Cleopatra's Nose

by Boorstin, Daniel J.; Boorstin, Ruth Frankel

• ISBN13: 9780679435051
• ISBN10: 0679435050
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-11-01
• Publisher: Random House Inc

Summary

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Discoverers demonstrates the truth behind the aphorism that if Cleopatra's nose had been shorter, the face of the world would have been changed. Boorstin goes on to uncover the elements of accident, improvisation and contradiction at the core of American institutions and beliefs. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Author Biography

Daniel J. Boorstin taught American history for twenty-five years at the University of Chicago, was director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and, most recently, for twelve years served as the Librarian of Congress.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Realms of Discovery
The Age of Negative Discovery	p. 3
The Cultures of Pride and Awe	p. 18
An Odd Couple: Discoverers and Inventors	p. 31
Trials of Conscience
The Writer as Conscience of the World	p. 41
Our Conscience-Wracked Nation	p. 53
New-World Opportunities
Printing and the Constitution	p. 63
Roles of the President's House	p. 74
The Making of a Capitol	p. 86
An Un-American Capital	p. 97
The Cautionary Science
Tocqueville's America	p. 107
Custine's Russia	p. 113
The Fourth Kingdom
Darwinian Expectations	p. 125
Statistical Expectations	p. 141
Artificial Selection	p. 158
The Great Separation	p. 170
A Personal Postscript
My Father, Lawyer Sam Boorstin	p. 181
Land of the Unexpected	p. 191
Acknowledgments	p. 201
Index	p. 203
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.