MAN, THE UNKNOWN MAN / DOES NOT STAND ALONE
By Alexis Carrel

Man, the Unknown: This classic work speaks to the need of a better knowledge of man. A man of science endeavors to describe the known and to separate it clearly from the plausible; to recognize the existence of the unknown and the unknowable. The immense information on human beings available now prevents us from using it properly. Knowledge must be synthetic and concise and the book intends to build up an intelligible synthesis and describes a large number of fundamental facts in a very simple manner, without being elementary and indulging in scientific popularization. Both for the scholar and the layman, the book presents an ensemble of scientific data concerning the human beings of our time. We are beginning to realize the weakness of our civilization and want to shake off the dogmas imposed upon us by modern society. This book is for those who are bold enough to understand the necessity, not only of mental, political, and social changes, but of the overthrow of industrial civilization and of the advent of another conception of human progress. Man Does Not Stand Alone: attempts a review of the scientific evidence of the existence of a Supreme Intelligence, and the title was chosen as a challenge to the conclusion of Julian Huxley in his book Man Stands Alone because some of the followers of Darwin had carried his deductions to the extreme of materialistic atheism while those who believed in a Supreme Intelligence and a purpose in all things took the other extreme and denied the facts of evolution though such vigorous positions were hardly needed be taken for science now has brought to light facts which go far to remove the apparent differences and enlighten both. This book, written for the average person, deals accurately with many serious yet startling facts of nature, it has all the elements of an adventure in wonderland. It is the work of a scientist, and unfolds an almost unbelievable range of scientific information for so small a volume, but this need not frighten the reader because it is full of surprises that seem to spring out of the commonplace and lead to wonderment and delight.