Ptolemy's Almagest
Translated and annotated by G.J. Toomer
With a foreword by Owen Gingerich

Paper | 1998 | $67.50
693 pp. | 6 x 9 | 219 figures 38 tables

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Ptolemy's Almagest is one of the most influential scientific works in history. A masterpiece of technical exposition, it was the basic textbook of astronomy for more than a thousand years, and still is the main source for our knowledge of ancient astronomy. This translation, based on the standard Greek text of Heiberg, makes the work accessible to English readers in an intelligible and reliable form. It contains numerous corrections derived from medieval Arabic translations and extensive footnotes that take account of the great progress in understanding the work made in this century, due to the discovery of Babylonian records and other researches. It is designed to stand by itself as an interpretation of the original, but it will also be useful as an aid to reading the Greek text.

Reviews:

"G.J. Toomer's new English edition of Ptolemy's classic treatise is more than just a fresh translation.... What Toomer has produced is the best edition in any language, one that will remain the standard preferred text for years to come."--Nature

"On the whole the accuracy and faithfulness to the original, including the small but important matter of a scrupulous adherence to Ptolemy's own mathematical notations, are exemplary."--G.E.R. Lloyd, The Times Literary Supplement

Endorsement:

"Whatever we now understand of Ptolemy ... is in this book."--Noel Swerdlow, University of Chicago

Table of Contents:

Foreword vii
Addenda and Corrigenda xi
Preface xv
Introduction i
Contents of the Almagest 27
Translation of the Almagest 33
Appendices 649
Bibliography 673
Index 683

Another Princeton book by Ptolemy:

• Ptolemy's Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters.

Subject Areas:

• History of Science and Medicine, Philosophy of Science
• Physics

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Hardcover published by Duckworth (U.K.) in 1984

Paper: For sale only in the United States and Canada

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For customers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Australia
Paper: $67.50 ISBN13: 978-0-691-00260-6

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File created: 7/1/2008

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