Explorations is a book filled with insights. Although it is somewhat dated, having been written thirty years ago, the essays are well written and meaningful. Highet is a wonderful synthesizer of diverse facts. For example, Highet traces the meaning of words and how their meaning may change in the course of 100 years -- thus the term "tory" initially meant an Irish bandit or revolutionary determined to repulse English rule of Ireland -- and within 100 years became the label for those American colonists that supported King George!