Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950

Human Accomplishment is a sweeping cultural survey that reminiscent of Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence, offering a unique account of human excellence from Homer to our own time.

This book compiles inventories of 4,002 men and women from around the world, ranked according to their eminence in literature, music, art, philosophy, and the sciences.

Murray takes on controversial questions such as why accomplishment has been concentrated in Europe and among men, and presents evidence that the rate of great achievement has been declining in the last century.

This book provides tools for thinking about the conditions under which the human spirit has expressed itself most gloriously, offering a fascinating work that describes what humans at their best can achieve.