Book cover of The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern World

Book description

A short history of nearly everything classical. The foundations of the modern world were laid in Alexandria of Egypt at the turn of the first millennium. In this compulsively readable narrative, Justin Pollard and Howard Reid bring one of history's most fascinating and prolific cities to life, creating a treasure…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Rise and Fall of Alexandria as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is the best book to understand the roots of modern science. Unbelievable discoveries 2,500 years before the present: the size of the moon, of earth and the sun, and the distances had been known quite precisely; the planetary system was understood; the first geographical information system for the round (!) plant earth was designed; the first (hydraulically driven) computer was constructed to model astronomic events. A masterpiece, extremely well written by two science journalists that distilled the essence of early mathematics, physics, astronomy, mechanics, and geography  

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German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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