Mirror Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection [Hardcover]

Mark Pendergrast (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0465054706 | ISBN-13: 978-0465054701 | Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Of all human inventions, the mirror is perhaps the one most closely connected to our own consciousness. As our first technology for contemplation of the self, the mirror is arguably as important an invention as the wheel. Mirror Mirror is the fascinating story of the mirror's invention, refinement, and use in an astonishing range of human activities--from the fantastic mirrored rooms that wealthy Romans created for their orgies to the mirror's key role in the use and understanding of light. Pendergrast spins tales of the 2,500year mystery of whether Archimedes and his "burning mirror" really set faraway Roman ships on fire; the medieval Venetian glassmakers, who perfected the technique of making large, flat mirrors from clear glass and for whom any attempt to leave their cloistered island was punishable by death; Isaac Newton, whose experiments with sunlight on mirrors once left him blinded for three days; the artist David Hockney, who holds controversial ideas about Renaissance artists and their use of optical devices; and George Ellery Hale, the manic-depressive astronomer and telescope enthusiast who inspired (and gave his name to) the twentieth century's largest ground-based telescope. Like mirrors themselves, Mirror Mirror is a book of endless wonder and fascination.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After exploring the history of coffee in Uncommon Grounds, Pendergrast now takes up another common object-the mirror. How it evolved from the polished ornaments of ancient sun worshippers and an essential of 17th-century palace decor to the modern glass in everyman's bathroom is only one theme in this chronological survey. Throughout its history, Pendergrast shows, the mirror has symbolized vanity, self-examination and the limits of human understanding. He identifies the mirror as a favorite metaphor in Elizabethan literature; he also traces mirrors back to Greek myths and forward to Lewis Carroll's classic Through the Looking-Glass. A third theme is the magic mirror, into which conjurers have peered to communicate with the other world. Though condemned by the Church, this practice, called scrying, enjoyed a revival during the Renaissance and again during the Victorian spiritualism craze, while vaudevillian "smoke and mirror" shows flourished and toys for creating optical illusions provided home entertainment. Shifting to mirrors in science, Pendergrast describes optics from early philosophers' theories of vision through quantum physicists' discovery of light's dual particle-wave nature. Though informative, long technical sections about reflecting telescopes and other subjects will frustrate the reader lured by the book's suggestive subtitle. In the conclusion, Pendergrast speculates on the ability to recognize oneself in the mirror as evidence of a self-awareness unique to higher animals. If Pendergrast had shown more self-awareness as a writer, however, he might have resisted the urge to impose a chronological framework and to include seemingly every fact from his notes. The result would have been a more coherent and thoughtful book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Mirrors, from ancient obsidian shards to modern space telescopes, have been conceived to control and refine light for purposes as varied as flattering one's appearance or probing the history of the universe. Pendergrast arranges a kaleidoscopic chronology that touches on people as different as Etruscans and NASA astrophysicists, and literature that encompasses both Shakespeare and advertising. It is that variety that summarizes how Pendergrast's narrative bounces off any topic conceivably connected to mirrors. However, it acquires coherence through the author's recurring summary of the improving technology of mirror manufacturing over time. The author also highlights the fact that mirrors were rare luxury items and often invested with mysticism as reflectors of the soul or the future. Art and science mix in Pendergrast's panorama, sometimes oddly, always intriguingly. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465054706
• ISBN-13: 978-0465054701
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of six books of critically acclaimed non-fiction. The latest is JAPAN'S TIPPING POINT: CRUCIAL CHOICES IN THE POST-FUKUSHIMA WORLD, a short book on a huge topic. Can Japan radically shift its energy policy, become greener, more self-sufficient, and avoid catastrophic impacts on the climate? In the post-Fukushima era, Japan is the "canary in the coal mine" for the rest of the world. I arrived in Japan exactly two months after the Fukushima meltdown. This book is the account of my trip and my alarming conclusions. INSIDE THE OUTBREAKS, is a history of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service. The others are UNCOMMON GROUNDS, the history of coffee, FOR GOD, COUNTRY & COCA-COLA, the history of the soft drink, MIRROR MIRROR, a history of mirrors, and VICTIMS OF MEMORY, a book about so-called recovered memories. One critic called me "the ultimate freelance journalist with an eclectic mind." I suppose he meant that I write about whatever interests me. I prefer to call myself an independent scholar, since my books are heavily researched. I joke that I should have earned an honorary Ph.D for each of them in their respective subjects. What my books all have in common is that they cover subjects that matter. In my small way, I hope to make the world a somewhat saner, safer place. I'm not sure if my children's book, JACK AND THE BEAN SOUP, will make the world a better place, but I hope it makes it a bit more humorous. The book is a fractured fairytale -- basically, an elaborate fart joke, though it does explain how evil came to the earth and the origin of thunder! I live in Vermont with my wife and dog, and I like to hear from readers. For more information on my books, see www.markpendergrast.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reflections on Mirror Mirror, November 18, 2003

