Celestial Tapestry

very accessible, beautifully illustrated…wide ranging in theme and in ambition * Wallace A. Ferguson, Mathematics Today *The book is an enjoyable and very readable account of various topics linking mathematics to a variety of human activities and knowledge * Ester Dalvit, zbMATH Open *Feels like a cabinet of curiosities of the mind, with interesting things linking maths and the the world, particularly the arts… You can always tell if a book is good if you can’t wait to get back to it. That was definitely the case here. A little gem. * Brian Clegg, Popular Science *Celestial Tapestry is an invaluable overview of what we know about art and science, and the myriad great minds throughout history that wove our knowledge. Dr. Mee’s strength is bringing the people of the past alive, and the history of art and science is brilliantly condensed here into a book that summarises the last two thousand years of human development. * Mark Sheeky, The Barracks Trust Award Winner *The book comes across as a kind of tapestry collection, with one item leading onto the next in a successive association of ideas and threads woven together it is quite some journey through the author’s mind and reading, bringing out some intriguing connections and little-known items as well as recontextualising many great creative discoveries. * Paradigm Explorer *In his Celestial Tapestry, Nicholas Mee has woven for us a richly illustrated warp and weft of mathematical ideas, displayed in a rich variety of pictorial forms. He also loves storytelling - the tapestry takes centuries to take shape, though the retelling of it is at a veritable whirlwind of a pace. Symmetry, combinatorics, spirals, labyrinths and the construction of the cosmos all appear in their ancient, Islamic and western episodes. * Professor Tom McLeish, University of York *Nicholas Mee skilfully weaves together art, science, history and myth to show us the intricate and enchanting patterns that the universe provides and that we as humans discover and celebrate. An engrossing and highly readable tour through both time and space. * Ross King, author of Brunelleschi’s Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling *“In this spiritual must-read, Nicholas Mee guides you through some of the most enchanting and intricate patterns in the Universe using art, science, history and myth.” * Soul & Spirit *Celestial Tapestry places mathematics within a vibrant cultural and historical context, highlighting links to the visual arts and design, and broader areas of artistic creativity. Threads are woven together telling of surprising influences that have passed between the arts and mathematics. * MathSciNet *

Nicholas Mee studied theoretical physics and mathematics at the University of Cambridge, where he gained his PhD in particle physics. He has authored numerous multimedia titles including The Code Book on CD-ROM with Simon Singh and Connections in Space with John Barrow, Martin Kemp and Richard Bright. He has played key roles in several significant science and art projects including the European SCIENAR project and the 2012 Henry Moore and StringedSurfaces exhibition at the Royal Society. He is author of the award-winning popular science books Higgs Force: Cosmic Symmetry Shattered and Gravity: Cracking the Cosmic Code, as well as The Cosmic Mystery Tour, published by Oxford University Press in 2019.