On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (Great Minds Series)

Copernicus turns out to be a different person than what I thought. A man a hundred or two hundred years ahead of his time in astronomy. Not only do the planets go around the Sun, but the stars are an indefinite distance from us. All he had done was go with his observations, and not push some religion or philosophy. Unfortunately, he lost me on the geometry and his explanation of it. That is why I gave it a lower rating for myself than I would have otherwise. In short, his problem was having to prove everything. Good in scientist but I lack the training or the inclination to figure it out. I would clearly recommend this to specialists. I would be a little reluctant to recommend it to lay persons such as myself, unless they had enthusiasm and stick-to-it-iveness. I guess that is why so many histories of astronomy reveal the author did not read this original work.

Information provided in this incomplete presentation includes those of greater interest and probability the most revolutionary at the time. The preliminary sections provide historical context. The translation is generally easy to understand. The original work comprised six books within one volume, while this edition has portions of two.There are at least three possible explanations for the missing information: (a) the publisher had an incomplete original, (b) the photocopying was poorly done, or (c) the most significant parts were excerpted for simplicity or for a specific course of study.Although the book description correctly states the length at 56 pages, the abrupt ending of the text mid chapter without explanation was disappointing and misleading.Recommend that "About this book" information be updated to be more transparent about what is actually included.Some basic understanding of geometry will help with more technical sections; however, they key elements of his famous heliocentric theory is well represented without needing too much math background.The included diagrams a expandable in the Kindle version, allowing closer scrutiny.In its current format, this version is appropriate for those wanting an English introduction to the theory's early publication.

Great opportunity to see the words of an amazing scientist as written. I assume translation is accurate. Impressive what he did and equally that he published to the church heads. Not a trivial decision at that time. I admit to not working through all the geometry.

Of course it is not a "story", but I checked "third person" because that's the standard for technical writing. This is an excellent translation of an epoch-making book, and like Newton's Principia, there is great value in seeing what is contained in the original. Some surprising humor is to be found in the Introduction (which is now believed to have been written by a friend of Copernicus). Clearly Copernicus anticipated repercussions from the religious authorities, and part of the interest in the book is seeing how he sets up his defenses in advance.

I KEPT READING DESPITE THE WARNING AT THE BEGINNING ABOUT GEOMETRY. Surprisingly most things were explained in layman's terms and there were just enough references to other astronomers and mathematicians to give a historical context.

It was a great learning opportunity and inspired me to think deeper into astronomy great nicolaus copernicus great job awesome

We are in 1543, Copernicus figured out that earth isn't at the center of the universe because the motion of other heavenly spheres weren't concentric with earth. His hypothesis is based on careful observations together with geometrical arguments. Hey, here, he is writing to the Pope triggering the scientific revolution! Popcorn goes very well with this book but the cover says: "Let no one untrained in geometry enter here".

Great book. Well translated, and relatively low level. A great insight into the brilliance of Copernicus, and a reminder that, despite the lack of knowledge at the time, people hundreds of years ago were just as intelligent as those today.

Outlines his lack of confidence when stating counter dogmatic theory and his constant attempts to save the phenomena throughout his reasoning. However, it remains an incredible witness to the beginning of the introduction of scientific fact in the explanation of accepted divine texts.

A very difficult book to translate, but this one is good for all and especially scientist.

excellent book at a very reasonable price, I am pleased with the purchase and I would recommend this product as a true bargain.

Nicolaus Copernicus....What can I say! One of the or The greatest man ever lived on the planet Earth. Copernicus and Galileo have been an inspiration to me since my childhood. The research and observations he did without proper equipment are incredible. The theories and calculations he did in the book are amazing. We never get to see the greatest minds in history likes of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Ramanujan etc... but they gave their wisdom to us and to enjoy the benefits of their labour. Many people come into this world but only few people leave behind their image for us to remember. These people will be remembered as long as the Human kind exists!In other words, this book changed the course of history of Human kind and the Astronomy. It is a must have book for anyone interested in Astronomy, Mathematics or Philosophy!

Correcting the BS sold by the Church