Product Description
This is a book about the life and work of Archimedes, the Greek mathemetician, a book designed particularly for students in home school situations but interesting for any young reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Great classroom resources
I plan to use this in my 5th grade classroom.We focus on Ancient Greece and it is accessible and filled with useful information.

Permit me to rave a bit about this book
This book is engaging and funny, smart and clever, profound and simple.It may be the best book I have read this year, because even though written for young readers, it is packed with information.

Ancient Sicily becomes accessible as a culture and lifestyle through this book.And Archimedes' discoveries are made clear through written descriptions and illustrations that are perfect for the text.The information about the way children were instructed in Syracuse, and then about how Archimedes furthered his education, was compelling.The love of learning shines in this book.

The geometry chapters are advanced, but not too difficult.And the section about the war machines he invented was downright fun!

There are immediate applications for learning at home -- creating mobiles to learn about centers of gravity, using levers and screws and pulleys, studying eclipses and the solar system.This is an excellent, excellent book.

First written in 1962, republished by Bethlehem Books, and a must-read.Enjoy it for yourself!

Good Math/Thinking Introduction
This book has a lot of good information about how math concepts were discovered over time by Archmedes. Some of the concepts are involved, but it is written at a level that allows young children (8 yrs and up) to access the ideas. The text could easily be used to branch off to classroom/home study science or math explorations. An excellent introduction to the possible depths of mathematics/science study in a light manner that children will find engaging.

A wonderful read!
This book is about Archimedes' life. He found out how to measure a circle and the principle of buoyancy. He invented the Archimedes' screw. He moved a ship full of cargo with one hand and a machine he built. And he did all this without electricity. I think that you will love this book.

Great little book
My 12 year old and then my wife have read this nifty little book before I got to read the father's day present. I generally like less-than-one-hour biographies with pictures, particularly of inventors.
Great book for readers at 4th grade level and above.
For adults, if you admit to liking cliff notes, I would recommend this book on Archimedes first, before buying something more scholarly. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of Philosophy, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 983 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Explores major marketing and advertising campaigns from 1999-2006. Entries profile recent print, radio, television, billboard and Internet campaigns. Each essay discusses the historical context of the campaign, the target market, the competition, marketing strategy, and the outcome. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of Religion, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2771 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The second edition of this highly regarded encyclopedia, preserving the best of the first edition's cross-cultural approach, while emphasizing religion's role within everyday life and as a unique experience from culture to culture, this new edition is the definitive work in the field for the 21st century. An international team of scholars and contributors have reviewed, revised and added to every word of the classic work, making it relevant to the questions and interests of all researchers. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 4046 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
Many people have heard two things about Archimedes: he was the greatest mathematician of antiquity, and he ran naked from his bath crying 'Eureka!'. However, few people are familiar with the actual accomplishments upon which his enduring reputation rests, and it is the aim of this book to shed light upon this matter. Archimedes' ability to achieve so much with the few mathematical tools at his disposal was astonishing. He made fundamental advances in the fields of geometry, mechanics, and hydrostatics. No great mathematical expertise is required of the reader, and the book is well illustrated with over 100 diagrams. It will prove fascinating to students and professional mathematicians alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The greats will always stand out!
Archimedes is one of the greatest mathematicians to have lived. He worked in geometry, physics, and ballistics. His work has spanned the ages. What's more, he did his work without the tools we have today. With tools I don't mean calculators, or computers. I mean without the descriptive mathematical language of equations and the number systems of today. Archimedes held his ideas in total within his mind and was able to solve problems that would take calculus today. And he didn't have calculus either.

This book describes many of the problems Archimedes solved and how he approached the problems. We find center of gravity and buoyancy, for example. Each chapter is a thorough discussion of the problems, Archimedes's solution, and, at times, the importance of the problem. The book is slim and handy to take with you for reading whenever you find a few minutes. In that sense, the chapters are short enough to read quickly (although you'll want to spend time going through the equations) so that you get a good view of the approach taken.

Finally, the author takes you on a few tangents to explain how Archimedes viewed mathematics and here, too, you see the greatness of Archimedes.He was meticulous and precise in his work. He didn't publish his methods until he was certain of them and he corresponded with other mathematicians to work out problems and discuss various topics. What a good insight into the past and, for us, a good place to draw lessons for our own work.

