Archimedes codexMy rating: 2 of 5 stars

Like several other reviews of this book, I thought it should have been two short volumes instead of one. The two authors tell two stories, alternating chapters between each other. The stories are very different in that Noel tells the story of the actual manuscript over time while Netz focuses on the mathematical content of these found Archimedes items. Their authorial voices are very different so it’s a sudden jerk as you go between chapters. I’m not sure if better editing would have helped as these were just two distinct stories to be told.

Netz’s hagiographic view of Archimedes put me off throughout his chapters. I’m sure this is mostly due to having devoted, necessarily, an incredible amount of time and effort on this one important project. But, it seems as if that focus pushed out other considerations of the material. It seems that Netz knew what he wanted the manuscript to say and then finds examples of his ideas in the material, instead of the other way around. He might be right but I didn’t feel he made his case as best as he could.

Rating this was a bit tough as I was much more interested in the discovery and recovery of this palimpsest. I’d rate the topic a 4. I’d give 3 for Noel’s chapters on the history and work on the physical item. I’d give Netz’s chapters a 1-2. So, overall, I went with 2 for this work.