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Mirror Mirror: A History Of The Human Love Affair With Reflection
by
Mark Pendergrast (Goodreads Author)
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 mir...more
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
July 1st 2003
by Basic Books
(first published January 28th 1956)
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While this book does cover a history of mirrors, the author seems to get merrily side-tracked by the history of the study of light in general and telescopes in particular. I found this to actually be very interesting (I'd never really thought about telescope development before, and I had no idea how complicated mirror production was and how closely guarded trade secrets were at one time), though it wasn't what I'd anticipated. The major shortcoming of the book is that it comes across as one very...more
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The one thing I didn't like about this book was that it lagged in the middle. Otherwise , it was a great book. This book tells the story of light: don't be fooled by the title. Mirror, Mirror is a history of light, telescopes and humans. I really enjoyed learning a lot of little known facts about famous scientists.
This book should really be called "Some interesting stuff about mirrors and then 200 pages about telescopes and the history of astronomy." There were some interesting bits about the history of mirror-making, some short philosophical ramblings on the human relationship to mirrors and mirror-related objects, and then TELESCOPES.
Yes, telescopes have mirrors, and mirrors are super important for astronomy, so a chapter about telescopes was not out of line. But pages and pages of reading about variou...more
Yes, telescopes have mirrors, and mirrors are super important for astronomy, so a chapter about telescopes was not out of line. But pages and pages of reading about variou...more
I fell in love with this book. I am fascinated by science but don't have a firm grounding in the technical side. Not only does Pendergrast make the subject amazingly interesting, his excitement for it is contagious.
Some chapters were fascinating and some were too scientific or technical for me.
I am more interested in the history of and the idea of mirrors than in the technicalities of making them or using them in certain applications.
I am more interested in the history of and the idea of mirrors than in the technicalities of making them or using them in certain applications.
A book that examines the phenomenon of reflection and the role of the mirror in mythology and religion; its pervasiveness in everyday life, its influence on art and culture, its impact on commerce and entertainment and its applications in science and astronomy.
Interesting throughout, its a well-researched work but suffers from the disadvantage of being absolutely crammed with information. The tale of reflection is a magical one, and the story is worth telling, but had it been written in a style...more
Interesting throughout, its a well-researched work but suffers from the disadvantage of being absolutely crammed with information. The tale of reflection is a magical one, and the story is worth telling, but had it been written in a style...more
"In 1438, Johannes Gensfleisch Gutenberg started a mirror-making in Strasbourg, selling small metal o glass mirrors to religious pilgrims who believed they could thereby capture the reflection of a saint's relics --a poor person's way to bring home holiness. In 1444, Gutenberg returned to Mainz, where he used his expertise in metal-working and the concept of mirror images to create the first printing press. By 1455, he had completed his monumental printing of the Bible". p. 38
This book should not have been named "Mirror Mirror". It should have been called "Telescope Telescope". I don't like being tricked into thinking a book would be about one subject and it is about another. The three chapters that were actually about mirrors were interesting. I really enjoyed them. I did not enjoy the rest of the book at all. NONE. That's why it literally took me months to finish. I pushed myself to finish this book and now I am so glad its done.
This book has captured my imagination about the history of science in a way no single book has done in a long time. Sometimes I wished that he'd stop limiting the topic to mirrors and widen the scope of the book but the narrow topic does keep it fluidly moving through time. Try to push through the first chapter where he drones on poetically about the spiritual pull of mirrors on to the meat of the book which includes an excellent primer on optics.
Not bad. The first few chapters were tough slugging and their were a few inconsistencies, but an interesting read. Much of the focus for the latter half of the book was on the history of the use of mirrors in astronomical telescopes so not too much new for me there...
Did you know that rear-view mirrors were not mandatory in the USA until 1966? Now you do!
Did you know that rear-view mirrors were not mandatory in the USA until 1966? Now you do!
The first third and last chapter of this book were what I was hoping for. The rest would have more accurately been titled "A complete history of every telescope ever made in the Western world."
Apr 27, 2013
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Mark Pendergrast was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, the fourth of seven children in a family that valued civil rights, the environment, sailing, reading, and games of chase and charades. He earned a B.A. in English literature from Harvard, taught high school and elementary school, then went back to Simmons College for a masters in library science and worked as an academic librarian—all the w...more
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Feb 04, 2011 02:50pm