Syntopicon
#2147 of 2,654 all-time
Syntopicon
Mortimer J. Adler
3 people recommended it in 3 threads, 2016–2023.
What people on Hacker News said
Besides these books he picked 102 "Great Ideas", wrote an essay on each one, cross indexed the ideas through the "Great Books", and published the essays as the two volume "Syntopicon".
All the same, The Syntopicon, I feel, is up there with the first Dictionary or Encyclopedia. A titanic effort that helps synthesize the world into a manageable tome.
The depth and breadth is amazing and the way he links his 'great ideas' makes traversing the entire history of western thought easy, especially with modern tools.
But, my lord, if you get the ducks lined up in a row, the Syntopicon is an amazing piece of work.
Where it comes up
- St. John’s Reading List: A Great Books Curriculum 2023 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before? 2020 · 1 recommendation
- Alan Kay's reading list 2016 · 1 recommendation