Eureka Man: The Life and Legacy of Archimedes Review

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(More customer reviews)This is really like two different books in one. The first part, that covers the math of Archimedes and his other accomplishments, is rather dry and the author almost seems bored by it. The second part, which focuses on the Archimedes Palimpsest (also covered in a recent book titled the Archimedes Codex), feels as if it were written by a different author, someone who was genuinely excited about his subject and is expressing that in his writing style. So if you find yourself getting bogged down in part I, at least give part II a try before giving up entirely.

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The Printing Press as an Agent of Change (Volumes 1 and 2 in One) Review

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(More customer reviews)We have come to forget that the introduction of the printing press by Gutenberg mattered, or we have come to assume that it directly led to the Protestant Reformation. Eisenstein wondered how true that was, and what other changes the press wrought in European society in the couple of hundred years after the press was introduced. Start with the concept of authorship--once books could be reproduced in quantity, authorship mattered. Then consider the question of alphabetization and indexing. Then think of what happens when travel writers describe native dress--people start believing the books and variations become more extreme to meet the printed word. That's just the beginning. Eisenstein's book is not just an incredible work, well written, about the effect on our culture of the printing press. It is also the sort of book that makes one realize how unimaginable and vast the influence of any invention can have on a society. This book is critical for media studies, history, printing, typography, just to better understand our own society, or for the pleasure of a good, thorough, read.

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The Ancient Near Eastern World (World in Ancient Times) Review

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(More customer reviews)A mark of the best academic writers is their ability to distil large amounts of learning into chunks digestible for mere mortals - or in this case, younger readers. Professor Podany and Ms McGee have done precisely that for the fascinating ancient Middle East, whence came so many discoveries and ideas that survive from 5,000 years ago to modern times - the wheel, measurement of time in base 60 (seconds and minutes), writing, mathematics...and so the list goes on. I bought this book as an introduction for me and - hopefully - an inspiration for my children. This eminently readable book has yet to be submitted to the second test but has passed the first with flying colours, as I am now not only more knowledgeable but have more insight into the region, as well as being inspired to find out more. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in finding out more about an influential and formative period in our shared history.

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The Archimedes Codex: How a Medieval Prayer Book Is Revealing the True Genius of Antiquity's Greatest Scientist Review

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(More customer reviews)Reviel Netz and William Noel have given us a well written, immensely informative and hugely entertaining glimpse into the world of Archimedes, mathematical thinking, antiquarian book collecting, manuscript conservation and, above all, puzzle solving. Puzzle solving that is dependent on the mind-boggling expertise of linguists, classicists, mathematicians, chemists, computer scientists and imaging experts.
Mr. B, the anonymous but known purchaser of what remains of Codex C and the underwriter of the conservation and interpretative work, clearly needs to be recognized for his huge and essential financial contribution.
Does anyone know who Mr. B is?
The alternating chapters on the history and restoration of the manuscript and its mathematical content works wonderfully. Reviel Netz does a great job explaining the geometry and the significance of Archimedes' thought experiments.

The one minor issue I have is the tendency for overstatement. Netz may well be right that nobody before Archimedes (and even Newton) had the same type of thoughts - but the reality is that given the destruction of so many early manuscripts, we simply do not know. I also am less sure than Prof. Netz that Archimedes, the builder of catapaults and other engineering devices and an astronomer, didn't use the physical world to ground his mathematical ideas - thereby accounting for some of his brilliant mathematical ideas. For example, it is not hard to imagine that Archimedes might have been using his geometry to create a heliocentric model - why else the deep interest in parabolas? But then Prof. Netz like all good educators has motivated me to find other expositions of Archimedes and his science.
Regardless, this is a wonderful book, profusely illustrated with both color photographs and diagrams. The authors are also very gracious in acknowledging the work of literally dozens of experts. It will undoubtely inspire a host of fiction writers.

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