Book Description
A journey into the wonders of science from Joy Hakim, the best-selling author of A History of US.
The story of science is the story of some really interesting people who continuously question the world around them. In the first book of her three part Story of Science Joy Hakim invites readers of all ages to meet the forebearers of modern science—Thales, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Aristotle, Arab and Chinese thinkers, Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, and many others—and share in their exciting discoveries in astronomy, math, and physics. 300 color photographs, illustrations, and maps.
- Individual volumes in the series can be read as a set or individually
- Each book packed with 256 pages of thought-provoking ideas, math and science concepts, history and literature
- Character- and idea-driven narratives that read like an adventure story
- 300 illustrations in each book, including original art and contemporary photographs
- Sidebars highlight fascinating facts and ideas of related interest
- Call-outs define unfamiliar words and build vocabulary
- Suggestions for further reading on many topics
Customer Reviews:
Great in so many ways..........2007-09-08
I will organize my review into 4 parts: 1. What I was looking for, 2. The ideal audience for this book (just my opinion), 3. Strengths and weaknesses of this book, 4. Who could benefit by owning this book.
1. People of a certain age may remember the Time-Life series of science books. I especially loved the volumes devoted to physical science and math. Those books were written for kids in the upper grades but, in fact, the text was at an adult level. Even today, I enjoy actually reading them, not merely browsing, as the text is sophisticated enough to "pull me in". The photo essays were also magnificent: dramatic, human, entertaining and adult. I was looking for something like those, but of more recent vintage, when I came across "The Story of Science". Did I find it? No, not exactly. But I bought the book anyway. Read on.
2. This book is written for 5th-graders. Period. End of story. I will not negotiate that point. The evidence: words such as "ratio" and "circumnavigate" are defined for the reader. I clearly remember "ratio" being introduced in 5th grade. The other words which are defined are of similar level. Also, the book, while not thin, is built for small hands in terms of height and width. Finally, there is a general lack of sophisticated vocabulary and a peppering of the text with leading questions, meant to induce thinking. These are all hallmarks of a book written for children who are still rather small. The constant interruption of the narrative by questions would be annoying to an older child or adult. If your 7th-grader is still reading this book, you need to push her to move on; she will fall behind in reading skills. Trust me on this; I have taught alot of kids.
3. Weaknesses: None. This book is superb in every way.
Strengths: The text is well-written, lively, questioning, just like the topic it explores.
Words are defined, pronunciation is indicated.
There are numerous side-bars to explain even off-topic issues which have been briefly touched upon.
Example: the King James Bible is quoted at the beginning of chapter 1 (as are other mythological texts; this is not a narrow-minded book). Will a Junior High School student know who King James was? I hope so! An adult? Uh, if you have to ask.... But, normally, a 5th-grader will not. So, Ms. Hakim explains a bit about him in a side-bar. Very nice! It is this, "no stone left unturned" approach that makes this book so excellent.
The graphics are great to look at, informative, and add a delightful dimension. They are sophisticated enough to give this book an adult feel. Only the text, really, clues us in to the target audience.
4. Anyone can benefit by owning this book. I find the text too simple, and too frequently interrupted by simple-minded, kid-type questions, to be really engaging. It doesn't pull me in the way the Time-Life books still can. But, the text is certainly "browsable": read a bit, and then pore over the great, informative graphics and side-bars and, in general, just delight in the lively, colorful presentation of the material.
So, finally, I am still looking for those elusive updated versions of the Time-Life books. But, this book is great on its own level. Give it to a 10- or 11-year old and watch her take off! But, be wise. Unless your kid is remedial, snatch it away when they enter Junior High. Replace it with what? Well, you can always get the Time-Life books at an online auction. They will complete your child's science and literacy development to the intelligent High School level.
An excellent book, and even better read!.......2007-07-09
I typically don't go around recommending books, even good ones. However, this book is well worth the recommendation. It approaches the subject assuming the reader is interested and gets them even more into the subject. It covers math, technology, philosophy, language arts, and geography. Makes mention of art, poetry, exploration, socialization and other factors that influenced the thinking of the ancient thinkers.
