Overview

At a Christies auction in October 1998, a battered medieval manuscript sold for two million dollars to an anonymous bidder, who then turned it over to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore for further study. The manuscript was a palimpsest-a book made from an earlier codex whose script had been scraped off and the pages used again. Behind the script of the thirteenth-century monks prayer book, the palimpsest revealed the faint writing of a much older, tenth-century manuscript. Part archaeological detective story, part science, and part history, The Archimedes Codex tells the extraordinary story of this lost manuscript, from its tenth-century creation in Constantinople to the auction block at Christies, and how a team of scholars used the latest imaging technology to reveal and decipher the original text. What they found was the earliest surviving manuscript by Archimedes (287 b. c. -212 b. c. ), the greatest mathematician of antiquity-a manuscript that revealed, for the first time, the full range of his mathematical genius, which was two thousand years ahead of modern science.

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9780306815805

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Physics Today <br> [Reviel Netz is] one of the most creative historians of mathematics of our time...[Will Noel] narrates with some verve his own story in learning about the palimpsest...Much of The Archimedes Codex is delightful. The story of the palimpsest is exciting, and few can explain difficult issues in Greek mathematics with the simplicity and elegance that Netz achieves...A fun read. <br> Mathematics and Computer Education <br> [A] crystal clear and captivating narrative. It is a book that is difficult to put down...An absolutely wonderful book...It will inspire future geometers, physicists, computer scientists, curators, and classicists. <br> Science Books & Films, 8/08<br> The fascinating story of how the secrets of this work have been unlocked. <br> Mathematics Teacher, 11/08<br> Accessible to a general audience...A valuable resource for instructors teaching a history of mathematics course. <br> Toronto Globe and Mail, 1/31/09<br> [An] archeological detective story...Fascinating. <br> <p>Blogcritics.org, 2/10/09<br> A very interesting book, quite entertaining, sometimes funny, always engaging...A great treat for mystery lovers, classicists, mathematicians, and history buffs. <br> <p><br> American Author's Association<br> [A] wonderful book...This is not just a math book or a science book or a history book--it is a book of mysteries and so much more...A most fascinating tale... Entertaining, yet educational and inspiring...This book made math exciting!

Physics Today [Reviel Netz is] one of the most creative historians of mathematics of our time...[Will Noel] narrates with some verve his own story in learning about the palimpsest...Much of The Archimedes Codex is delightful. The story of the palimpsest is exciting, and few can explain difficult issues in Greek mathematics with the simplicity and elegance that Netz achieves...A fun read. Mathematics and Computer Education [A] crystal clear and captivating narrative. It is a book that is difficult to put down...An absolutely wonderful book...It will inspire future geometers, physicists, computer scientists, curators, and classicists. Science Books & Films, 8/08 The fascinating story of how the secrets of this work have been unlocked. Mathematics Teacher, 11/08 Accessible to a general audience...A valuable resource for instructors teaching a history of mathematics course. Toronto Globe and Mail, 1/31/09 [An] archeological detective story...Fascinating. Blogcritics.org, 2/10/09 A very interesting book, quite entertaining, sometimes funny, always engaging...A great treat for mystery lovers, classicists, mathematicians, and history buffs. American Author's Association [A] wonderful book...This is not just a math book or a science book or a history book--it is a book of mysteries and so much more...A most fascinating tale... Entertaining, yet educational and inspiring...This book made math exciting! Isis, 5/6/09 Offers fascinating insight into modern research on ancient mathematical texts.

<b><i>Physics Today</i></b> [Reviel Netz is] one of the most creative historians of mathematics of our time...[Will Noel] narrates with some verve his own story in learning about the palimpsest...Much of <i>The Archimedes Codex</i> is delightful. The story of the palimpsest is exciting, and few can explain difficult issues in Greek mathematics with the simplicity and elegance that Netz achieves...A fun read. <b><i>Mathematics and Computer Education</i></b> [A] crystal clear and captivating narrative. It is a book that is difficult to put down...An absolutely wonderful book...It will inspire future geometers, physicists, computer scientists, curators, and classicists. <b><i>Science Books & Films</i>, 8/08</b> The fascinating story of how the secrets of this work have been unlocked. <b><i>Mathematics Teacher</i>, 11/08</b> Accessible to a general audience...A valuable resource for instructors teaching a history of mathematics course. <b><i>Toronto Globe and Mail</i>, 1/31/09</b> [An] archeological detective story...Fascinating. <b>Blogcritics.org, 2/10/09</b> A very interesting book, quite entertaining, sometimes funny, always engaging...A great treat for mystery lovers, classicists, mathematicians, and history buffs.

The unraveling of a scientific treasure hidden in the pages of a decaying palimpsest.Noel, curator of documents at the Walters Art Institute in Baltimore, obtained custody of a medieval prayer book that had been copied onto parchment that contained the erased remnants of several unique texts by the greatest of Greek scientists, Archimedes. The owner, Mr. B, not only gave the Walters the right to display it, but the task of learning what mathematical treasures some medieval scribe had written over. To help in that task, he enlisted the aid of Netz, a leading expert on ancient mathematics. Thus began the process of recovering Archimedes' text, letter by letter, from the palimpsest. The difficulty of that task was multiplied by the fragility of the parchment, as well as clumsy efforts by previous owners to preserve it or to increase its value by inserting forged illustrations. Noel called in experts in high-tech imaging to apply sensitive but non-destructive methods. After a number of false starts, they began to uncover text that Noel could read - and he rapidly discovered that Archimedes had far more sophisticated mathematical ideas than previously thought, including a use of infinities that wouldn't reappear until the invention of calculus. Even more surprising was a previously enigmatic treatise, the Stomatichon, which turned out to deal with the science of combinations - a topic historians thought had been unexplored before the 17th century. Netz and Noel alternate chapters, each shedding light on his own area of expertise and giving a fuller picture of both ancient science and modern technology. In the end, the reader is likely to agree with Netz that Archimedes was among the greatest scientists of all time.Stimulating exploration of several areas of science. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Reviel Netz, Professor of Classics and Philosophy at Stanford University, specializes in ancient science. William Noel is Curator of Manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, and Director of the Archimedes Palimpsest Project.

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