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  • Ptolemy's Almagest

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Ptolemy's Almagest Revised ed. Edition

by Ptolemy (Author), G. J. Toomer (Translator), Owen Gingerich (Foreword)
4.5 out of 5 stars (34)
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Ptolemy's Almagest is one of the most influential scientific works in history. A masterpiece of technical exposition, it was the basic textbook of astronomy for more than a thousand years, and still is the main source for our knowledge of ancient astronomy. This translation, based on the standard Greek text of Heiberg, makes the work accessible to English readers in an intelligible and reliable form. It contains numerous corrections derived from medieval Arabic translations and extensive footnotes that take account of the great progress in understanding the work made in this century, due to the discovery of Babylonian records and other researches. It is designed to stand by itself as an interpretation of the original, but it will also be useful as an aid to reading the Greek text.

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  1. ISBN-10
    9780691002606
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0691002606
  3. Edition
    Revised ed.
  4. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  5. Publication date
    October 19, 1998
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  8. Print length
    712 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"G.J. Toomer's new English edition of Ptolemy's classic treatise is more than just a fresh translation.... What Toomer has produced is the best edition in any language, one that will remain the standard preferred text for years to come." ― Nature

"On the whole the accuracy and faithfulness to the original, including the small but important matter of a scrupulous adherence to Ptolemy's own mathematical notations, are exemplary."---G.E.R. Lloyd, The Times Literary Supplement

Review

"Whatever we now understand of Ptolemy ... is in this book."―Noel Swerdlow, University of Chicago

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0691002606
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 19, 1998
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Revised ed.
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 712 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780691002606
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691002606
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #989,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars (34)

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
34 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Nathanael Hahn
    5.0 out of 5 stars This Is the Translation You're Looking For
    Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2026
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Look no further. This is all you need.
    One person found this helpful
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  • John J. Hug
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exceeds My Expectations
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2026
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Exceeds my expectations! A classic work and a very well-written interpretation to accompany it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Natasha | Intentionalish Mama
    4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect gift for FIL
    Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Recently purchased this as a gift for my FIL, as he is an avid amateur astral photographer. He is very interested in the history of astronomy. He specifically requested this book and was very pleased to receive it. I did take away one star because I expected the book to be a higher quality due to the price. However, it was delivered quickly and on time, and my Father in law was very happy!
    Helpful
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  • Veli-Pekka Ranta
    5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent start for the empirical sciences
    Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2013
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Before buying Ptolemy’s Almagest (written around A.D. 150) I knew of its reputation as a highly technical and difficult text on Greek geocentric astronomy. Still, the extremely thorough treatment by Ptolemy with all its details surprised me, and I really admire the achievements by Ptolemy and his ancestors.

    I couldn’t have done much progress without two excellent commentaries. Olaf Pedersen’s “A Survey of the Almagest” (with annotation and new commentary by Alexander Jones, Springer, 2010) was very helpful in revealing the mathematical aspects in Almagest. Even more important for me was James Evans’ “The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy” (Oxford University Press, 1998) since Evans both explained the historical background of Almagest and helped in several mathematical details. An armillary sphere would also have been very helpful in getting a concrete view of the rotations. I didn’t have it, but I made a primitive prototype from a metal wire. With the help of these tools I managed to get a fairly clear picture of the Books I-IV, ca. 200 pages on Ptolemy’s mathematical tools and on solar and lunar motions, in ca. 2.5 months (after normal working days and on weekends). Thereafter, I spent ca. 3 weeks for a fairly superficial overview of the rest of the book. I got what I wanted: a basic understanding of Almagest.

    Here are two of my favourite passages. On pages 153-156 Ptolemy shows a “curve fitting” on solar motion. He demonstrates how the parameters of eccentric model are adjusted to match the calculated intervals between equinoxes and solstices with the observations by Hipparchus. On page 206 he describes the attitude of a real scientist: “For those who approach this science in a true spirit of enquiry and love of truth ought to use any new methods they discover, which give more accurate results, to correct not merely the ancient theories, but their own too, if they need it. They should not think it disgraceful, when the goal they profess to pursue is so great and divine, even if their theories are corrected and made more accurate by others beside themselves.”
    60 people found this helpful
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  • Adella L. Wright
    5.0 out of 5 stars A new look at the universe
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2001
    Format: Paperback
    The main desire of Ptolemy in writing his Almagest is to explain and account for the motions of the apparently erratic celestial beings in terms of perfect and circular motions. In doing so he introduces the epicyclic (which states that the center of a smaller circle orbits around the earth and the object orbits around the smaller circle) and the eccentric hypotheses (which supposes that the center of the circular motion of the planet is not exactly centered on the earth), which are ultimatly equivalent to eachother in terms of result. Begining with the motion of the sun in the sky and moving on to the less accountable outer planets, Ptolemy moves his mathematics brilliantly with a nod to a story teller's art. Some may find his introduction of his equant (something that is often said to defile his principles of perfect motion), which explains the retrogradation of the outer planets, to be a let down to the fanfare of perfection in the stars. Yet, overall, the Almagest manages to recapture the magic and wonder of the universe through complicated mathematical hypotheses and to succesfully lay the ground for the break throughs of Copernicus, Brahe, and Kepler to come. If you are at all interested in astronomy or mathematics, you ought to read this.
    51 people found this helpful
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  • R. Poubel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ptolemy's "Almagest"
    Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2006
    Format: Paperback
    It's a very interesting astronomy book, it's explain how they've thought about the motion of the planets(epicycles)in the past(AC)by the time of the Ptolemy and Babylonia.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Marc
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Translation
    Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2004
    Format: Paperback
    Adding to the other comment below about star names beginning with "al-," I might add that the title "Almagest" itself is an Arabic translation of the original Greek "Megale Syntaxis."
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Brenda Lynn
    4.0 out of 5 stars Ptolemy help
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    It was just what I needed for my college class.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Prof Dr Thomas Sonar
    5.0 out of 5 stars Eine lobenswerte Leistung
    Reviewed in Germany on June 23, 2005
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Der Almagest ist ein für die Grundlagen der Mathematik, Astronomie und Kosmologie nicht hoch genug einzuschätzendes Werk. Um so schöner ist es, daß es Toomer in hervorragender Weise gelungen ist, dieses Meisterwerk noch durch editorische Arbeit weiter zu veredeln! Aber Vorsicht: Die Alten kannten ihre Mathematik, d.h. in diesem Fall die Triogonometrie, gut! Das Buch ist nicht leicht lesbar und in Seminaren haben Studierende der Mathematik zu Anfang wirklich Probleme, da sie viele der trigonometrischen Grundlagen gar nicht kennen. Aber die Mühe des Lesens lohnt sich. Ein großartiges Buch, bearbeitet von einem großartigen Editor.
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