The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus - Hardcover

Gingerich, Owen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802714153 ISBN 13: 9780802714152

Publisher: Walker & Co, 2004

Synopsis

In the spring of 1543 as the celebrated astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, lay on his death bed, his fellow clerics brought him a long-awaited package: the final printed pages of the book he had worked on for many years: De revolutionibus (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). Though Copernicus would not live to hear of its extraordinary impact, his book, which first suggested that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe, is today recognized as one of the most influential scientific works of all time—thanks in part to astrophysicist Owen Gingerich.

Four and a half centuries after its initial publication, Gingerich embarked on an epic quest to see in person all extant copies of the first and second editions of De revolutionibus. He was inspired by two contradictory pieces of information: Arthur Koestler's claim, in his bookThe Sleepwalkers, that nobody had read Copernicus's book when it was published; and Gingerich's discovery, in Edinburgh, of a first edition richly annotated in the margins by the leading teacher of astronomy in Europe in the 1540s. If one copy had been so quickly appreciated, Gingerich reasoned, perhaps others were as well—and perhaps they could throw new light on a hinge point in the history of astronomy.

After three decades of investigation, and after traveling hundreds of thousands of miles across the globe—from Melbourne to Moscow, Boston to Beijing—Gingerich has written an utterly original book built on his experience and the remarkable insights gleaned from examining some 600 copies of De revolutionibus. He found the books owned and annotated by Galileo, Kepler and many other lesser-known astronomers whom he brings back to life, which illuminate the long, reluctant process of accepting the Sun-centered cosmos and highlight the historic tensions between science and the Catholic Church. He traced the ownership of individual copies through the hands of saints, heretics, scalawags, and bibliomaniacs. He was called as the expert witness in the theft of one copy, witnessed the dramatic auction of another, and proves conclusively that De revolutionibus was as inspirational as it was revolutionary.

Part biography of a book, part scientific exploration, part bibliographic detective story, The Book Nobody Read recolors the history of cosmology and offers new appreciation of the enduring power of an extraordinary book and its ideas.

About this title

Review:

"'Owen Gingerich knows how to judge a book - by its readers.In this exuberant tale he encounters bookworms and book thieves, book lovers, dealers, and collectors, book restorers and forgers, librarians, auctioneers, even FBI and Interpol agents A detective story, a Renaissance flashback, an exposé, a true confession, an altogether engrossing, edifying romp'" (Dava Sobel)

"'A fascinating story of a scholar as sleuth. His enthusiasm for what might be judged a rather fine point of history is infectious. His book deserves to be read not only by historians and bibliophiles, but by anyone with a taste for arcane detective adventures and a curiosity about the motivations of scholarly perseverance... As in most good adventure stories, the rewards are in the pursuit itself.'" (New York Times)

"'Only one of many illuminations, major and minor, in his book... A driven, fascinating book, and a rarity - a history of science by someone who actually knows about science.'" (John Carey Sunday Times)

From the Publisher:

A wonderfully engaging story of obsession and the love of books, in the tradition of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker & Co
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0802714153
• ISBN 13: 9780802714152
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256