NEW BOOKS
Much of The Archimedes Codex is delightful. The story of the palimpsest is exciting, and few can explain difficult issues in Greek mathe- matics with the simplicity and elegance that Netz achieves.
… I cannot recommend the book
The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil’s Search for Petroleum
in Postwar America Tyler Priest Texas A&M University Press John H. Lindsey Building Lewis Street 4354 TAMU College Station, Texas 77843 USA 2007. 336 pages. US $39.95 ISBN 1-58544-568-1
Drawing on multiple sources, including interviews with Shell retirees, the author describes the postwar evolution of Shell Oil Company, with particular emphasis on its pioneering efforts in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Contents: • The Americanization of Shell Oil • Testing the Waters • Betting on Technology
• The Trials and Triumphs of Exploration
• The End of Business as Usual • The Offshore Imperative
• Deepwater Treasures in a New Era of Oil
• Epilogue: The Globalization of Shell Oil
• Notes, Bibliography, Index The final result is a superb contri-
bution to the history of the industry. I have read many such books over the years. Most concentrate on the business developments and, in my opinion, do not give sufficient credit to the scientific and technological advances.… Priest’s book does give these breakthroughs the prominent role that they deserve.
The book is extremely well
researched and written, and, in fact, reads almost as quickly as the best novels.
Clark D: The Leading Edge 27, no. 5 (May 2008): 674.
The Archimedes Codex: How a Medieval Prayer Book Is Revealing the True Genius of
Antiquity’s Greatest Scientist Reviel Netz and William Noel Da Capo Press, Perseus Book Group 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 USA 2007. 313 pages. US $27.50 ISBN 978-0-306-81580-5
This book details the discovery of the lost works of Archimedes, the great Greek mathematician, as part of a palimpsest from a medieval prayer book created during the 13th century, and summarizes the mathematical discover- ies and theories that were found. A combination of archaeological detective story, science and history, the book tells the story of this lost manuscript, from its 10th-century creation in Constantinople to the auction block at Christie’s, and describes how a team of scholars used the latest imaging technology to reveal and decipher the original text.
Contents: • Archimedes in America • Archimedes in Syracuse
• The Great Race, Part 1: Before the Palimpsest
• Visual Science
• The Great Race, Part II: The History of the Palimpsest
• Archimedes’ Method, 1999, or The Making of Science
• The Critical Path
• Archimedes’ Method, 2001, or Infinity Unveiled
• The Digital Palimpsest
•The Stomachion, 2003, or Archimedes at Play
• New Light on an Old Subject
• Epilogue: “The Vast Book of the Universe”
• Acknowledgements, Further Reading, Index
without deep reservations. Both authors indulge everywhere in extravagance and occasionally even in melodrama. Some hyping, including the book’s title, is harmless journalism … but a discussion of the many harmful instances would exceed the space of a short review.
Mendell H: Physics Today 61, no. 5 (May 7, 2008): 55–56.
• The Worst Desert You Ever Saw • Into the Land of Gold • Contingent History • Glossary, References, Index
He does a truly outstanding job
explaining the underlying limitations placed on movement across the land by the rocks and geologic processes that formed those rocks…. The work is enhanced by his explanations of the underlying geology as well as the science behind the present understand- ing of the rocks—even including contending theories.
The inclusion of a glossary, a use-
ful index, and developed bibliographic notes for each chapter build this into a useful reference book as well as an interesting story.… A valuable book for geologists and for those interested in historical development of the US. … Highly recommended.
Green JW: Choice 45, no. 8 (April 2008): 1359.
Hard Road West: History and Geology Along the
Gold Rush Trail Keith Heyer Meldahl University of Chicago Press 1427 East 60th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 USA 2007. 352 pages. US $25.00 ISBN 0-226-51960-0
Taking readers along the 2,000-mile California Gold Rush Trail, the author uses the diaries and letters of the original settlers—as well as his own experience—to reveal how the geology and geography of the West directly affected US westward expansion.
Contents: • An American Journey • Between Winter’s Chill Brackets • Ascending the Plains
• Exhumed Mountains and Hungry Rivers
• Black Hills and Bent Rock • To the Backbone of the Continent • Cordilleran Upheaval • Most Godforsaken Country • The Bear and the Snake • A Breaking up of the World • Most Miserable River
Winter 2008/2009
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