A Survey of the Almagest: With Annotation and New Commentary by Alexander Jones

by Olaf Pedersen, Alexander Jones

Overview

The Almagest, by the Greek astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy, is the most important surviving treatise on early mathematical astronomy, offering historians valuable insight into the astronomy and mathematics of the ancient world.

Pedersen's 1974 publication, A Survey of the Almagest, is the most recent in a long tradition of companions to the Almagest. Part paraphrase and part commentary, Pedersen's work has earned the universal praise of historians and serves as the definitive introductory text for students interested in studying the Almagest.

In this revised edition, Alexander Jones, a distinguished authority on the history of early astronomy, provides supplementary information and commentary to the original text to account for scholarship that has appeared since 1974. This revision also incorporates various corrections to Pedersen's original text that have been identified since its publication.

This volume is intended to provide students of the history of astronomy with a self-contained introduction to the Almagest, helping them to understand and appreciate Ptolemy's great and classical work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493939220
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	08/23/2016
Series:	Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2011
Pages:	470
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

- Forward to the revised edition.- Preface.- The almagest through the ages.- Physics and philosophy in the almagest.- Ptolemy as a mathematician.- Spherical astronomy in the almagest.- The motion of the sun.- The theories of the moon.- Parallaxes and eclipses.- The fixed stars.- The superior planets.- The inferior planets.- Retrograde motions and maximum elongations.- Latitudes and visibility periods.- Epilogue-the other ptolemy.- Apendix A: dated observations.- Appendix B: numerical parameters.- Bibliography.- Index of names.- Index of subjects.- Supplementary notes.- Supplementary bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

From the book reviews:

“The book is a guide to reading through the details of Ptolemy’s argument, while keeping a clear focus on the astronomical and mathematical concepts. … the inclusion of supplementary material makes this edition essential for anyone studying Ptolemy or the ancient and medieval traditions of mathematical astronomy that were influenced by his work.” (Nathan Sidoli, Historia Mathematica, Vol. 39, 2012)

Pedersens Buch war und ist unverzichtbar, wenn man tiefer in den Almagest des Ptolemaios einsteigen will. Es ist daher dem Verlag zu danken, diesen modernen Klassiker mit wichtigen Zusätzen und Korrekturen nachgedruckt zu haben.

Mathematischer Semesterbericht, September 2011

Pedersen has performed his analysis with great care and technical accuracy. … [The book] is written dearly and concisely. It certainly achieves its aim of making the 'Almagest' accessible and understandable to students of the history of astronomy.

G. J. Toomer, Archives Internationales d’Histoire des Sciences

The organization of the 'Survey' … is done in such a brilliant style that makes the technically prohibiting text of the 'Almagest' an enjoyable reading within a clear historical perspective.

George A. Saliba, Centaurus

['A Survey of the Almagest'] is a mine of well-organized, well-documented, carefully cross-indexed information. Indeed, the general reader will find it an eye-opening introduction to Greek mathematics.

Victor E. Thoren, Isis

From the Publisher