It is recommended for K-8 but I have learned so much just by going through and making a lessonplan based on the book. One little problem, it is so interesting I keep reading and studying and the lessonplan is taking forever. LOL
Hats off to Hakim again,
Maeven6
Excellent in Parts but Marred by Anti-Christian Bias.......2007-03-18
As a homeschooler who follows the neo-Classical approach, I had high hopes that "The Story of Science" would be a valuable addition to our study of Ancient times. The first 21 chapters are a fascinating look at the scientific knowledge of ancient civilizations including the Sumerians, Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Ancient Chinese, and of course the Ancient Greeks. Ms. Hakim does an admirable job at explaining often complex topics in a comprehensible and entertaining way.
Unfortunately, the last 80 pages of the book covering the medieval period have a serious anti-Christian bias. For example, Ms. Hakim promotes the false story that St. Cyril had the Library of Alexandria burned, when in fact it was most likely done by a lawless mob of peasants that included both Christians and pagans. She also criticizes monastaries for "locking up" knowledge behind closed walls, when actually they were sanctuaries in a continent overrun by barbarians. She selectively quotes early Christians such as St. Augustine, St. Jerome, Tertullian, Lactantius, and Cosmas to portray them as backward and anti-intellectual while portraying Islamic, Jewish, and Chinese scholars in a completely positive manner. The great Christian intellectuals Sts. Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas are only portrayed positively because Ms. Hakim considers them to be "rebels" against the Church.
I would give 5 stars to the portion of the book covering the Ancient times but only 1 star to the portion of the book covering the medieval period. My advice to Christian homeschoolers wishing to use this book would be to stop on page 189 and skip the remainder.
Wonderful!!.......2006-10-01
I can't sing Hakim's praises enough - from her History of US series to the The Story of Science, all three volumes so far. I've been an avid science fan my whole life, but not a hard science major, and I gasped all the way through these books as I learned things I never knew, but thought I'd known, or finally understood things I'd known about but that had puzzled me. Get over the "distracting" sidebars - they didn't bother me at all and they were full of great stuff. I ate these books up and I was only reading them to preview for my homeschooler who hates math and is bored by science, but loves history. Joy Hakim has a wonderful ability to take a huge subject (all of US history, for instance, and the development and progress of scientific thought in this case) and make it manageable, new and a fun read. I have a new respect for Mathematics after reading this book. My daughter is discovering that science and math really are amazing and play a critical, pivotal role in the unfolding of human history.
Very insightful and a pleasure!.......2006-04-07
I enjoyed Hakim's Story of Us, so naturally i was looking forward to getting my hands on this series. I have enjoyed reading this book. I love how she shares what the different cultures beliefs were regarding different areas of science, and of course with time some of their ideas were proven wrong. I really learned through this book to appreciate Science for what it is . . . . a way of thinking, questioning, and testing. Its trying to understand ideas and concepts bigger than oneself. I've enjoyed the sidenotes- yes it does mean you have to turn the pages back on occasion to read it all but it is great. It's kind of like reading a magazine in that respect, with more than one story on a page. You read one and go back to the other. This is an interesting approach to science - learning the who, and why part of how. I recommend it highly.
Average customer rating:
- Check and see
- Suprise! Suprise!
- Prescient St Augustine?
- Something of a disappointment
- Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 2913621066 |
Product Description
`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.
Customer Reviews:
Check and see.......2007-06-21
I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.
Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22
Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.
Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05
We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:
a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;
b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;
c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.
Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:
It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.
- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.
- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.
Fomenko goes by the following axioms:
- Chronology is the basis of history;
- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;
- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;
- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;
- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;
- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.
Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?
The Russians:
Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.
The Westerners:
Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.
The Chinese:
Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.
The Arabs:
Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.
The Divinity:
Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.
According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.
St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."
Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09
After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.
However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:
- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.
I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.
The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.
It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?
Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.
Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30
If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?
Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.
Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..
Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.
Book Description
For all of you who break out in a sweat at the thought of thermodynamics, or freeze up at the mention of quantum mechanics, like a bolt from the blue, INSTANT PHYSICS will zap you through the fascinating history of our most basic, yet baffling, science.
From the thousand-year search for proof of the existence of the ever-elusive atom to the varied and heated arguments behind the big bang theory, INSTANT PHYSICS answers all the heavy questions with a light touch. You'll learn:
* How the Greek philosophers used the sledgehammer of mathematics to break apart the mysteries of the physical universe.
* Why gravity is a "romantic" force.
* How to tell the difference between a gluon, a meson, and a quark, even if you can't see them.
INSTANT PHYSICS is crammed with special features, including chapter summaries, who's who lists, biographical and historical tidbits, and a host of illustrations, photos, equations, diagrams, and drawings.
