200 Books

Everyone needs to go out and get a copy of this unbelievably wonderful book by Gilbert Highet. My (borrowed) copy is a slim paperback and though it came with high recommendations I wasn’t quite sure how amazing it could be. Even the first few chapters didn’t blow me away but the book built up it’s effects and in the end, I am astonished by it’s power.

All that Professor Highet does is simply examine the history of man’s intellect, memory, and reason and from this make simple and reasonable predictions about what the future possibilities are. If you happen to be a bit down from reading too many apocolyptic novels (like, say, The Road) then Highet’s book will be an antidote. But beware, it will likely join other greats like The Abolition of Man, Jane Eyre and need to be read and reread every year.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 10:44 am and is filed under Philosophy, History and Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.