Highly informative . . . [shows] Schneider's particular gift of
transforming everyday experience into something magical . . .
Highly recommended. -- New Frontier Magazine
Numbers are more than just quantities to count and calculate with. They also represent qualities which we all understand -- wholeness, polarity, structure, balance, and more. We can see them expressed in the numbers of nature, in flowers, crystals, creatures, weather and in the designs of technology surrounding us. This book is completely illustrated -- with hundreds of wonderful quotations in the margins -- to show you how to read the geometric language of the Book of Nature, mythology, architecture, religious symbolism, art, folklore, fairy tales and much, much more. This book wasn't written for mathematicians, but actually for people who were turned off by mathematics in school and never suspected that something interesting was there.
A reviewer says it nicely:
"The most superb introduction
to Sacred Geometry ever! 13 Jul 2005 By Mr. R. J. Alexander
(Bristol, UK)
"I cannot rate this book too highly. When I ordered
it, I presumed from the cover artwork (and the title) that it
would be a kind of "Sacred Geometry for Dummies". I
was, in fact, looking for a relatively easy primer to help me
grasp the basic principles of this hugely deep and densely arcane
subject, but what I did not anticipate was that it would be both
exceptionally accessible as well as intellectually satisfying.
Our culture has no innate understanding of "the mathematical
archetypes of nature, art, and science" (the sub-title) and
in fact, our culture, being so hamstrung, so crippled by left-brain
dogma, does not even consider that nature, art and science could
have any possible common denominator to even discuss! That the
author could express ideas that are really so beyond our normal
Western rationale, and moreover, does so with such intelligence
and yet with such a light touch, is quite an extraordinary feat.
The text is profusely illustrated with diagrams and drawings that
precisely explain all that is required, and is also littered with
hundreds (this I really appreciated) of superbly chosen quotations
from all the great minds of history, from all cultures. I do not
believe that there exists a better introduction to this deep and
wonderful wisdom, and I would gladly give it 9 stars.
"Even after an hour browsing through it, I felt that I had
absorbed levels of knowledge, of perception, that were not there
previously. This book is about a level of mathematics that, shamefully,
is not taught in our educational system. So much for our so-called
"progressive' modern culture, that the real pearls have been
disregarded in favour of something that has had all knowledge,
life and magic stripped away. All spiritual qualities, in fact.
What does mathematics and geometry mean to anybody today, other
than for the most common-place pedestrian purposes? I did not
know, prior to this book, that the Greek "mathema" signifies
"learning in general" and was the root of the Old English
"mathein", "to be aware" and the Old German
"munthen", meaning "to awaken". Today the
word "maths" has, for most people, constricted its scope
to emphasise mundane measurement and mere manipulation of quantities.
"The only, and I mean only, quibble I have with the book,
is that it is printed on paper of a quality that does not do justice
to the content. This is a shame, but perhaps it's only applicable
to the HarperCollins paperback publication that I bought. According
to an inner page giving the ISBN details, there was a hard cover
version published in 1994, also HarperCollins, and I would assume
that that would be printed on better stock. But don't let this
put you off. If you have any interest whatsoever in numbers, mathematics,
higher knowledge, or any curiosity whatsoever about why the world
is designed the way it is, buy this book. It contains the entire
universe!"
Compare online prices here to purchase it inexpensively
Read a Book Review from PARABOLA
(Winter 1995)
Read reviews at Amazon UK
Search
the web for references to "A Beginner's Guide To Constructing
The Universe"
Paperback Errata
LISTEN!
Hear an interview with Michael on the Voice Of America program "Our World" (27 December 2003, 5.4 Mb .mp3 audio file)
Click here to hear a review of "A Beginner's Guide To Constructing The Universe" regarding mathematics education.
Click here to hear a review (podcast or .mp3) by Jeffrey Millburn at Omni Art Salon about using the book for developing awareness.
