by:
Hooke, Robert
Hooke, Robert
Ford, Brian J. (Narrator)

Publisher:
Octavo
Published:March 1, 1998
ISBN:1891788027
Format:CD-ROM
Pages:436

Description: From Library Journal
Wow! is all we can say about this disc, which provides an Adobe Acrobat-readable version of Robert Hooke's Micrographia, published in London in 1665 and one of the most important books in science history for its revolutionizing of the art of scientific investigation. Octavo photographed each page of the book at 6000 x 8000 pixels with a high-resolution digital camera. Set your viewing preference to Browse, Read, or Examine, magnify the pages (and the binding) to 800 percent, search the complete text, and print what you want. The images are incredibly legible. Given the high-quality images, we found it comfortable reading the text on the computer screen. Bottom Line: The only precondition to using this disc is being comfortable with Adobe Acrobat. This is a marvelous reproduction and should be a required purchase for research libraries, science libraries, and history of science collections. Moreover, any library seeking to develop full-text electronic collections should purchase.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description:
You are about to open a book that revolutionized the art of scientific investigation. Robert Hooke was still in his twenties when he wrote Micrographia, yet in this single volume revealed the immense potential of a single instrument, the microscope, and the many brilliant speculations of a multifaceted mind. Micrographia introduces us to the living cell; to microscopic fungi and the life story of the mosquito; we encounter the two contrasting theories about the origin of the lunar craters posed for the very first time. We read the first sensible proposal for the origin of fossils, and an uncanny prediction of the artificial fiber industry in Hooke's discussion of the spinning of silk by the spider. Elsewhere in his great book, gigantic insects populate the pages, and controversy and scientific argument mark out the text.

Micrographia is a large book, measuring almost twelve inches tall and weighing three pounds. It was printed in October 1664, and when bound copies appeared on sale the following year it became an instant bestseller. Most people cannot relish the crisp printing and the fine paper of an original issue, and this digital edition brings the look of the first edition truly into the public domain. We can marvel at the clarity of the prose, and the vividness of the pictures. Many of the plates (like that of the stinging nettle, for example, and the louse) have a clarity not regained until the era of the electron microscope. It is hard to believe these are the images from a pioneer who flourished three and a half centuries ago.

Commentary by Brian J. Ford, searchable live text.