Customer Reviews:
An amusing, surprisingly complete introduction.......2004-01-04
This is a lot like other 'physics for beginners' books, with a few important differences. First, Tony Rothman is a good writer. He keeps the text light and fun. Exploring the secrets of matter and energy is easier when you have a sense of humor, and he knows it. Second, the basic facts appear at the beginning and end of each chapter for easy review. It's a convenient way to organize the book.
Third and finally, Rothman dives right into the mathematics of physics without apology. Sure, this stuff can boggle your mind if you don't have a head for it. But I'd rather have them there, in the book, so I can see them. I've read too many 'physics for beginners' books without any equations and I had no idea just how complex the math is. With this book, I can see that it's not THAT hard. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in physics. It's one of the better introductions to the subject.
Makes Physics a Joy to read to the layman.......2003-03-09
Do read this book. Even though it is a physics book, the author does not treat physics as a subject to be studied, pondered on, examined minutely- all of us carry the horror experiences from school and college classes. I picked this book after leafing through the foreword, where the author TonyRothman strikes an immediate chord with the reader. This is no ordinary physics book- the language is simple, the style humorous, the author very understanding and having a knack not to push things too hard.
The book is an overview of the subject of physics. It charters the birth and growth of physics , from the greek times to the post-einstein period. Unlike other general books, the author sticks to the subject without going off in tangent on irrelevant issues. So, the book is not hefty. It's around 200 pages of neat print.
The author tackles all the important theories of Physics in a fun and engaging manner. Newton's laws, Kepler's laws, Laws of thermodynamics, Electromagnetic laws, Einstein's theory of special relativity, atomic structure, Blackbody radition , photoelectric effect, Quantum mechanics, E=mc2; Wave theory, Light duality, Uncertainity principle, Einstein's general theory of relativity.
It's an amazing effort, since the book is addressed to the layman with little knowledge of physics.
I am no physics buff. I read this book by serendipity and could never put it down. I strongly recommend this book. My only regret is that i should have got this book during my school years. Giving this as a gift to the teens in the house would be a wonderful idea too.
In Honor of IndiAndy's Part One Review.......2002-09-20
Part Two:
Here are a few features of the format:
1. Each chapter has an attention grabbing box titled `YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS' - the first one states, `Don't memorize, understand'.
2. Throughout each chapter, there are these beautifully succinct little indented notes. For example the, `GUIDING PRINCIPLE: To know physics is to do physics.' and `PRINCIPLE OF LITERARY OVERSIGHT: textbooks may be straightforward and succinct, but the path of science is crooked and tortuous.'
3. Key words are highlighted in bold text throughout the book to grab your attention along with slapstick or sit-com pronouncements like `THE YOUNG AND THE RADIOACTIVE' and `PHOTOEFFECT OPENS SUPERMARKET DOORS AND CONFIRMS THE QUANTUM HYPOTHESIS' just to give you an occasional chuckle
4. There is a `Who's Who' box in each chapter which humorously highlights the historical principle players in physics (This book is not just a history of the physics & the men & women who made it.)
5. There are a few photographs, some good diagrams to convey important visual illustrations and cute (ok mostly silly) little cartoons help break up the seriousness of the subject. This book never takes itself too seriously. A humble virtue that he deeply admires!
6. There are a series of `math lite' demonstrations interspersed throughout the text appropriately labeled, `DEMO' which the author assures you will only require high-school algebra (he says that, "We use nothing more than addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division--promise! (well, maybe the occasional taking of a square root...))" This scared IndiAndy a little because he's borderline incompetent in some of the intermediate algebra mathematics. Nevertheless, he need not worried, the demos are not required to get the concepts. He subsequently went over some of the demos when he read the book a second time and they were, as promised, relatively `lite'.
7. There are a few of these amusing `COCKTAIL PARTY CONVERSATIONS' which consist of a funny but pointed dialog between You and a Physicist.
8. At the end of each chapter is yet another cool box titled, `ESOTERIC TERMS' and a summary of the key words, definitions, and key concepts you should glean form the generous text.
