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Ptolemy´s Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters
Ptolemy
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Description for Ptolemy´s Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters
Paperback. Offers a translation of the "Geography" and provides an introduction, which treats the historical and technical background of Ptolemy's work, the contents of the "Geography", and the later history of the work. This work also includes color reproductions of maps from manuscripts and early printed editions of the text. Translator(s): Berggren, J. Lennart; Jones, Alexander. Num Pages: 208 pages, 13 maps, 20 line Illus., 2 tables, 8 halftones. BIC Classification: PDX; RGV. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 250 x 176 x 15. Weight in Grams: 408.
Ptolemy's Geography is the only book on cartography to have survived from the classical period and one of the most influential scientific works of all time. Written in the second century AD, for more than fifteen centuries it was the most detailed topography of Europe and Asia available and the best reference on how to gather data and draw maps. Ptolemy championed the use of astronomical observation and applied mathematics in determining geographical locations. But more importantly, he introduced the practice of writing down coordinates of latitude and longitude for every feature drawn on a world map, so that someone else possessing only the text of the Geography could reproduce Ptolemy's map at any time, in whole or in part, at any scale. Here Berggren and Jones render an exemplary translation of the Geography and provide a thorough introduction, which treats the historical and technical background of Ptolemy's work, the contents of the Geography, and the later history of the work.
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2002
Publisher
Princeton University Press United States
Number of pages
208
Condition
New
Number of Pages
208
Place of Publication
New Jersey, United States
ISBN
9780691092591
SKU
V9780691092591
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1
About Ptolemy
J. Lennart Berggren is Professor of Mathematics at Simon Fraser University. His previous books include Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam and Pi:A Source Book Alexander Jones is Professor of Classics and of the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Pappus of Alexandria: Book 7 of the Collection and Astronomical Papyri from Oxyrhynchus.
Reviews for Ptolemy´s Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters
"A superlative new translation... In Berggren and Jones [Ptolemy] has, at long last, found his ideal exponents."
Peter Green, London Review of Books "Arguably, [Ptolemy's Geography] has been the most lastingly influential of all works in the earth sciences... This is a most useful volume, destined to be a primary source for classical scholars as well as for historians of science."
William A.S. Sarjeant, Earth Sciences History "By allowing us to hear in English the voice of one who was both the chief cartographer of the Greek world and the inspiration for the fifteenth-century cartographic revolution, Berggren and Jones have masterfully met a long-felt need."
Robert W. Karrow, Jr., Technology and Culture "Until now there has been no reliable translation of the Geography in English. Berggren and Jones have triumphantly filled that lack for the crucial portion of the work, the portion in which Ptolemy speaks as scientific geographer."
Lionel Casson, Classical Bulletin
Peter Green, London Review of Books "Arguably, [Ptolemy's Geography] has been the most lastingly influential of all works in the earth sciences... This is a most useful volume, destined to be a primary source for classical scholars as well as for historians of science."
William A.S. Sarjeant, Earth Sciences History "By allowing us to hear in English the voice of one who was both the chief cartographer of the Greek world and the inspiration for the fifteenth-century cartographic revolution, Berggren and Jones have masterfully met a long-felt need."
Robert W. Karrow, Jr., Technology and Culture "Until now there has been no reliable translation of the Geography in English. Berggren and Jones have triumphantly filled that lack for the crucial portion of the work, the portion in which Ptolemy speaks as scientific geographer."
Lionel Casson, Classical Bulletin