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| The Entertainment Review |
| By: Reviel Netz & William Noel Publisher: Da Capo Press |
Archimedes was one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, but most of his writings have been lost. There have
been medieval translations of a few of his works, but nothing original. In 1998, a unique book went up for auction in
New York, a 13th century prayer book, handwritten by a monk. However, under the words that this monk copied were
the words of Archimedes in their original Greek. “The Archimedes Codex” by Reviel Netz and William Noel tells the
story of the purchase of this codex, and the nine year, and ongoing attempt to get as much of the original text from
this document as possible. It’s a fascinating work, alternating between the histories of the codex and revealing what
the codex says.
Noel works as the curator of manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. When a wealthy man
bought the Codex, he ended up taking it to Walters for study. He has paid for the entire operation, and Noel has
been the project director for this task. Netz is a well-known mathematician who has taken part in this analysis and has
been able to bring mathematical understanding to what the text has revealed. The book is told in alternating
chapters, first by Noel and then by Netz, which is a bit confusing in the first couple of chapters, where it isn’t clear that
they’re writing the book this way. Noel gives the history of the Codex and the attempts to use imaging technology and
other methods to read the text underneath the monk’s written text. Netz then explains some of the mathematics and
why the revealed text is so fascinating.
Along with the history of the Codex, Noel provides a detailed account of the process put in place to reveal the hidden
secrets of the Codex. This is impressive by itself, with numerous people contributing a lot of time and effort into
imaging the text and coming up with ideas on how to make the text clearer and easier to read. Readers see the
setbacks and disappointments of this task, the points where Noel thought they wouldn’t be able to move forward.
Noel’s passion for the Codex comes through almost as much as Netz’s does, but Noel delves more into the problems
that he had to deal with.
The contributions of both authors make “The Archimedes Codex” what it is. While the math part can get a little
boring at times, overall the topic is fairly fascinating. Both Netz and Noel are able to entice the reader to follow them
on their unknown trail, whether it is mathematical or historical. Roughly a century ago one man translated as much
as possible of what was written on the Codex, but the imaging process being done currently has revealed the
translation had many errors.
This book is a must have for any math fanatics, but it is also good for those with a more historical obsession.
Readers are able to get past the math with relative ease and enjoy a historical search for the roots of book written
over a thousand years ago. Whichever way readers go, they can’t go wrong with “The Archimedes Codex .”
been medieval translations of a few of his works, but nothing original. In 1998, a unique book went up for auction in
New York, a 13th century prayer book, handwritten by a monk. However, under the words that this monk copied were
the words of Archimedes in their original Greek. “The Archimedes Codex” by Reviel Netz and William Noel tells the
story of the purchase of this codex, and the nine year, and ongoing attempt to get as much of the original text from
this document as possible. It’s a fascinating work, alternating between the histories of the codex and revealing what
the codex says.
Noel works as the curator of manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. When a wealthy man
bought the Codex, he ended up taking it to Walters for study. He has paid for the entire operation, and Noel has
been the project director for this task. Netz is a well-known mathematician who has taken part in this analysis and has
been able to bring mathematical understanding to what the text has revealed. The book is told in alternating
chapters, first by Noel and then by Netz, which is a bit confusing in the first couple of chapters, where it isn’t clear that
they’re writing the book this way. Noel gives the history of the Codex and the attempts to use imaging technology and
other methods to read the text underneath the monk’s written text. Netz then explains some of the mathematics and
why the revealed text is so fascinating.
Along with the history of the Codex, Noel provides a detailed account of the process put in place to reveal the hidden
secrets of the Codex. This is impressive by itself, with numerous people contributing a lot of time and effort into
imaging the text and coming up with ideas on how to make the text clearer and easier to read. Readers see the
setbacks and disappointments of this task, the points where Noel thought they wouldn’t be able to move forward.
Noel’s passion for the Codex comes through almost as much as Netz’s does, but Noel delves more into the problems
that he had to deal with.
The contributions of both authors make “The Archimedes Codex” what it is. While the math part can get a little
boring at times, overall the topic is fairly fascinating. Both Netz and Noel are able to entice the reader to follow them
on their unknown trail, whether it is mathematical or historical. Roughly a century ago one man translated as much
as possible of what was written on the Codex, but the imaging process being done currently has revealed the
translation had many errors.
This book is a must have for any math fanatics, but it is also good for those with a more historical obsession.
Readers are able to get past the math with relative ease and enjoy a historical search for the roots of book written
over a thousand years ago. Whichever way readers go, they can’t go wrong with “The Archimedes Codex .”