Here is the Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION (LESSONS FROM PHYSICS), PROLOGUE (SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANSESTORS: It's All Greek to Me), CHAPTER 1 (TOWARDS A CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE: Putting the Earth in Its Place), CHAPTER 2 (THE ELUSIVE ATOM: I've Got Gas), CHAPTER 3 (THE ENERGY CRISIS: Scientists in Heat), CHAPTER 4 (ELECTROMAGNATISM: A Current Affair), CHAPTER 5 (SPECIAL RELATIVITY: Einstein Sees the Light), CHAPTER 6 (INSIDE THE NUCLEUS: Curies and Curiouser), CHAPTER7 (QUANTUM MECHANICS: Physics Walks the Planck), CHAPTER 8 (DIVERSITY AND UNITY: Stirring the Particle Soup), CHAPTER 9 (GENERAL RELATIVITY AND COSMOLOGY: Gravity's Big Draw), CHAPTER 10 (THE END).
This review cannot do the book justice, but if you think that you might like what you see and you are a little bit like IndiAndy (scary thought!) just pick up a copy, read the introduction, and then decide if you can avoid being hooked! You may not enjoy this if we do not share the same sense of edutainment. IndiAndy's capable of suspending stuffy & cynical contempt for a humorous treatment of such a serious subject such that he can maximize his enjoyment while he learns. If you too can pull this off then he's confident you'll grow to love this little gem! Don't just take his word for it. Read the other reviews of the book as well to figure out for yourself if you might like it.
This was the first science book he could recall exposing himself to willingly. Ever since he has come across this book, he's begun boldly exploring the uncharted seas of his ignorance in the physical sciences with a curious sense of adventure... Thank you Tony!
Please take a moment to investigate IndiAndy's Amazon `about IndiAndy page by clicking the `IndiAndy (see more about IndiAndy)' link above. Look around for more friendly books geared towards the mere mortal by looking for his `Friendly Physics' Listmania List.
Drop him a line and tell him what you think.
Thanks! Friends of IndiAndy
Relax, surrender your stuffy contempt and enjoy it! (part 1).......2001-07-20
Instant Physics: Years ago I was browsing through the science section of my favorite bookstore when I opened this book casually leafing around it's pages when I came across the first sentence which begins the Introduction, "If you are a potential victim of this book, leafing through its pages while obstructing traffic in the science isle of your favorite bookstore, there is a good chance you took a physics course in the vanished days of your youth". What a cowinkydink huh? He goes on, "Perhaps you now want a refresher or perhaps, feeling guilty at your ignorance of the central role played by science in modern society, you merely wish to become a more cultured individual. In any case your knowledge of physics is inexcusably weak and, if you have indeed been exposed to the subject before, you probably regard the word `physics' as synonymous with `plague,' as in `to be avoided like the'." OK, I'm hooked! I flipped back to the dedication which almost makes me cry out in joy, "To my students, known and unknown. The known, who demonstrate with crushing directness that it is impossible to be too clear. The unknown, who suffer in silence." I believe that he is addressing myself: I am an unknown student who silently yearns for information that would be presented clearly, accessibly; information that I can process into comprehension. I have yet to take a formal Physics course at a college or university (members only please). I love being surprised! (Don't you?) Dr. Rothman delivers this humble students unsolicited silent plea for attention grabbing/attention keeping material in this succinct & concise presentation of the salient principles of the physical sciences. His wit, humor and sensitivity for the readers comfort over the hurdles of a seemingly steep learning curve are woven into the fabric of each page keeping the audience stimulated and giving you a sense that he wants you to participate in the great gift of learning. In the beginning of the book lies his statement of goals, "...the goal of this book cannot be to give you a working knowledge of physics.... the more modest goal of Instant Physics is to give you an idea of why physicists believe what they believe and to train you to use this sacred knowledge in the war against the infidel." (continued in part two)
Physics That Are Fun.......2000-12-01
I don't understand physics very well. After reading this book, I think I understand physics better. It can be a difficult topic and Mr. Rothman's presentation was very clear, easy to follow, and fun. He has a good sense of humor which moves the book along and makes it much more enjoyable to read.
In particular, in Instant Physics, Mr. Rothman covers a history of physics from the Ancient Greeks to the Modern World. In Greece, Mr. Rothman details the mistakes they made, and the great breakthroughs. He also takes the time to explain a little bit about the people who made these breakthroughs, and the events around them. Basically the world we come from influences how we view the Universe. Without changes in our world, many of the changes and advances in physics would not have happened. Mr. Rothman has written a good book, which explains physics well.
