The Principia: The Authoritative Translation and Guide: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy First Edition

I bought the Principia to study the origin of physics and calculus. The first 300+ pages contain the translator's notes by Cohen on each chapter of the original book, with a lot of insightful discussion. It certainly help one tremendously to understand the book written 300+ years ago. It clarifies several points, for example, the impetus force used in Newton's original law of motions. Why there are 3 laws? I feel very satisfied and understand more with these explanation.The translation is a new one, which is different from the classical translation by Motte. I cannot compare these two versions of translation, but satisficed with this one at hand.

This is an impressive work of scholarship & I highly recommend it to all serious students of physics.The authors set out to produce a modern translation of the third and final version of Newton's masterpiece which was originally written in Latin and published in 1726.The first & only complete English translation of the Principia, before this new translation was made, was by Andrew Motte in 1729 - only three years after Newton's work in Latin appeared.Motte's translation was revised and "modernized" several times in the intervening 270 years, the last being in the mid 1800's but it still was regarded as being almost as difficult and opaque as Newton's original.This new translation by Cohen & Whitman is really two books in one. The first 370 pages of the 966 page work is "A Guide to Newton's Principia" and consists of eleven Chapters that explain the structure of Newton's work and how to read it. This part is indispensable to the modern reader. The last 596 pages is a careful translation into modern English of the original Latin version.

I am writing my dissertation on Newton and have found this translation incredibly helpful and surprisingly readable.The Principia is one of the most difficult and inaccessible books ever written -- so much so, in fact that even John Locke (himself a pretty smart guy) had to ask Christian Huygens to explain much of it to him. This difficulty was intentional, because Newton did not want people who only understood math a little to try and undermine his arguments. For this reason, he rewrote book three so that only those who had read and understood book 1 could understand its concepts.People laugh when I tell then that I own a book with a three hundred page introduction, but it's a book that needs a three hundred page intro. In their intro, Cohen and whitman describe the history of the principia, its structure, an explanation of where prior translations have fallen short, and -- most importantly -- note which of the Principia's sections have been most significant during and after Newton's time. This is helpful so that when you get to each section, you are more likely to notice which elements may have seemed most controversial, where he is taking down Descartes' vortices, etc. I'm not saying I agree 100% with cohen and whitman on all of their points, but they have produced a work that does not simply translate the book; it also shares the writers' substantial knowledge about the principia.This is an essential and monumental translation. If you are at all interested in early modern science, you must own it.

Excellent introduction and beautifully printed. Now, if I could only find the two years to actually read it...

This is the work which, for better and for worse, changed how we humans live forever, uniting the heavens and earth under a satisfying physical theory for the first time. The English translation is smooth enough that it feels like Newton wrote the work 'yesterday'. The introductory sections by Cohen give a detailed overview of the work itself and the broader context in which it was written, which helps in recognising some mathematical presentation and concepts we no longer use or are unfamiliar with.The overall methods used in the Principia have found their use throughout modern physics practice--mathematical modelling, idealisations, theory-mediated measurements, etc. Even with the advent of General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory, we still do physics (in a broad fashion) in a way which is present in this book. No wonder, as a physicist-in-training, I found this work to be an exemplar, despite the less-than-satisfying results in some sections, as Newton himself admitted, of how natural science is to be done (notwithstanding its limitations, as unfortunately we learned the hard way).

Great book, but if you're looking for a book to be in pristine condition - don't buy from Amazon! They don't package the books tight and when they're in the shipping process, edges get bent. It's sad that they care nothing about delivering a company's product in the condition they recieved it.What good does it do for the environment when I have to return stuff for being damaged - it negates any positives that could exist if they just used a tiny bit more packaging fodder to protect my order, and not make me waste gas. Its backward thinking by a company that seems to only do things just so they can look good in front of their greenie friends; it has nothing to do with protecting the environment, because I see many other flaws with your "green" implementations. I guess that's what dogmatism does (doesn't just apply to religion).It's a great book that every mathematician and scientist should have in their libraries.

The most influential book on the whole of the Western Civilization. This edition shows all the signs of a great way to get into the studying, at last, of this unparalleled work.

I really enjoy this book. This hardback copy is quality. Thick pages, nice print. Under the decorative paper cover you can see an embossed image.If you want to learn physics. This book makes logical sense. This book sets you up for success. This is a keeper.