(posted on my blog: davenichols.net)

Part detective story, part historical investigation, and part bibliophilic adventure, Owen Gingerich's The Book Nobody Read narrates the author's decades-long quest to track down and document all the existing first and second edition copies of Nicolaus Copernicus's groundbreaking work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri six ("Six Books on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"). De revolutionibus set in motion the drive to replace a geocentric universe with a heliocentric one. Gingerich take his title from myth put forward by Arthur Koestler that Copernicus's book was not widely read. Gingerich's investigation shows Koestler to be dead wrong.

Spending three decades building his census of De revolutionibus, Gingerich became personally invested in researching the history of the revolutionary work. Finding hundreds of copies of the first two editions to be very heavily annotated, the author discovered that not only was the book widely owned, it was clearly widely read. Later famous owners of the book included Kepler and Brahe, and in copy after copy, Gingerich discovered extensive notes by edition owners.

The Book Nobody Read is one of those odd niche adventures that likely appeals to a small audience. However, as a bibliophile and lover of both astronomy and history, this was a fantastic story of the worldwide search for copies of one of most important books ever written. Gingerich documents his travels and troubles across the world as he tracked down each copy. A passionate historian, the author also draws for the reader a unique view of the influence of De revolutionibus and the assorted characters who owned and were affected by it.

Again, I think this book likely appeals to a small niche audience, namely those interested in the history of science and/or the history of books. For those readers, however, this book is a fantastic treat and well worth a weekend read. Gingerich is a strong writer and clearly passionate about his lifelong pursuit of Copernicus's masterpiece. Peppered with many photographs of noteworthy annotations and editions, the author presents a wonderful exploration of the history of De revolutionibus. Four and one-half stars. ( )

This was a tough book to get through. The way in which the narrative shifted between the historical and scientific details of Copernicus' studies and the author's travels to find copies of De revolutionibus orbium made for difficult reading. I probably would have had an easier time with it if I were more familiar with the scientific principles being discussed.

One of the principal difficulties I had in reading this book were the many tangential stories the author indulged in. Gingerich is very thorough in detailing his quest for the first and second editions of De revolutionibus orbium. These details get in the way of the story he is telling.

For example, at one point, the author wonders what could have happened to the missing copies of the work. He conjectures that they could have been damaged by water and or pests, and then spends three pages outlining types of damage with examples (including a picture of a silverfish). While illustrative details like this can be useful in moderation, Gingerich indulges in them so often that I kept losing track of the book's main story. I also found myself skipping over the tangents and soon noticed that I was skipping over a considerable part of the book.

At its core, I think this is an interesting book. It is so buried in detailed scientific explantions and tangential anecdotes that its potential audience is quite limited (my father, a retired professor of oceanography with an interest in the history of science and orbital mechanics, thought this was a great book). ( )

I heard the author give a lecture on the research behind this book. That's the reason I bought it. I haven't read it yet.

Owen Gingrich chases all existing original copies of Copernicus' book and finds that a lot of people read, commented and discussed Copernicus' book when it was first published. Fascinating account of how 'academia' worked in the 16th century. Amazingly, it really was not so different than today, except that instead of e-mail, messages travelled by donkey-drawn carriages. At least that gave people more time to think about things. Oops, gotta go, another e-mail just popped up... ( )

This is essentially the memoir of the author's labors to create a complete census of the scientific classic "De Revolutionibus...' by Nicolaus Copernicus and is equal parts history of science, travelogue, and sociology of book collecting. ( )