A most unusual guide to the solar system, A Little Book of Coincidence suggests that there may be fundamental relationships between space, time, and life that have not yet been fully understood. From the observations of Ptolemy and Kepler to the Harmony of the Spheres and the hidden structure of the solar system, John Martineau reveals the exquisite orbital patterns of the planets and the mathematical relationships that govern them. A table shows the relative measurements of each planet in eighteen categories, and three pages show the beautiful dance patterns of thirty six pairs of planets and moons.

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The images are done in the style of old engravings, and indeed, as you enter the world as John Martineau presents it you feel as if you are reading some long lost magical text - each page is rich, precious, extraordinary and challenging. It becomes clear that Earth is much more special than simply being the right distance from the Sun. Martineau shows the Moon, Venus, Mars and Mercury as all manifesting simple relationships in time and space. These have all stayed with me and won't go away.

This is really a book about the ancient vision of the Harmony of the Spheres, and yet it is terrifyingly modern, bold, original and impossible to dismiss (as I keep trying to). It haunts one, initiates the reader and I still can't quite believe it actually exists!

An all time planet earth classic. How Plato or Kepler would have enjoyed this read.

26 of 27 found the following review helpful:

AN ENIGMATIC MASTERPIECEJan 02, 2004

Quite why there isn't more of a storm breaking over this elegant little book I can't work out. Brief, beautiful and to-the-point, it's been my top gift-book of 2004. Good original science wrapped up as magic, I'm still not sure where Martineau is exactly coming from, but there's no arguing with his data (which I have checked). A pity there is no statistical background to the findings he presents, but then this is not the kind of book for that anyway. For what it's worth I think he's probably right (although we won't know for another 100 years) - these kind of patterns may well be a signature of conscious life. I would kind of expect other solar systems with conscious life to also display phi and fibonacci-based relations around their primary 'conscious' planets. We know that liquid water takes an icosahedral structure. Martineau's ideas seem the next logical step. Ahead of its time. Recommended.

12 of 13 found the following review helpful:

The best book yet on Cosmic WeirdnessMay 25, 2004

I don't know what the previous reviewer was going on about - personally I found the planet-centred pictures fascinating (in particular those involving the small planetoid Chiron which turns out to be highly harmonic/resonant with its neighbours). If I had one criticism of this book it would be that the author does not in fact go into resonance as the likely explanation for many of the coincidences he describes, but hey, since most scientists don't seem to talk about it either (they haven't quite cracked it yet), I can see why he goes for the Harry Potter style instead. This is a great book, leave it by the toilet, read a little every day, and have your brain fundamentally rewired. Why has nobody noticed all this stuff before? Astophysicists, this is your wake-up call!

11 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Some parts are not explained very wellMar 24, 2004

I found the statements on the ratios of planet diameters and orbits to be well presented and pretty straightforward but the "spirograph" images representing the relative motion of the planets in their orbits and the epicycles, which the author calls "kisses", left me a bit confused. The representation of epicycles on page 7 is clear and makes sense but from there the leap to the sort of creative rendition on page 23 appears to be pure artistry with only the smallest connection to observed reality.

Many comments are simply made with little or no explanation at all, e.g. on p.26, "Mercury also displays a harmonious calendar as its day is 2 of its years, a musical octave". OK. And about 365 earth days is one of its years, which probably isn't an octave. So what? Page after page had comments like this that simply left me wanting a more meaningful discussion.

Many of the "coincidences" presented were very intriguing indeed but I would caution the readers who are awestruck by this book to also read, "Numerology, or, What Pythagoras Wrought", by Dudley, Underwood for an enlightening evaluation of numerical 'coincidences'.

11 of 14 found the following review helpful:

MarvelousApr 21, 2005
By James Owen
This is a really great little book, a work of art. I like the way John Martineau leaves it to you, the reader, to make up your own mind over what these amazing coincidences mean. The pictures are beautiful. What an incredible place our solar system is. Why dont teachers teach us these things in school??

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