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The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
by LIVIO, Mario
- Used
- Fine
- first
- Condition
- Fine/fine
- ISBN 10
- 0767908155
- ISBN 13
- 9780767908153
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Broadway Books, 2002. First. hardcover. fine/fine. Drawings and black & white illustrations. viii, 294 pages. 8vo, black cloth-backed red boards, pictorial d.w. New York: Broadway Books, (2002). First edition. A fine copy in a fine dust wrapper.<br/> <br/>
Synopsis
Throughout history, thinkers from mathematicians to theologians have pondered the mysterious relationship between numbers and the nature of reality. In this fascinating book, Mario Livio tells the tale of a number at the heart of that mystery: phi, or 1.6180339887...This curious mathematical relationship, widely known as "The Golden Ratio," was discovered by Euclid more than two thousand years ago because of its crucial role in the construction of the pentagram, to which magical properties had been attributed. Since then it has shown a propensity to appear in the most astonishing variety of places, from mollusk shells, sunflower florets, and rose petals to the shape of the galaxy. Psychological studies have investigated whether the Golden Ratio is the most aesthetically pleasing proportion extant, and it has been asserted that the creators of the Pyramids and the Parthenon employed it. It is believed to feature in works of art from Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to Salvador Dali's The Sacrament of the Last Supper, and poets and composers have used it in their works. It has even been found to be connected to the behavior of the stock market!The Golden Ratio is a captivating journey through art and architecture, botany and biology, physics and mathematics. It tells the human story of numerous phi-fixated individuals, including the followers of Pythagoras who believed that this proportion revealed the hand of God; astronomer Johannes Kepler, who saw phi as the greatest treasure of geometry; such Renaissance thinkers as mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa; and such masters of the modern world as Goethe, Cezanne, Bartok, and physicist Roger Penrose. Wherever his quest for the meaning of phi takes him, Mario Livio reveals the world as a place where order, beauty, and eternal mystery will always coexist.From the Hardcover edition.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Argosy Book Store
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 320683
- Title
- The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
- Author
- LIVIO, Mario
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First
- ISBN 10
- 0767908155
- ISBN 13
- 9780767908153
- Publisher
- Broadway Books
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2002
Terms of Sale
Argosy Book Store
All items are offered net, subject to prior sale. Returns accepted within 7 days of receipt--please contact us first. Payment by Visa , Mastercard & American Express. Appropriate sales tax will be added for all N.Y. State residents
About the Seller
Argosy Book Store
Biblio member since 2004
New York, New York
About Argosy Book Store
We are a large retail store, with 6 floors of out-of-print and rare books, (including, Americana, modern first editions, history of medicine and science), antique maps and prints, autograph manuscripts, letters & signatures.
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- First Edition
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- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
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