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Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer [Kindle Edition]

Jo Marchant (Author)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews) |

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Length: 348 pages
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Review

Fascinating and wide-ranging account of 'the world's first computer' ... marvellous --Daily Mail

a dizzyingly brilliant thing... the Antikythera mechanism bears a chilling message for our technological age --Telegraph

Sunken treasure. A mysterious artefact. Scrambled inscriptions. Warring academis egos. technology 1,000 years before its time. [This] tale of a wondrous relic...sounds like pulp fiction. But it's all true... Puts ancient Greece in a whole new light --Independent

a fabulous piece of storytelling, thick with plot, intrigue, science, historical colour and metaphysical speculation. The mechanism is fascinating - but the larger question of why its knowledge was lost, and what else with it, is mind-blowing --Metro

Compelling --Guardian

Pacy, yet full of fascinating scientific digressions -- Telegraph

Book Description

The fascinating story of the discovery of, and subsequent quest to decode, the world's first computer

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Product details

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 550 KB
Print Length: 348 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0099519763
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital (18 Aug 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.� r.l.
Language English
ASIN: B0038LB4XA
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #82,093 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #4 in Kindle Store > Books > Nonfiction > Science > Physics > Time
- #14 in Kindle Store > Books > Nonfiction > Technology & Engineering > History
- #45 in Books > Science & Nature > Experiments, Instruments & Measurements > Time

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

Across the universe.... 29 Sep 2009

By Nick Phillips

Format:Paperback

A delightful book that you'll read from cover to cover in no time at all. I suspect however, that if you're anything like me, the memories 'Decoding the Heavens' will unlock and the wide-eyed enthusiasm it will awaken will last with you for a very long time. The narrative unfolds like a well-crafted documentary revealing the discovery of an ancient shipwreck off the coast of a small Greek island in 1901 and the complex web of personal sacrifice, competition and politics during the following 100 years which leads to a pretty thorough understanding of the world's first computer - the 'Antikythera Mechanism'.

I won't spoil the 'plot' just in case you haven't read up that closely on all of the amazing things this device could do, but suffice to say, it humbles inventions made a millennium later and demonstrates an incredible knowledge of the cosmos and miniature engineering that would have transformed our planet if this evolutionary branch-line in human ingenuity hadn't died out. Perhaps we'd be beginning our journeys to the stars today instead of just photographing them.

This book made me feel like a kid again: I want to look at the stars on a clear night; I want to build things with wheels and gears; I want to teach my first child ( due the next few days hopefully ) about the history of our species, about the interplay of myth and technology that for better or worse has always driven us on.

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

Sloppy standards make for poor prose 7 April 2010

By librarygirl

Format:Paperback

Whilst this book is an interesting read, those purchasing it would do well to do some research regarding the Antikythera Mechanism, and the teams that worked on it- as there seems to be some dispute between the author and the research team as to its accuracy.

There also seems to be concern that one of the scientists written about has not been portayed in a fair manner, to the extent that his widow and friends have constructed a webpage disputing the facts of the book and publishing their memories of the man. One of the most striking is the fact that the author even fails to get the date the man died right. This is, at the very least, extremely disrespectful and disappointing from a woman who describes herself as a journalist and leads me to question the value of this book as a narrative account of events.

In response, the author claims that the proofs were submitted to a member of the team for checking. This seems a poor defence- especially when it is considered that there were many people the author did not interview who could have helped- and as a freelance researcher myself, I would like to stress to her that if you are not sure of your facts, then you should not put your name to them. And it is not too hard to check basic astronometrical details such as how many degrees the sun traverses a day (just over one- which is why we have a year 365.25 days long). All in all, disappointing and had I actually bought rather than borrowed this book, I would be writing and asking for a refund from the publisher.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

A good book about an object that changed our view of ancient astronomy and technlogy. 30 May 2010

By A. P. J. Jansen

Format:Paperback

This book tells three stories. The first is about the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism. This reads like an adventure story; not one of the most exciting ones, but it is certainly interesting. The second is about the unraveling of what it was for. It is this latter story that has radically changed our view of ancient technology and astronomy. This stories has been, and still is to some extent, surrounded by controversy. The book tells how initially the Antikythera mechanism was studied by few people, and more or less ignored by most other researchers. This did not really change when it slowly became clear how sophisticated it was. In fact, this was simply not believed. The third story is the description of the mechanism itself. The author does this in quite some detail. This story is not finished, because not all of the details of how it originally looked like are known.

Some reviewers have written that the author has been very sloppy in his research. As this book was really my first encounter with the Antikythera mechanism, I don't know if this is really true. It did increase my interest in the subject however. So I do recommend the book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Excellently researched and documented, great depth of insight....

This is the best book yet about the amazing Antikythera mechanism. The author combines an excellent research approach with well-focused journalism to produce a most detailed and... Read more

Published 1 month ago by M. G. Laycock

If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words

how come there are so very few?

The Antikythera mechanism is a fascinating piece of ancient history, and the story of its discovery, and the unravelling of its purpose... Read more

Published 13 months ago by JaneQNorth

Very disappointing

I found this a very disappointing book, perhaps my expectations had been too high. The narrative of the human interaction of the various investigators was interesting but my... Read more

Published on 11 April 2010 by P. Howgate

Decoding the Heavens

I bought this book because it looked interesting. However, I found it very slow, and ponderous. So much so that if you have troble seeping - this is ideal!

Published on 3 Mar 2010 by M. Collins

Coo!

As exciting as any thriller - and just so fascinating to read on several levels. One is to marvel at what was created, so long ago (and not until fairly recently would there be an... Read more

Published on 2 Dec 2009 by PrincessofWails

Scientific writing at its best.

This is one of the most exciting science books you are likely to read - Jo Marchant
is to be congratulated on turning what could have been a dry as dust topic into a book... Read more

Published on 1 Nov 2009 by Mr. David Edwards

If you liked "Longitude", you will love this

This is a terrific book that describes the discovery of an ancient Greek artifact in a shipwreck, its dating and possible history, and the detective story of how its complex... Read more

Published on 6 Sep 2009 by A. J. Kaye

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