Thursday, June 10, 2004
Book Reviews - Newton's Tyranny
Title: Newton's Tyranny
Pages: 188
Read time: 4 hours
Style: non-fiction, investigative science/history, highly detailed
Author: David Clark, Stephen P.H. Clark
I must admit that when I picked up this book the first couple of times, I couldn't get into it. Of course, this changed with my vacation. I started reading and was engrossed. As with all people in power, there are untold stories - and Newton at the time had a lot of power, both as leader of the countries mint and the Royal Society for science. Unfortunately, this meant that he could expunge records of others work, or copy it and not give due credit - and he did this quite vehemently for his adversaries. The book tells of John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer, who singlehandedly improved the star charts of the time and increased the accuracy of the readings. Unfortunately, he was also involved in lunar viewings, which Newton needed to not only prove his gravitional theories, but also to put his name into the books for an accurate system (longitude) of sailing by lunar cycles. Newton harried Flamsteed into publishing unfinished work, and gave no credit where credit was due - even Halley, who's comet still bears his name, was involved in Newton's schemes, editing Flamsteeds work and crediting himself with the accuracy of the calculations. Stephen Gray was Flamsteed's friend. Unfortunately, this meant he also came under Newton's tyrannical view. Gray was a dyer at the time, but had started producing a large number of expirements into electrical charge. Newton stopped the publishing of this work, thus delaying electricity and transmittion of communication by a good 20 years. After Newton's death Gray started the expirementation once again - and became the forefather of electricity - though he recieves little credit even now.
Pages: 188
Read time: 4 hours
Style: non-fiction, investigative science/history, highly detailed
Author: David Clark, Stephen P.H. Clark
I must admit that when I picked up this book the first couple of times, I couldn't get into it. Of course, this changed with my vacation. I started reading and was engrossed. As with all people in power, there are untold stories - and Newton at the time had a lot of power, both as leader of the countries mint and the Royal Society for science. Unfortunately, this meant that he could expunge records of others work, or copy it and not give due credit - and he did this quite vehemently for his adversaries. The book tells of John Flamsteed, the Royal Astronomer, who singlehandedly improved the star charts of the time and increased the accuracy of the readings. Unfortunately, he was also involved in lunar viewings, which Newton needed to not only prove his gravitional theories, but also to put his name into the books for an accurate system (longitude) of sailing by lunar cycles. Newton harried Flamsteed into publishing unfinished work, and gave no credit where credit was due - even Halley, who's comet still bears his name, was involved in Newton's schemes, editing Flamsteeds work and crediting himself with the accuracy of the calculations. Stephen Gray was Flamsteed's friend. Unfortunately, this meant he also came under Newton's tyrannical view. Gray was a dyer at the time, but had started producing a large number of expirements into electrical charge. Newton stopped the publishing of this work, thus delaying electricity and transmittion of communication by a good 20 years. After Newton's death Gray started the expirementation once again - and became the forefather of electricity - though he recieves little credit even now.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Book Reviews - 1421 - The Year China Discovered the World
Title: 1421 - The Year China Discovered the World
Pages: 408 + 112 pages appendices, bibliographies, indexes (hardcover)
Read time: 20 hours
Style: non-fiction, investigative science/history, highly detailed
Author: Gavin Menzies
The links above give the standard description of the book and the ongoing investigation. 1421 is an excellent descriptive history of the Chinese and their discovery of the world throughout the 1420s. There are currently 34 different lines of evidence confirming that the Chinese did discover the New World and much of the rest of the world before the Europeans even started their exploration. In fact, it argues that the fact that the Europeans set off to explore was in part due to the body of maps, boat design and other tools provided by the Chinese during the voyages of the junkers in the so-called Treasure Fleets.
Why have we been teaching the history of European colonization of the New World, rather than the Chinese discovery of the world? During the voyages of the Chinese Fleets, China fell into an era of isolation, superstition and xenophobia. All scientific information was left to rot or deterministically destroyed. Little historical evidence survived in China. The information and artifacts spread by the fleets themselves fell into other hands or were claimed to be the works of the Europeans. China did not revive itself from its 'long night of isolation' until the modern era leaving the Europeans to claim their victories.
As the author states:
Brave and determined though they were, Columbus, Dias, da Gama, Magellan, Cook and the rest of the European explorers set sail with maps showing the way to their destinations. They owed everything to the first explorers, the Chinese on their epic voyages of 1421-3 [including] the charts, ships and systems of ocean navigation. [...] The revelation that Vasco da Gama was not the first to sail to India around the Cape of Good Hope, that Christopher Columbus did not discover America, that Magellan was not the first to circumnavigate the world, and that Australia was surveyed three centruies before Captain Cook and Antartica four centuries before the first European even attempt may come as a disappointment, even a shock, to the champions of those brave and skilful explorers..."
Book Review Annotation
Pages: 408 + 112 pages appendices, bibliographies, indexes (hardcover)
Read time: 20 hours
Style: non-fiction, investigative science/history, highly detailed
Author: Gavin Menzies
The links above give the standard description of the book and the ongoing investigation. 1421 is an excellent descriptive history of the Chinese and their discovery of the world throughout the 1420s. There are currently 34 different lines of evidence confirming that the Chinese did discover the New World and much of the rest of the world before the Europeans even started their exploration. In fact, it argues that the fact that the Europeans set off to explore was in part due to the body of maps, boat design and other tools provided by the Chinese during the voyages of the junkers in the so-called Treasure Fleets.
Why have we been teaching the history of European colonization of the New World, rather than the Chinese discovery of the world? During the voyages of the Chinese Fleets, China fell into an era of isolation, superstition and xenophobia. All scientific information was left to rot or deterministically destroyed. Little historical evidence survived in China. The information and artifacts spread by the fleets themselves fell into other hands or were claimed to be the works of the Europeans. China did not revive itself from its 'long night of isolation' until the modern era leaving the Europeans to claim their victories.
