23810schD10R1.qxp:23810schD10R1
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11:36 PM
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NEW BOOKS
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.
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
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
… I cannot recommend the book
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.
ISBN 978-0-306-81580-5
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 contribution 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.
Winter 2008/2009
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 discoveries 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
•
•
•
•
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 understanding of the rocks—even including
contending theories.
The inclusion of a glossary, a useful 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
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