The Creators
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| Author | Daniel Boorstin |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Bernard Klein |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical |
| Publisher | Random House |
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Publication date
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1992 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover |
| Pages | 811 |
| ISBN | (hbk) |
| OCLC | 24846950 |
| 909 20 | |
| LC Class | CB69 .B65 1992 |
| Preceded by | The Discoverers |
| Followed by | The Seekers |
The Creators is a non-fiction work of cultural history by Daniel Boorstin published in 1992 and is the second volume in what has become known as the Knowledge Trilogy. It was preceded by The Discoverers and succeeded by The Seekers.
The Creators, subtitled A History of Heroes of the Imagination, is the story of mankind's creativity. It highlights great works of art, music and literature but it is more than a recitation or list. It is a book of ideas and the people behind those ideas. It encompasses architecture, music, literature, painting, sculpture, the performing arts, theater, religious expression and philosophy. It can be viewed as a companion to The Discoverers which chronicled the history of invention, exploration and technology. The Creators traces the creative process from pre-history Egypt to modern times and like The Discoverers, follows both a topical and chronological structure. Boorstin writes in "A Personal Note to the Reader", "After The Discoverers... "I was more than ever convinced that the pursuit of knowledge is only one path to human fulfillment. This companion book, also a view from the literate West, is a saga of Heroes of the Imagination. While The Discoverers told of the conquest of illusions - the illusion of knowledge - this will be a story of vision (and illusions) newly created..." If The Discoverers is the story of the inventive human mind then The Creators is the story of the searching soul. The work is in twelve major parts that have been grouped into four books.
Part I. "Worlds Without Beginning"
Part II. "A Creator God"
Part III. "The Power of the Stone"
Part IV. "The Magic of Images"
Part V. "The Immortal Word"
Part VI. "Otherworldly Elements"
Part VII. "The Human Comedy: A Composite Work"
Part VIII. "From Craftsman to Artist"
Part IX. "Composing for the Community"
Part X. "Conjuring with Time and Space"
Part XI: "The Vanguard Word"
Part XII. "The Wilderness Within"
The Creators was widely praised by both professional and non-professional readers but had its share of critics. It has been criticized for factual mistakes, poor research, literary ignorance, incorrect conclusions, a bias toward Western culture to the exclusion of other cultures, a tendency to overlook the negative and lack of attribution. Kenneth S. Lynn, a Harvard professor of history, accused Boorstin of philosophical bias and blatant myth-making. He has been called superficial because his works are popular with the general public.
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