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The Mystery of Numbers (Oxford Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Annemarie Schimmel (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 23 Jun 1994 | Series: Oxford Paperbacks
Why is the number seven lucky - even holy - in almost every culture? Why do we speak of the four corners of the earth? Why do cats have nine lives (except in Iran, where they have seven)? From literature to folklore to private superstitions, numbers play a conspicuous role in our daily lives.

In The Mystery of Numbers Annemarie Schimmel conducts an illuminating tour of the mysteries attributed to numbers over the centuries. She covers the origins of numbers, the symbolism of numbers, the source of this symbolism, and examines individual numbers from one to ten thousand. Using examples ranging from the Bible to Shakespeare, this engaging account uncovers the roots of a phenomenon we all feel every Friday the thirteenth.

Product details

  • Paperback: 324 pages
  • Publisher: OUP USA; New Ed edition (23 Jun 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195089197
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195089196
  • Product Dimensions: 14 x 2.1 x 21 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 737,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

A delightful, cross-cultural romp, through the history of number mysticism... (The New York Times Book Review )

About the Author

Annemarie Schimmel is Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture at Harvard University. A widely-respected scholar of the Near East, she has written numerous books on Islamic literature, religion, and culture.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
This description of the qualities of the mystical One, written by the medieval German mystic Agrippa of Nettesheim around 1500, cannot be considered to be mathematically correct, but it serves to show the importance of the 1 in religious traditions. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for the esoteric bookshelf 14 Oct 2011
By Stella
Format:Paperback
Schimmel's scholarly examination of number and numerology is a refreshing change from the usual fluff. This book does have a Middle Eastern bias since that is her specialist area but it's an absolutely key text for anyone interested in the history of magic.
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Amazon.com: 3.9 out of 5 stars  11 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Complex and Intricate Mysteries Unraveled 5 Oct 2000
By "kingsransom" - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is a rather odd but very enjoyable book. It begins with a very brief introduction to different number systems and beliefs about numbers, covering the Pythagoreans, gnosticism, the Cabala, Islamic mysticism, medieval numerology and numerical puzzles. The bulk of the book is a kind of encyclopedia of numbers: each of the numbers up to 21 gets its own chapter; after that they are dealt with "en masse".

Each chapter is an unordered and unstructured compilation of beliefs about the subject number, mostly drawn from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Unfortunately, there is no attempt at cross-cultural comparative analysis or at relating beliefs about numbers to other symbolic systems.

This book might better serve as a reference rather than a complete read. It is very interesting but might be too much for one reading.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An anthology of mysterious numbers 3 May 2002
By Burak Eldem - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
What are the roots of the divine "Trinity" concept or what is the secret meaning of Buddha's 3 bodies? Why was Amon-Ra called "The Lord of 4 directions" or why had the god Shiva 4 arms? What is the significance of number 5 in pentagram? Why the star of Israel had six corners? How come the number 13 is believed to bring bad luck in some traditions while in Mayan culture it is one of the essential numbers? Annemarie Schimmel, a specialist on Eastern philosophies, presents a very interesting and entertaining anthology of mysterious numbers in "The Mystery of Numbers". The book follows a linear path and begins with "Number 1" and passes several "stations" of curious numbers along the way. It also has an introduction that gives a summary about the numbering systems of various cultures. You can either keep it on your bookshelf to consult for some specific numbers from time to time, or you can carry it in your pocket and have your daily fun.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A sense of existential perfection 26 Mar 2008
By Elizabeth H. Odonnell - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is to this date the best book that I have ever read on the subject. It deals with a subject matter that is at once simple and at once infinite- a subject that is unambiguous and clear and at the same time infinitely convoluted- always incomplete, yet perfect by necessity.

In a word, numbers.

I picked up this book in the math section of a local used book store. I was excited by the cover title at first, "The Mystery of Numbers", and so I picked it up and flipped through it. I quickly realized that this book was substantive in information as well as artistic in detail. This book has some sketches especially of things like the Mayan calendar and things of the like. I had to buy the book because mathematical history, theory and mysticism was something that I was just beginning to fancy an interest for.

In any event, I began to read the book and was just impressed. This book is written not only with the vocabulary and descriptive detail and accuracy of an expert- this book is ful of beautiful linguistic novelty.

Annemarie does a brilliant job covering the bases and wowing the reader. Did you know that any multiple of the number 9 can be added within it's self to give you 9! For example..

9x5 = 45---- 4 + 5=9!

9x3 = 27 --- 2 + 7 = 9!

9X10 = 90 ---- 9 + 0 = 9!

One of the few examples I can find to the contrary is 11 x 9 = 99.

This kind of stuff in conjunction with a history of civilizations and religions and the significance of numbers to them is what this book is about. It is not a pseudo-sceince book by any means, claiming any diety or aline race is certainly behind numerical mysticism. This book is a wonderful book written by a scholar from Harvard who very sadly just passed away. I was going to send her an emial and congradualte her on the book but, I was just a little too late.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you read this "1."
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