By 

Marylen Grigas (Burlington, VT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mirror Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection (Hardcover)

Mirror, Mirror is a fascinating read not only for those lovers of the technical but also for those more interested in human history--as I am. Pendergrast explains scientific and technical concepts clearly. What I particularly loved about the book--besides learning a great deal about the history of science--was the way he wove in the human story. Pendergrast makes names like Herschel and Newton come alive as real people with distinct personalities. Reading a book of such quality and scope is my favorite way of learning about history and science.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mirrors Show What We Are, September 29, 2003

By 

R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mirror Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection (Hardcover)

There's a good chance you looked into the mirror as one of your first tasks of the day, and that you have mirrors in many of the rooms in which you live and work. You certainly have them in and on your car. Perhaps you are not fascinated by mirrors, but that may be because they are all around, ready to be taken for granted. Like most things taken for granted, it is a good idea to take notice again, and Mark Pendergrast has done so for the common and not-so-common looking glass. _Mirror Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection_ (Basic Books) looks at how mirrors have played roles in history, literature, technology, sex, science, and magic. There is a good deal here to reflect upon.

Our ancestors had to make do with looking into puddles, polished obsidian, and eventually polished metal. It was not until the thirteenth century that industrial mirror-making was begun, in Venice. City authorities forced the glassmakers to the island of Murano because they used such dangerous furnaces. In addition, authorities could better keep watch on the members of the glassmakers' guild if they were isolated on the island; escaping from the island carried the death penalty. Mirrors are inextricably entangled with light, and one of the pleasures of _Mirror Mirror_ is that it gives a history of our improving concepts of what light is. Telescope makers for centuries have been increasingly able to coax light to reveal secrets of our universe, and a large part of the book is about this history of telescope making. There are many stories here of mirrors that took years to grind into the perfect shape before they could be installed in famous observatories. The troublesome mirror that had to be corrected on the Hubble is here, as are newer Earth-based mirrors that can be magically adjusted to correct for atmospheric distortion.

Despite the book's subtitle, there is not a great deal here about humans looking at themselves in mirrors. There is a firm called True Mirror that makes a right-angled mirror surface that produces an unreversed reflection; wink your right eye into it and the right (not left) eye of your mirror image winks back. People looking into such a mirror can be confused, or repelled, but are often fascinated, and the makers encourage mirror gazing as an aid to self-understanding. It is clear that Pendergrast is much more impressed with mirrors used to look at our place in the universe rather than mirrors that we use to apply our make-up. He has written a fascinating book that shows that the mirrors in observatories, in orbit, in compacts, and in magic tricks reflect ourselves and our wide range of interests.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good mix of science, psychology, art and history, June 22, 2010

By 

Newton Ooi (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mirror Mirror: History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection (Paperback)

This easy-to-read book examines the role of mirrors and reflection in human history. Covering the fields of optics, astronomy, art, literature and even warfare, this book is insightful, entertaining, and quite understandable. There are also several pages of figures and photos spread throughout the book. The text is at a level understandable by a high-school student, with diagrams to explain any scientific concepts, especially those related to optics. All told, a good book.