Logicomix: Difference between revisions
→External links: German article on this |
Clarified original language (English). The book was first released in Greece and was written by Grk authors, but they wrote it first in Eng. and translated it. Greek ed. includes translation credit. |
||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
|origissues = |
|origissues = |
||
|origdate = |
|origdate = |
||
|origlanguage = [[ |
|origlanguage = [[English language|English]] |
||
|origisbn = 978-960-8399-67-9 |
|origisbn = 978-960-8399-67-9 |
||
|writers = [[Apostolos Doxiadis]]<br />[[Christos Papadimitriou]] |
|writers = [[Apostolos Doxiadis]]<br />[[Christos Papadimitriou]] |
||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
}} |
}} |
||
'''''Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth''''' is a [[graphic novel]] about the foundational quest in mathematics, written by [[Apostolos Doxiadis]], author of [[Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture]] and theoretical computer scientist [[Christos Papadimitriou]]. Character design and artwork are by Alecos Papadatos and color is by Annie Di Donna. |
'''''Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth''''' is a [[graphic novel]] about the foundational quest in mathematics, written by [[Apostolos Doxiadis]], author of [[Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture]] and University of California, Berkeley theoretical computer scientist [[Christos Papadimitriou]]. Character design and artwork are by Alecos Papadatos and color is by Annie Di Donna. The book was originally written in English, and translated into Greek by the author, Apostolos Doxiadis, for the Greek release which preceded the US and UK releases. |
||
==Plot== |
==Plot== |
||
| Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
*Greece - October 20, 2008, Ikaros Publications, ISBN 978-960-8399-67-9 |
*Greece - October 20, 2008, Ikaros Publications, ISBN 978-960-8399-67-9 |
||
*Holland - August 15, 2009, De Vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman), ISBN 9789049500795 |
|||
*United Kingdom - Septmber 7, 2009, [[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]], ISBN 0747597200 |
*United Kingdom - Septmber 7, 2009, [[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]], ISBN 0747597200 |
||
*United States - September 29, 2009, Bloomsbury, ISBN 1596914521 |
*United States - September 29, 2009, Bloomsbury, ISBN 1596914521 |
||
==Reception== |
==Reception== |
||
[[Jim Holt]] reviewed the book for the ''[[New York Times]]'' who says that the story "is presented with real graphic verve. (Even though I’m a text guy, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the witty drawings.)" although he does note "one serious misstep" involving the overplaying of the impact |
[[Jim Holt]] reviewed the book for the ''[[New York Times]]'' who says that the story "is presented with real graphic verve. (Even though I’m a text guy, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the witty drawings.)" although he does note "one serious misstep" involving the overplaying of the impact Russell's paradox had on mathematics.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/books/review/Holt-t.html?_r=1 Algorithm and Blues], ''[[New York Times]]'', September 28, 2009</ref>. A review at ''[[The Guardian]]'' said that the "authors tell the story with a humour and lightness of touch that pokes fun at the philosophers and mathematicians involved, but never trivialises the philosophy or the mathematics" concluding that "Doxiadis has shown that by using fiction to provide an emotional context to mathematical discoveries it can make for a gripping read. Uncle Petros was a bestseller and the much more ambitious Logicomix deserves to be one too."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/03/logicomix-alex-bellos-review Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H Papadimitriou], ''[[The Guardian]]'', October 3, 2009</ref> |
||
The book was recommended by the ''[[New Statesman]]'' in late September.<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/theatre/2009/10/search-doxiadis-papadimitriou The NS Recommends]., ''[[New Statesman]]'', 28 September 2009</ref> On October 2 the book made the New York Times, Sunday Book Review, Editor's Choice list<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/books/review/EdChoice-t.html Editor's Choice], ''New York Times'', October 2, 2009</ref> and the next week it was #1 on the NYT Graphic Novel Best Seller list.<ref>[http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/graphic-books-best-seller-list-10/ Graphic Books Best Seller List], ''New York Times'', October 9, 2009</ref> The book sold out on the day it was released in the United States and United Kingdom, and also got into the Top 10 on [[Amazon.com]] and [[Amazon.co.uk]], leading the manager of a major [[Athens]] bookstore to say "No Greek book has sold abroad like this in 30 years."<ref>[http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOUgVjW1LstTkSlC6i0H2J1cDwxw Bertrand Russell 'maths comic' hits bestseller lists], [[Agence France-Presse|AFP]], October 12, 2009</ref> |
The book was recommended by the ''[[New Statesman]]'' in late September.<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/theatre/2009/10/search-doxiadis-papadimitriou The NS Recommends]., ''[[New Statesman]]'', 28 September 2009</ref> On October 2 the book made the New York Times, Sunday Book Review, Editor's Choice list<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/books/review/EdChoice-t.html Editor's Choice], ''New York Times'', October 2, 2009</ref> and the next week it was #1 on the NYT Graphic Novel Best Seller list.<ref>[http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/graphic-books-best-seller-list-10/ Graphic Books Best Seller List], ''New York Times'', October 9, 2009</ref> The book sold out on the day it was released in the United States and United Kingdom, and also got into the Top 10 on [[Amazon.com]] and [[Amazon.co.uk]], leading the manager of a major [[Athens]] bookstore to say "No Greek book has sold abroad like this in 30 years."<ref>[http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOUgVjW1LstTkSlC6i0H2J1cDwxw Bertrand Russell 'maths comic' hits bestseller lists], [[Agence France-Presse|AFP]], October 12, 2009</ref> |