Remembering Archimedes for more than his naked stroll
The thought of a man running naked through the streets shouting with joy over a physical and mathematical discovery is one to warm the hearts of all who value knowledge. When Archimedes experienced this flash of joy, little did he know that his actions would become the genesis of a legend that would last for thousands of years. However, he should be remembered for so much more than that and several of his significant mathematical contributions are explored in this book.
It is really amazing to realize how close he was to inventing calculus 22 centuries ago, which was 18 before Newton and Leibniz. With notation that was minimally expressive, he was able to solve problems using a technique that demonstrates at least a rudimentary understanding of the concept of a limit. While many different problems can be solved using calculus, it only takes one breakthrough solution to demonstrate how it can be applied to so many of the others. It can be plausibly argued that algebraic and decimal notations would have been the tools that would have allowed him to overcome those last barriers. One can only speculate on how that would have changed history.
The book is not exhaustive and no attempt is made to make it that. Ten of his most significant discoveries are presented and the solutions are those of Archimedes, although modern notation is used. While the proofs are generally easy to follow, one is often left in awe as to how he thought of how to approach some of these solutions. The explanations are succinct, yet thorough, which is the signature of a solid storyteller.
Given the answers to the question posed in the title of this book, one can pose another that logically follows. Was Archimedes the greatest mind of all time? If the legends are correct, then the answer is probably yes. However, even if the unconfirmed stories are false, the mathematical and mechanical discoveries should make him a legend for more than one short stint of becoming a 'natural man.'

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Recommended for all mathematicians and scientists
The author's aim is to make what he views "as Archimedes' most mathematically significant discoveries accessible to the busy people of the mathematical community."In this he succeeds admirably.The book isnot only understandable by anyone who "recognizes the equation of aparabola," but is also very well written in a style that brings outthe beauty of the mathematical ideas discussed, as well as the power ofArchimesdes' creativity. As the author points out, the book treats mostof Archimedes' mathematical discoveries.The presentation cleverlyintegrates Archimedes' own writing with the author's modern explanation ofthe ancient discoveries.Frequently, before a main idea is introduced, aquotation fromArchimedes' own writing is presented in which the masterreveals his thinking about what he had accomplished in that particulartopic.

In addition to providing the scientific community with a detailedaccount of Archimedes' main mathematical discoveries and an insight intothe ancient master's thinking, this book, I believe, can be useful in theclassroom in a variety of ways.The most obvious use, of course, would bein designating it as a textbook or a reference in courses on the history ofcalculus or, more generally, on the history of mathematics.But it wouldalso make an excellent textbook for a course on axiomatic mathematics: thebook starts with a few axioms from which Archimedes had developed thetheory of center of gravity and used it throughout a good part of thematerial covered in the book, includingthe development of the volumes ofa paraboloid and a sphere and the theory of floating bodies.

In sum, thisis an excellent book that should be within reach of any person interestedin mathematics or science. ... Read more

Product Description
In this powerful and passionate newnovel,Janette TurnerHospital tackles head-onquestions of national security, art, terrorism, and love.Leela is a mathematician who has escaped herSouthern hometown to study in Boston. She meetsan Australian musician, Mishka, and from themoment she first hears him play his music gripsher; they quickly become lovers. Then one dayLeela is picked up off the street and taken toan interrogation center somewhere outside thecity. There has been an explosion in the subway; terrorism is suspected. The interrogator—an oldchildhood friend—now reveals to her that Mishkamay not be all he seems. In this compellingreimagining of the Orpheus story, Leela travelsinto an underworld of kidnapping, torture, anddespair in search of her lover. Janette TurnerHospital, whose works are "richly imbued with ahighly lyrical and luminous quality" (SanDiego Union-Tribune) again shows hergenius, interweaving a literary thriller with astory of passion and the triumph of decency inconfusing and dangerous times. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Pretentious, verbose tripe.
The New Yorker called it "forced" and a "mishmash."I happen to agree...and then some.Spare yourself the agony and boredom.

Not convincing
Although the author sprinkles "mathematics dust" throughout the book, the female protagonist mathematician is not convincing.It was not clear as to how love story that purports to parallel the Orpheus legend does indeed parallel that tale.

Original and Engrossing
Jannette Turner Hospital's awesome lyrical gifts are once again on full display in this moving story that explores the ancient myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as seen through the prismatic shift of Post-9/11 sensibilities.The characters are complex and fully realized as they play out ancient themes of love and loss and family history in a world where religious and political conflict pervert all human intention.

A weavingtale of obsession, love and atonement .
Other reviewers have hit the nail on the head with their reviews, so I will just add that this is a beautifully written novel that I found hard to put down. 2 weeks after finishing it, I find myself still thinking about this thriller.....It is a great thought-provoking read . Highly recommended !!

An elegy of loss
With each book, Janette Turner Hospital amazes the reader with her unique ability to write thrillers that expand the scope of possibility as well as illuminate. In haunting prose, she sets her tales in diverse locations and incorporates detail that stretch a reader's comprehension. This book in particular challenges one to make a connection between mathematics and music in a way that makes it impossible to never look at, say, a violin in quite the same way again. She weaves a story on methods for coping with unimagniable pain of loss on so many levels, seamlessly incorporating the war on terrorism and the Holocaust, and makes it work through the magic and healing properties of music. Her following is far too small to account for the prodigious talent on display on her every page. ... Read more