A Little Book of Coincidence (Wooden Books) [Hardcover]

John Martineau (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wooden Books | Publication Date: April 1, 2002

A most unusual guide to the solar system, A Little Book of Coincidence suggests that there may be fundamental relationships between space, time, and life that have not yet been fully understood. From the observations of Ptolemy and Kepler to the Harmony of the Spheres and the hidden structure of the solar system, John Martineau reveals the exquisite orbital patterns of the planets and the mathematical relationships that govern them. A table shows the relative measurements of each planet in eighteen categories, and three pages show the beautiful dance patterns of thirty six pairs of planets and moons.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Martineau, an acclaimed geometer, is also the publisher of Wooden Books.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802713882
• ISBN-13: 978-0802713889
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > Science & Technology > Astronomy
  • #36 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > Science & Technology > Mathematics
  • #72 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy & Space Science > Cosmology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A paradigm shifting space odyssey, July 10, 2002

By 

Mark Samuels (Scotland & New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Little Book of Coincidence (Wooden Books) (Hardcover)

I have been collecting this Walkers series and I have to say was not expecting anything like this little diamond. At face value it is a small guide to the solar system. But in fact my guess is that nothing even remotely like this book has ever appeared in print before. I predict people will look back on A Little Book of Coincidence as a defining moment in the story of man's understanding of what he is, what conscious life is, and where it appears in the universe.

The images are done in the style of old engravings, and indeed, as you enter the world as John Martineau presents it you feel as if you are reading some long lost magical text - each page is rich, precious, extraordinary and challenging. It becomes clear that Earth is much more special than simply being the right distance from the Sun. Martineau shows the Moon, Venus, Mars and Mercury as all manifesting simple relationships in time and space. These have all stayed with me and won't go away.

This is really a book about the ancient vision of the Harmony of the Spheres, and yet it is terrifyingly modern, bold, original and impossible to dismiss (as I keep trying to). It haunts one, initiates the reader and I still can't quite believe it actually exists!

An all time planet earth classic. How Plato or Kepler would have enjoyed this read.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN ENIGMATIC MASTERPIECE, January 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Little Book of Coincidence (Wooden Books) (Hardcover)

Quite why there isn't more of a storm breaking over this elegant little book I can't work out. Brief, beautiful and to-the-point, it's been my top gift-book of 2004. Good original science wrapped up as magic, I'm still not sure where Martineau is exactly coming from, but there's no arguing with his data (which I have checked). A pity there is no statistical background to the findings he presents, but then this is not the kind of book for that anyway. For what it's worth I think he's probably right (although we won't know for another 100 years) - these kind of patterns may well be a signature of conscious life. I would kind of expect other solar systems with conscious life to also display phi and fibonacci-based relations around their primary 'conscious' planets. We know that liquid water takes an icosahedral structure. Martineau's ideas seem the next logical step. Ahead of its time. Recommended.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book yet on Cosmic Weirdness, May 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Little Book of Coincidence (Wooden Books) (Hardcover)

I don't know what the previous reviewer was going on about - personally I found the planet-centred pictures fascinating (in particular those involving the small planetoid Chiron which turns out to be highly harmonic/resonant with its neighbours). If I had one criticism of this book it would be that the author does not in fact go into resonance as the likely explanation for many of the coincidences he describes, but hey, since most scientists don't seem to talk about it either (they haven't quite cracked it yet), I can see why he goes for the Harry Potter style instead. This is a great book, leave it by the toilet, read a little every day, and have your brain fundamentally rewired. Why has nobody noticed all this stuff before? Astophysicists, this is your wake-up call!