Customer Reviews

The Secrets of Ancient Geometry—and its uses, 2-Volume Set

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This is the all-time hands-down winner in the ancient geometry field. Nothing comes close. Most books are simply uninformative, regurgitating ad nauseam old truisms about the golden mean and squaring the circle. Brunes' two volume study presents a tightly-argued and magnificently illustrated description of the prevalence of a standard geometrical pattern applied to works of western art and architecture throughout the millennia. The basic procedure used a square of known dimensions whose diagonal was subtended to the horizontal, (1:square root of 2). This relationship was then elaborated to lay out the design of numerous sacred sites.

The same patterns, clearly provided by Brunes, are present in works as far back as ancient Egypt up to the gothic period. Particularly fascinating are Notre Dame de Paris, Glastonbury Cathedral, the Parthenon and the Pyramids. Floor plans are provided with an overlay of the geometry and discussions of the standard planning method's application. While the significance of the builders' method remains problematic, it would appear to have been based on Pythagorean notions of the ability of geometrical pattern and arithmetical canon to invoke corresponding spiritual influences.

This book has all the thrill of a good detective novel, and is a wonderful and impressive read for anyone interested in this arcane topic's relevance to western religious architecture. A discussion of this method's connection to chess and written language is also included. If you want to locate this book quickly, my suggestion is Samuel Weiser's Antiquarian in York Beach, Maine. (It's pricey.) Also, this book makes a good companion to Genisis by David Wood.

I "discovered" this book as a foot note in a book about 'secrets of the great pyramid'. The local university library had a copy (2 volumes) and I read both. What a wonderfully simple idea! Start with a circle (symbol of the sun) and put a square in it or around it; and you're off. Add some diagonals and some other lines and a whole new world of proportion opens up. Did you know that the square drawn inside a circle (with a square drawn outside) is exactly half the area. I can't say I understood the chapters on Egyptian measures, but all the rest is just fascinating. Architects really should have to study this simple concept. If you like genuine discovry, you'll love this book.

Brunes has discovered, mysteriously accessed, or somehow just intuited a system of geometry, far more ancient than Euclidian, which finds application in the design proportions of all of the cathedrals, monuments and other magnificent buildings of the ancient and medieval architects as well as classics of pottery design and statuary.

Although I have not read this book, with the price tag you can see why, I can't make myself believe that this book is worth this kind of money. And its price makes it unavailable to the public libraries where I live and I would like to study this work but I can't see this happening. I am sure this book is a good read but it aint worth this price. Any suggestions?

slemaster@sprintmail.com