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Mirror, Mirror

A History Of The Human Love Affair With Reflection

Mirror, Mirror Open the full-size image

Contributors

By Mark Pendergrast

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Apr 28, 2009
Page Count
448 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780786729906

Price

$12.99

Price

$16.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $12.99 $16.99 CAD
  2. Trade Paperback $24.99 $31.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around April 28, 2009. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

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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 mirrored rooms that wealthy Romans created for their orgies to the mirror’s key role in the use and understanding of light. Pendergrast spins tales of the 2,500year mystery of whether Archimedes and his “burning mirror” really set faraway Roman ships on fire; the medieval Venetian glassmakers, who perfected the technique of making large, flat mirrors from clear glass and for whom any attempt to leave their cloistered island was punishable by death; Isaac Newton, whose experiments with sunlight on mirrors once left him blinded for three days; the artist David Hockney, who holds controversial ideas about Renaissance artists and their use of optical devices; and George Ellery Hale, the manic-depressive astronomer and telescope enthusiast who inspired (and gave his name to) the twentieth century’s largest ground-based telescope. Like mirrors themselves, Mirror Mirror is a book of endless wonder and fascination.

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Mark Pendergrast

About the Author

Mark Pendergrast, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, grew up on West Paces Ferry Road, once known as “Coca-Cola Row.” Pendergrast is also the author of Uncommon Grounds and many other books. He lives in Vermont.

Learn more about this author