||
Revision as of 07:49, 16 October 2009
| Logicomix | |
|---|---|
 Cover to the 2009 English-language edition from Bloomsbury | |
| Date | October 20, 2008 |
| Main characters | Bertrand Russell, |
| Page count | 352 pages |
| Publisher | Ikaros Publications |
| Creative team | |
| Writers | Apostolos Doxiadis Christos Papadimitriou |
| Pencillers | Alecos Papadatos |
| Inkers | Dimitris Karatzaferis Thodoris Paraskevas |
| Letterers | Anne Bardy |
| Colourists | Annie Di Donna |
| Creators | Apostolos Doxiadis Christos Papadimitriou |
| Original publication | |
| Language | English |
| ISBN | 978-960-8399-67-9 |
| Translation | |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury |
| Date | September 7, 2009 |
| ISBN | 0747597200 |
Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth is a graphic novel about the foundational quest in mathematics, written by Apostolos Doxiadis, author of Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture and University of California, Berkeley theoretical computer scientist Christos Papadimitriou. Character design and artwork are by Alecos Papadatos and color is by Annie Di Donna. The book was originally written in English, and translated into Greek by the author, Apostolos Doxiadis, for the Greek release which preceded the US and UK releases.
Plot
Set between the late 19th century and present-day, the graphic novel Logicomix is based on the story of the so-called "foundational quest" in mathematics. This was an intellectual adventure in which many of the protagonists wound up insane, a consequence of their Icarian pursuit of absolute knowledge. The book tells its tale in such a way as to make the lofty intellectual and mathematical material accessible and relevant, without watering it down.
Logicomix intertwines the philosophical struggles with the characters' own personal turmoil. These are in turn played out just upstage of the momentous historical events of the era and the ideological battles which gave rise to them. The narrator of the story is the great Bertrand Russell, who stands as an icon of so many of these themes: a deeply sensitive and introspective man, Russell was not just a philosopher and pacifist, he was also one of the great heroes of the foundational quest. Russell's life story, depicted by Logicomix, is itself a journey through the goals and struggles, and triumph and tragedy shared by so many great thinkers of the 20th century: Ludwig Wittgenstein, G.E. Moore, Alfred North Whitehead, David Hilbert, Gottlob Frege, Henri Poincaré, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing.
A parallel tale, set in present-day Athens, records the creators’ disagreement on the meaning of the story, thus setting in relief the foundational quest as a quintessentially modern adventure. It is on the one hand a tragedy of the hubris of rationalism, and on the other an origin myth of the computer.
Releases
- Greece - October 20, 2008, Ikaros Publications, ISBN 978-960-8399-67-9
- Holland - August 15, 2009, De Vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman), ISBN 9789049500795
- United Kingdom - Septmber 7, 2009, Bloomsbury, ISBN 0747597200
- United States - September 29, 2009, Bloomsbury, ISBN 1596914521
Reception
Jim Holt reviewed the book for the New York Times who says that the story "is presented with real graphic verve. (Even though I’m a text guy, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the witty drawings.)" although he does note "one serious misstep" involving the overplaying of the impact Russell's paradox had on mathematics.[1]. A review at The Guardian said that the "authors tell the story with a humour and lightness of touch that pokes fun at the philosophers and mathematicians involved, but never trivialises the philosophy or the mathematics" concluding that "Doxiadis has shown that by using fiction to provide an emotional context to mathematical discoveries it can make for a gripping read. Uncle Petros was a bestseller and the much more ambitious Logicomix deserves to be one too."[2]
The book was recommended by the New Statesman in late September.[3] On October 2 the book made the New York Times, Sunday Book Review, Editor's Choice list[4] and the next week it was #1 on the NYT Graphic Novel Best Seller list.[5] The book sold out on the day it was released in the United States and United Kingdom, and also got into the Top 10 on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, leading the manager of a major Athens bookstore to say "No Greek book has sold abroad like this in 30 years."[6]
Notes
- ^ Algorithm and Blues, New York Times, September 28, 2009
- ^ Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H Papadimitriou, The Guardian, October 3, 2009
- ^ The NS Recommends., New Statesman, 28 September 2009
- ^ Editor's Choice, New York Times, October 2, 2009
- ^ Graphic Books Best Seller List, New York Times, October 9, 2009
- ^ Bertrand Russell 'maths comic' hits bestseller lists, AFP, October 12, 2009
References
External links
- Official website
- Unusual Greek math comic tops bestseller lists worldwide, Deutsche Welle, October 12, 2009
Reviews
- Math, Philosophy, Comics and Bertrand Russell’s Search for Truth, Publisher's Weekly, April 14, 2009
- Bertrand Russell: The thinking person's superhero, The Independent, September 2, 2009
- Logicomix, Financial Times, September 5, 2009