Book Description
Space, Time, Matter, and Form collects ten of David Bostock's essays on themes from Aristotle's Physics, four of them published here for the first time. The first five papers look at issues raised in the first two books of the Physics, centred on notions of matter and form, and the idea of substance as what persists through change. They also range over other of Aristotle's scientific works, such as his biology and psychology and the account of change in his De Generatione et Corruptione. The volume's remaining essays examine themes in later books of the Physics, including infinity, place, time, and continuity. Bostock argues that Aristotle's views on these topics are of real interest in their own right, independent of his notions of substance, form, and matter; they also raise some pressing problems of interpretation, which these essays seek to resolve.
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Physics (Oxford University Press Academic Monograph Reprints)
Aristotle
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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ASIN: 0198141092 |
Book Description
Advance Praise for Gravity's Arc
"A beautifully written exposition of the still mysterious force that holds our universe together--and the even more mysterious dark twin that may blow it apart."
--Joshua Gilder, coauthor of Heavenly Intrigue
"A lucid book as up-to-date as the effect of gravity on the bones of astronauts."
--Denis Brian, author of The Unexpected Einstein
How did they do it?
How did one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived retard the study of gravity for 2,000 years? How did a gluttonous tyrant with a gold nose revolutionize our view of the solar system? How could an eccentric professor shake the foundations of an entire belief system by dropping two objects from a tower? How did a falling apple turn the thoughts of a reclusive genius toward the moon? And how could a simple patent clerk change our entire view of the universe by imagining himself riding on a beam of light?
In Gravity's Arc, you'll discover how some of the most colorful, eccentric, and brilliant people in history first locked, then unlocked the door to understanding one of nature's most essential forces. You'll find out why Aristotle's misguided conclusions about gravity became an unassailable part of Christian dogma, how Galileo slowed down time to determine how fast objects fall, and why Isaac Newton erased every mention of one man's name from his magnum opus Principia. You'll also figure out what Einstein meant when he insisted that space is curved, whether there is really such a thing as antigravity, and why some scientists think that the best way to get to outer space is by taking an elevator.
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive and easy to read........2007-02-15
Needed a book on the history of gravity and this book did well.
In the book Gravity's Arc, I found the way the relationship between the Catholic Church and the scientific community, during the middle ages, was conveyed as offensive and biased. "As Europe plunged into the Dark Ages, the only body of knowledge that was tolerated was the sterile, unchanging dogma approved by the Church. It's hard to imagine the utter rigidity of life and thought in those barren times..." (Darling 30). Because the Church had so much responsibility in every aspect of life at the time it had to be very careful about what it deemed right or not. "The Church, sensitive to Protestant charges that the Catholics did not pay proper regard to the Bible, hesitated to permit the suggestion that the literal meaning of scripture--which at times appeared to imply a motionless earth--should be set aside in order to accommodate an unproven scientific theory" (Woods 72). When Galileo began to spread the Copernican theory, this "singular and sterile body of knowledge" told Galileo "that he must cease to teach the Copernican theory as true, though he remained free to treat it as a hypothesis" (Woods 73). St. Albert the Great recognized the value in science, "The sublimest wisdom of which the world could boast flourished in Greece. Even as the Jews knew God by the scriptures, so the pagan philosophers knew Him by the natural wisdom of reason, and were debtors to Him for it by their homage. (Guillen 30).
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On Aristotle's Physics 2 (Ancient Commentators on Aristotle)
Simplicius
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
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ASIN: 0801432839 |
Customer Reviews:
The only good translation.......2006-08-30
Aristotle's Physics is one of the least studied "great books"--physics has come to mean something entirely different than Aristotle's inquiry into nature, and stereotyped Medieval interpretations have buried the original text. Sach's translation is really the only one that I know of that attempts to take the reader back to the text itself.
I do have a few quibbles, mostly with the presentation. The line numbers are buried in the text, rather than set off in the margins, which is annoying. The typeface is difficult and too closely packed. The cover is one of the ugliest ever produced. The book is too expensive, given the quality.
If you are going to study or teach the Physics in English, however, this is absolutely the edition you should use.
Line Number Problem.......2006-07-26
I have used Sachs' translation of the Nichomachean ethics and found it helpful, so I will not criticize Sachs' translation technique here. Unfortunately though I could not use this edition of the physics for one simple reason. The line numbers are not in the margines but imbeded in the text, and not bolded. This made it very difficult to use in the semenar style discussions of St. John's College (ironically the college that Sach's is a professor at). So I stopped using it emediately and opted for the complete works version so I could participate in semenar discussions. I would like to give Sachs' translation of the physics a chance but the lack of clear line numbers in this edition is a serious problem for me.
