Mario Livio

The Golden Ratio: the Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number Mario Livio

Publisher Marketing: Throughout history, thinkers from mathematicians to theologians have pondered the mysterious relationship between numbers and the nature of reality. In this fascinating book, Mario Livio tells the tale of a number at the heart of that mystery: phi, or 1.6180339887.... This curious mathematical relationship, widely known as "The Golden Ratio," was discovered by Euclid more than two thousand years ago because of its crucial role in the construction of the pentagram, to which magical properties had been attributed. Since then it has shown a propensity to appear in the most astonishing variety of places, from mollusk shells, sunflower florets, and rose petals to the shape of the galaxy. Psychological studies have investigated whether the Golden Ratio is the most aesthetically pleasing proportion extant, and it has been asserted that the creators of the Pyramids and the Parthenon employed it. It is believed to feature in works of art from Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" to Salvador Dali's "The Sacrament of the Last Supper," and poets and composers have used it in their works. It has even been found to be connected to the behavior of the stock market!"The Golden Ratio" is a captivating journey through art and architecture, botany and biology, physics and mathematics. It tells the human story of numerous "phi"-fixated individuals, including the followers of Pythagoras who believed that this proportion revealed the hand of God; astronomer Johannes Kepler, who saw phi as the greatest treasure of geometry; such Renaissance thinkers as mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa; and such masters of the modern world as Goethe, Cezanne, Bartok, and physicist Roger Penrose. Wherever his quest for the meaning of phi takes him, Mario Livio reveals the world as a place where order, beauty, and eternal mystery will always coexist. Review Citations: Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 212 (EAN 9780767908160, Paperback) Wilson Public Library Catalog 12/31/2008 pg. 363 (EAN 9780767908160, Paperback) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2011 pg. 265 (EAN 9780767908160, Paperback) Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/2013 pg. 414 (EAN 9780767908160, Paperback) Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2002 pg. 1284 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 09/16/2002 pg. 62 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Booklist 10/15/2002 pg. 369 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) School Library Journal 04/01/2003 pg. 196 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Entertainment Weekly 08/08/2003 pg. 81 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/2004 pg. 264 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 212 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Wilson Public Library Catalog 12/31/2008 pg. 363 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2011 pg. 265 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/2013 pg. 414 (EAN 9780767908153, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Livio, Mario Mario Livio is a Senior Astrophysicist and Head of the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA. Contributor Bio:  Foster, Mel Mel Foster has narrated over 150 audiobooks and has won several awards. Twice an Audie finalist for "1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History" by Charles Bracelen Flood and "Finding God in Unexpected Places" by Philip Yancey, he won for the latter title.