Decoding the Heavens

Zusatztext

<p>In 1900 a group of sponge divers blown off course in the Mediterranean discovered an Ancient Greek shipwreck dating from around 70 BC.</p><p>Lying unnoticed for months amongst their hard-won haul was what appeared to be a formless lump of corroded rock, which turned out to be the most stunning scientific artefact we have from antiquity. For more than a century this 'Antikythera mechanism' puzzled academics, but now, more than 2000 years after the device was lost at sea, scientists have pieced together its intricate workings.</p><p>In<i>Decoding the Heavens</i>, Jo Marchant tells for the first time the story of the 100-year quest to understand this ancient computer. Along the way she unearths a diverse cast of remarkable characters - ranging from Archimedes to Jacques Cousteau - and explores the deep roots of modern technology not only in Ancient Greece, the Islamic world and medieval Europe.</p>

Autorenportrait

Jo Marchant is Opinion Editor at<i>New Scientist</i>magazine. She has a PhD in medical microbiology and has been a science journalist for nine years. She spent three years of that as an editor at the journal<i>Nature</i>, and her articles have also appeared in the<i>Guardian</i>and<i>The Economist</i>. She lives with her boyfriend in Brixton, London.

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