Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer -- and the Century-Long Search to Discover Its Secrets

by Jo Marchant

Overview

In Decoding the Heavens, Jo Marchant tells for the first time the full story of the hundred-year quest to decipher the ancient Greek computer known as the Antikythera Mechanism. Along the way she unearths a diverse cast of remarkable characters and explores the deep roots of modern technology in ancient Greece and the medieval European and Islamic worlds. At its heart, this is an epic adventure and mystery, a book that challenges our assumptions about technology through the ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306818615
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	03/02/2010
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	1,086,225
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jo Marchant is an award-winning journalist who specializes in writing about cutting-edge science. She has worked as a staff reporter and editor for Nature and New Scientist, where she is currently a consultant. She lives in London.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

1 I See Dead People 4

2 An Impossible Find 31

3 Treasures of War 59

4 Rewriting History 93

5 A Heroic Reconstruction 130

6 The Moon in a Box 159

7 Mechanic's Workshop 187

8 The New Boys 212

9 A Stunning Idea 240

10 Old Man of Syracuse 261

Epilogue 297

Acknowledgements 301

Picture Credits 305

Sources and Further Reading 307

Index 319

Editorial Reviews

PopMatters.com, 4/16/10
“Spirit and fascination fully informs [Marchant’s] book”

Tucson Citizen, 4/30/10
“[A] highly readable book…An adventure that blends ample portions of fate, historic intrigue, and modern scientific innovation.

From the Publisher