has really done his work. My only critique of his is that he's a bit of a stuffy Reaganite (even if he never explicitly says it) and assumes too much "positive consensus" and skimps over the darker inspirations in history. Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Fantastic read! Bibliography and endnotes are a must if you want to do your own research!
bvargo's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. I thought it was going to be about something else. It wasn't.
storiesinthestars's review against another edition
4.0
Boorstin takes a look at history and human consciousness through different mediums of artistic expression such as storytelling, physical arts, music, and theater. While this is an extremely helpful resource, as his attempt at fitting as much information as possible about the entirety of human experience in only about 740 pages is a great one, I do have some issues with the way that Boorstin talks about some of his findings. His approach to talking about the beliefs of different cultures in the very first chapters of the book made me slightly uncomfortable, as did what very little he wrote about women. This is a fantastic text to use for research or for scratching the surface of the way we have expressed ourselves throughout time, but it should not be the only text you use for that information. Some of what Boorstin describes should be taken with a grain of salt, as his personal biases sometimes shine through.
More...