As the author states:
Brave and determined though they were, Columbus, Dias, da Gama, Magellan, Cook and the rest of the European explorers set sail with maps showing the way to their destinations. They owed everything to the first explorers, the Chinese on their epic voyages of 1421-3 [including] the charts, ships and systems of ocean navigation. [...] The revelation that Vasco da Gama was not the first to sail to India around the Cape of Good Hope, that Christopher Columbus did not discover America, that Magellan was not the first to circumnavigate the world, and that Australia was surveyed three centruies before Captain Cook and Antartica four centuries before the first European even attempt may come as a disappointment, even a shock, to the champions of those brave and skilful explorers..."
Book Review Annotation
Book Reviews - Gideon
Title: Gideon
Pages: 435 (hardcover)
Read time: 7 hours
Style: Suspense, easy-reading
Author: Russel Andrews
The links above give the standard description of the story. In general, an easy read - unlike many of the comments, the ending was beginning to be predictable within Chapter 29 of 36 - but the story was well written, intermixing news, web and novel style reporting within the context of the novel. A mixture of political intrigue with a couple of regular population going against some nasty foes. Several very good uses of telling the story from other accounts so that the reader has to bring them together near the end provides a nice level of intrigue. One of the main villians is ended in a Star Wars Darth Maul 'oops, I missed them' methodology, but it is tied together somewhat plausibly. Overall, a good read if you're in the mood.
Book Review Annotation
Pages: 435 (hardcover)
Read time: 7 hours
Style: Suspense, easy-reading
Author: Russel Andrews
The links above give the standard description of the story. In general, an easy read - unlike many of the comments, the ending was beginning to be predictable within Chapter 29 of 36 - but the story was well written, intermixing news, web and novel style reporting within the context of the novel. A mixture of political intrigue with a couple of regular population going against some nasty foes. Several very good uses of telling the story from other accounts so that the reader has to bring them together near the end provides a nice level of intrigue. One of the main villians is ended in a Star Wars Darth Maul 'oops, I missed them' methodology, but it is tied together somewhat plausibly. Overall, a good read if you're in the mood.
Book Review Annotation
Reviews - Annotation
I enjoy reading a great variety of books, movies and music - from the literary classics such as Shakespeare to the common suspense renderings of Dick Francis, from the heartrendering 'Schindlers List' to the common spludge of 'The Simpsons', from the invariably distinct non-fiction musings of politicians and historians to the musings of the scientific community. These reviews are meant for those with a discerning taste - notably backed with interest in what I read. You can agree with me; you can berate me; you can ignore me - all plausible options. Will these readings make you a learned scholar? or increase your grey matter? As with any publication, it is the enjoyment, the sentiments, the knowledge, the humor that you take that makes a book a personal matter. But feel free to let me provide you some insight into what I thought.
As with any reading that I undertake, I tend to take one of two approaches - if it is an engrossing read, I tend to speed read to the finish line; if it is a hearty book, meant to be downed with thoughtfullness, I could take several years.
It is unlikely that I will get to review in quantity the works stored in Alexandria and beyond. Hopefully some of the books mentioned in the next few scribbles will do some justice to some of the quality works of history and our time. Carl Sagan said (of the Great Library),
"there is no record, in the entire history of the Library, that any of its illustrious scientists and scholars ever seriously challenged the political, economic and religious assumptions of their society. The permanence of the stars was questioned; the justice of slavery was not. Science and learning in general were the preserve of a privileged few. The vast population of the city had not the vaguest notion of the great discoveries taking place within the Library. New findings were not explained or popularized. The research benefited them little. Discoveries in mechanics and steam technology were applied mainly to the perfection of weapons, the encouragement of superstition, the amusement of kings. The scientists never grasped the potential of machines to free people. The great intellectual achievements of antiquity had few immediate practical applications. Science never captured the imagination of the multitude. There was no counterbalance to stagnation, to pessimism, to the most abject surrenders to mysticism. When, at long last, the mob came to burn the Library down, there was nobody to stop them."
Let this be a neutral ground where we can question both science and scientists, politics and politicians, laws and lawyers - or enjoy the lighter side of life.
Michael Collins
The Great Library at Alexandria
As with any reading that I undertake, I tend to take one of two approaches - if it is an engrossing read, I tend to speed read to the finish line; if it is a hearty book, meant to be downed with thoughtfullness, I could take several years.
It is unlikely that I will get to review in quantity the works stored in Alexandria and beyond. Hopefully some of the books mentioned in the next few scribbles will do some justice to some of the quality works of history and our time. Carl Sagan said (of the Great Library),
"there is no record, in the entire history of the Library, that any of its illustrious scientists and scholars ever seriously challenged the political, economic and religious assumptions of their society. The permanence of the stars was questioned; the justice of slavery was not. Science and learning in general were the preserve of a privileged few. The vast population of the city had not the vaguest notion of the great discoveries taking place within the Library. New findings were not explained or popularized. The research benefited them little. Discoveries in mechanics and steam technology were applied mainly to the perfection of weapons, the encouragement of superstition, the amusement of kings. The scientists never grasped the potential of machines to free people. The great intellectual achievements of antiquity had few immediate practical applications. Science never captured the imagination of the multitude. There was no counterbalance to stagnation, to pessimism, to the most abject surrenders to mysticism. When, at long last, the mob came to burn the Library down, there was nobody to stop them."
Let this be a neutral ground where we can question both science and scientists, politics and politicians, laws and lawyers - or enjoy the lighter side of life.
Michael Collins
The Great Library at Alexandria
