Favorite book of a lifetime

(in the category: nonfiction but not in my own field) I recently re-read a book that I first read almost 30 years ago, which I have remembered ever since as perhaps the best book I ever read.

Re-reading after 30 years is a severe test. Many other books that the younger me liked have failed this test -- either because they are dated or because I've changed.

This book passed the test. The only blemish was a bad but short section on economics in the 20th century.

The book is a marvelously readable account of the history of discovery, both geographic and scientific.

The book is The Discoverers, by Daniel Boorstin, the Librarian of Congress from 1975 to 1987, first published in 1983.