I gave up on this clunky translation.......2006-07-02
Wanting to read Aristotle's "Physics", I started off with the translation in Richard McKeon's collection "Basic Works of Aristotle", I don't remember the translator, but it is easy to find out, it was one of the standard old-time British classicists. Finding it stilted, and having read about the supposed virtues of Joe Sachs' "authentic" translation, I bought the book. I used it for a while, but found his bizarre literalism to be be far more opaque and clumsy than the older effort in the McKeon book. If Joe Sachs' Aristotle is the real thing, why bother?
Finally, I got ahold of the Wicksteed/Cornford translation in the Harvard "Loeb Classics" series. I found this to be a nice literary effort, with real grace, and also a lot of notes on difficult or ambiguous passages. It's not true that the old-timers had buried the real Aristotle under layers of maladapted Latinisms, and that Joe Sachs has recovered the "real" Aristotle. To the contrary: his bizarre malapropisms make it very difficult to follow what Aristotle was saying -- which is hard enough in a lot of places, probably in part because these were lecture notes, not a finished literary work, and probably corrupted over time in various places. So, try the Joe Sachs translation, if you like it, fine. To me, it's a cult item, even if it has some interest. I haven't tried every translation, I don't pretend to be any kind of Aristotle scholar, but for my money, the Loeb edition is the best.
Having several translations available certainly helps, there are plenty of places in Aristotle's Physics that should leave you scratching your head, a look at another translation sometimes helps clear things up.
A new, helpful translation.......2002-02-25
Sachs' translations of Aristotle (I have read his Physics, Metaphysics, and On the Soul) are wonderful in a number of ways: he eschews traditional translations of key words for more descriptive ones (case in point: "entelecheia" is often translated as "actuality," but his "being-at-work-staying-itself" gets to the heart of Aristotle's meaning), he provides plenty of helpful features, such as a large glossary and commentaries, and the books are well-organized and geared toward the student who needs to be able to find a place in the text quickly.
Unfortunately, one of the great benefits of Sachs' translation method is also one of its downfalls: "Being-at-work-staying-itself" may get the idea across, but it just doesn't read well in English. Reading Aristotle in Sachs' translation is rewarding, but cumbersome. I would recommend reading Sachs alongside Apostle or the Loeb edition to get an addditional perpective on the text, and also to alert you to the terms that, although misleading, form the framework of later Aristotelian thought.
Aristotle rides again.......1999-03-24
Sachs is king. When will other translators realize that their writing is not better than masters like Aristotle. Sachs is going to run those hacks out of business. There is interpretation here (it's very good) but Sachs has the decency to keep his thoughts to the side and out of Aristotle's way. Thank you for introducing this genius to the English speaking world, Mr. Sachs.
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Oxford Physics in the 13th Century: (Ca. 1250-1270) : Motion, Infinity, Place and Time (Studien Und Texte Zur Geistesgeschichte Des Mittelalters)
Cecilia Trifogli
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
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ASIN: 9004116575 |
Book Description
For many centuries, Aristotle's Physics was the essential starting point for anyone who wished to study the natural sciences This book begins with an analysis of change, which introduces us to Aristotle's central concepts of matter and form, before moving on to an account of explanation in the sciences and a defence of teleological explanation. Aristotle then turns to detailed, important, and often ingenious discussions of notions such as infinity, place, void, time, and conintuity. He ends with an argument designed to show that the changes we experience in the world demand as their cause a single unchanging cause of all change, namely God. This is the first complete translation of Physics into English since 1930. It presents Aristotle's thought accurately, while at the same time simplifying and expanding the often crabbed and elliptical style of the original, so that it is very much easier to read. A lucid introduction and extensive notes explain the general structure of each section of the book and shed light on particular problems.
Download Description
Again, does it follow that Being, if one, is motionless? Why should it not move, the whole of it within itself, as parts of it do which are unities, e.g. this water? Again, why is qualitative change impossible? But, further, Being cannot be one in form, though it may be in what it is made of. (Even some of the physicists hold it to be one in the latter way, though not in the former.) Man obviously differs from horse in form, and contraries from each other.
Customer Reviews:
Readable Aristotle is not an oxymoron........2007-07-05
I found this translation easier to read than other translations of Aristotle. It is much easier to unpack and follow, only the content needs to be wrestled with, which is a project in and of itself. It includes the Becker numbers, which makes it easier to have a discussion with a group.
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