Customer Reviews

Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Athanasius Kircher hasn't been studied in a terribly coherent way, in general. He was a 17th-century Jesuit who studied everything, collected everything, and at times seemed to know everything. Perhaps most famously, he formulated translations for hieroglyphic inscriptions on Egyptian monuments and such; unfortunately, without the Rosetta Stone and Champollion, he was dead wrong about nearly all of this. Nevertheless he was a fascinating figure situated at a major crossroads of Baroque intellectual culture.

The negative about this volume is the usual one: because it is an edited volume, there still isn't any coherent argument made, nor any agreement. Indeed, it seems that the authors duck and weave around a number of major issues, as though they think others in the book will take them up. But since there is so little really serious scholarship readily available, this is an important addition to the little library.

I can't really say that there are certain "shining stars" in the volume. All the essays have strengths and weaknesses; it really depends what you're interested in. That may seem like a cop-out, but if you know something about Kircher, you can see why it comes up: he was interested in everything, after all, and generally published on it as well. Consequently you might be intrested in Egypt and find several essays interesting, and then think the essays on magnetism and biological wonders and Chinese very boring indeed. But what if you care mostly about Kircher's important contributions (often via Gaspar Schott) to the study of magnetism, and care nothing about linguistics? And so on.

Fortunately, the volume is a relatively inexpensive paperback, so there's no reason not to buy it and dip in. When Daniel Stolzenberg's book comes out, we'll maybe have a solid foundation to work from as well. Now if only we could get some decent editions of Kircher's actual work in translation....

I just wanted to say that almost all of the illustrations in this book are of poor technical quality. They are incredibly pixelated. The publishers might have accidentally published working images and not the full resolution ones

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I'm not sure Otto, in the previous review, put his review under the right book. His review isn't for THIS book, that's for sure!!!

I've just completed reading "Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything" 2004 edition. It is a VERY fascinating look at a man who lived in the 1600's. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it!

Loved the book, and will recommend it!

Again, this is for the 2004, Hardcover edition.

I've read a lot about this man and was surprised to find a book about him in my local bookshop. However, I was dissapointed when I finally got down to reading the book and actually got so bored I didn't finish it!

It unfortunately reads like someone's Masters thesis. This attempt at writing is abissmal, and should never have been printed before a decent (mass-market) editor looked at it. Could have been a lot better is really all I'm saying.

A non scriptural reference of southern disorders and phantasms pertaining to the jingoistic affluence of Post German and Pakastani laborers, and their economic hold on the museum quality replica industry of Midwestern South New Wales as they were studied at that time. Mastery and technique are key essential to this review of prescience and educated guesswork. We would suggest following any fifth or sixth reading with a short sabattical referendum amoung your peers and a public reading on prime time afternoon television. An absolute must if possible. If you are openminded and have a general understanding of specific ecclecticism you will love this book and it's demeanor.