Used price: $49.87
Buy one from zShops for: $49.10
Used price: $6.45
Collectible price: $19.99
The curator of the rare book department of a noted college who also was a participant in the latest book by Nicholas Basbanes, "Patience And Fortitude", introduced me to this book and two others. Mr. Basbanes is the author of, "A Gentle Madness", and will be publishing a third volume to his work that is already considered a modern classic by collectors and book lovers.
While the prices and auction results that are listed in this book are very out of date, they still make for great reading, and in some cases may bring to memory a book on a grandparents shelf that today would buy a car or home. If nothing else these old prices show just how much value continues to be placed on collectable books. Mr. Newton lived during the same time that some of those authors whose work he collected were alive and writing. He was a collector of manuscripts, which meant that the author's original drafts of their work were often available. At one point in the book he laments the appearance of the typewriter and the effect it will have on replacing the hand written original. Had he foreseen the computer it probably would have caused him physical distress.
Another area he was an avid collector of is so-called association copies. Like manuscripts these have the rarity that comes with being a one of a kind item. Throughout the book he shares many of the treasures he acquired like a book inscribed from Charles Dickens the father to his son. For people who love late 19th Century Authors, this man not only collected their work, but often knew the writers and their friends. In other instances his collection of Boswell and Johnson's work may not have come directly from the author to him, but he still was able to collect correspondence and other written material that is now difficult to find outside of museums.
This particular book is also wonderful for it has photographic illustrations as well as black and white and color plates as well. If you love books, find as old a copy of this work as you can, and you will have added a treasure to your shelves.
List price: $22.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $13.95
Buy one from zShops for: $15.95
Used price: $6.49
Collectible price: $17.50
Buy one from zShops for: $12.49
I keep it along side "Six Easy Pieces" (by Richard Feyman) as one of the two books that have helped me understand the concepts of physics more than any other. Six Roads in fact compliments Six Easy Pieces by picking up where Feynman left off in his book, describing in greater detail "The Theory of Gravitation", complimenting Feynman's explanations of "Quantum Behavior" and moving into explanations of Relativity Theory (which Feyman deals very little with). Makes me wonder if Speyer wasn't consciously drawing from and complimenting Feynman's book.
I can't give any higher recommendation to read this book. It's inspiring, fun to read, fun to reference, it's challenging and includes many graphs and some equations but it doesn't require prior knowledge of scientific jargon or advanced math, provides fundanmental explanations of a wide range of physical theories, and it gives an interesting perspective on the history of scientific thought that has led to those theories. The history of scientific thought, interactions of ideas, and achievements of great thinkers gave the book an engaging story, but ultimately, insight into the thoughts and equations themselves and the fundamental context of where those theories came from is the main feature and tremendous resource of this great science book.
Buy this book! (and maybe I'll get to see more like it)
Used price: $18.50
Collectible price: $16.89
Used price: $350.05
Buy one from zShops for: $358.80
List price: $18.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $9.95
Buy one from zShops for: $13.17
supported the author's work by giving him
photos and reports of my 2 personal meetings
with Olivia Newton-John.
It is an unusual book because it is not a biography
but nevertheless describes Olivia's career by
using newspaper and magazines comments or the reports
of fans who described how they felt when meeting
Olivia or how they have been influenced by Olivia
and her music.
Used price: $15.68
Buy one from zShops for: $15.68
Used price: $5.98
Collectible price: $29.95
After reading the whole book, I was even more disappointed!! As the description of Newton's life is even less than any book on History of Mathematics!! Coupled with the expensiveness of this book. ( It cost me more than 60 dollars ) I cannot think of one reason to buy this book. I recommend " the life of Issac Newton or for a more detailed account, " Never at rest," both by Richard Westfall.
After reading the whole book, I was even more disappointed!! As the description of Newton's life is even less than any book on History of Mathematics!! Coupled with the expensiveness of this book. ( It cost me more than 60 dollars ) I cannot think of one reason to buy this book. I recommend " the life of Issac Newton or for a more detailed account, " Never at rest," both by Richard Westfall.