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Descartes's Secret Notebook

A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe

A True Tale of Mathematics, Mysticism, and the Quest to Understand the Universe

By Amir D. Aczel

By Amir D. Aczel

By Amir D. Aczel

By Amir D. Aczel

Best Seller
Paperback $17.00

Oct 10, 2006 | ISBN 9780767920346

Ebook $10.99

Feb 19, 2009 | ISBN 9780307494801

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    Descartes's Secret Notebook by Amir D. Aczel
    Paperback $17.00
    Oct 10, 2006 | ISBN 9780767920346

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    • Paperback $17.00

      Oct 10, 2006 | ISBN 9780767920346

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      Feb 19, 2009 | ISBN 9780307494801

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    About Descartes’s Secret Notebook

    René Descartes (1596–1650) is one of the towering and central figures in Western philosophy and mathematics. His apothegm “Cogito, ergo sum” marked the birth of the mind-body problem, while his creation of so-called Cartesian coordinates have made our physical and intellectual conquest of physical space possible.

    But Descartes had a mysterious and mystical side, as well. Almost certainly a member of the occult brotherhood of the Rosicrucians, he kept a secret notebook, now lost, most of which was written in code. After Descartes’s death, Gottfried Leibniz, inventor of calculus and one of the greatest mathematicians in history, moved to Paris in search of this notebook—and eventually found it in the possession of Claude Clerselier, a friend of Descartes. Leibniz called on Clerselier and was allowed to copy only a couple of pages—which, though written in code, he amazingly deciphered there on the spot. Leibniz’s hastily scribbled notes are all we have today of Descartes’s notebook, which has disappeared.

    Why did Descartes keep a secret notebook, and what were its contents? The answers to these questions lead Amir Aczel and the reader on an exciting, swashbuckling journey, and offer a fascinating look at one of the great figures of Western culture.

    About Descartes’s Secret Notebook

    René Descartes (1596—1650) is one of the towering and central figures in Western philosophy and mathematics. His apothegm “Cogito, ergo sum” marked the birth of the mind-body problem, while his creation of so-called Cartesian coordinates has made our intellectual conquest of physical space possible.

    But Descartes had a mysterious and mystical side, as well. Almost certainly a member of the occult brotherhood of the Rosicrucians, he kept a secret notebook, now lost, most of which was written in code. After Descartes’s death, Gottfried Leibniz, inventor of calculus and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, moved to Paris in search of this notebook–and eventually found it in the possession of Claude Clerselier, a friend of Descartes’s. Liebniz called on Clerselier and was allowed to copy only a couple of pages–which, though written in code, he amazingly deciphered there on the spot. Liebniz’s hastily scribbled notes are all we have today of Descartes’s notebook.

    Why did Descartes keep a secret notebook, and what were its contents? The answers to these questions will lead the reader on an exciting, swashbuckling journey, and offer a fascinating look at one of the great figures of Western culture.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by Amir D. Aczel

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    Mystery of the Aleph
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    See all books by Amir D. Aczel

    Also by Amir D. Aczel

    Present at the Creation
    Entanglement
    Riddle of the Compass
    Mystery of the Aleph
    God's Equation
    See all books by Amir D. Aczel

    About Amir D. Aczel

    Amir D. Aczel is the author of many research articles on mathematics, two textbooks, and nine nonfiction books, including the international bestseller Fermat’s Last Theorem, which was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Award. Aczel has appeared on more than 30 television programs,… More about Amir D. Aczel

    About Amir D. Aczel

    Amir D. Aczel is the author of many research articles on mathematics, two textbooks, and nine nonfiction books, including the international bestseller Fermat’s Last Theorem, which was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Award. Aczel has appeared on more than 30 television programs,… More about Amir D. Aczel

    Product Details

    Category: Philosophy | Biography & Memoir

    Paperback | $17.00
    Published by Crown
    Oct 10, 2006 | 288 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780767920346

    Category: Philosophy | Biography & Memoir

    Ebook | $10.99
    Published by Crown
    Feb 19, 2009 | 288 Pages | ISBN 9780307494801

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    Praise

    “Aczel catapults the reader into a world where burgeoning intellect was cloaked in intrigue.” —The Washington Post Book World

    “Aczel joins the ranks of Roger Penrose, Stephen Pinker, Francis Crick, and others.”—Keith Devlin, author of Goodbye, Descartes: The End of Logic and the Search for a New Cosmology of the Mind

    “Splendid . . . first-rate.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    “Aczel reveals the mystery behind . . . one of the Western world’s greatest minds . . . [Descartes’s Secret Notebook] reads like a mystery novel as well as a biography.” —Science News

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