(17-10-2016, 08:46 AM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.So, any early reviews? 
Below is just my personal opinion - opinions may differ and I have no problem with anybody who disagrees.
It is a beautiful book. It is bigger than I expected (since the VMs is so small). They added big margins on the pages, which is nice - helps avoiding damage on the actual photo while leafing through. The quality of the photographs is good. The pages that I saw at the Folger library look very much the way I remember them - the ink so smooth - easy to make up the symbols despite them being so small . I guess this is due to the amazing abilities of the human eye - no technology is so good to much our eyes (yet).
Yale Press did not promise any 'smoking guns' in this book. So my expectations were that the essays will be more of a presentation of the book to the general public. I think they delivered on that.
The first essay is Introduction by Deborah Harkness. I hate to say this - but this is the only one in the book that is disappointing. It is more about Deborah Harkness than about the Voynich manuscript. She goes on and on about her passion for John Dee - and not even in relation to the VMs - just in general - it is a bit bizarre, but I guess I may seem bizarre to people who don't care about the Voynich manuscript
Unlike Deborah Harkness Raymond Clemens does absolutely fabulous introduction of the Voynich manuscript in the Preface - nicely organized, illustrated with some images from traditions that are often mentioned in relations to the VMs - Italian herbals, BNF Lat. 6823, De balneis puteolanis etc.
The actual facsimile follows. It keeps surprising me how small the human figures are...
Rene's summery about the earliest owners of the VMs follows. The plot of the essay is not as complicated as the web of connections on his web-site
He followed the well documented path. Pictures of the 1665 Marci letter, 1639 Baresch letter, 1666 Kinner letter illustrate the article.
Arnold Hunt presents the making of Wilfrid Voynich into a book-dealer. I actually learned new things from this article - probably because I haven't spent much time studying Voynich's bio.
Next a team of experts presents Physical Findings. I hope this article will get a peer-review from other experts. As a layman, what I got from it is the following - some extra holes in the sheets confirm that it is possible the manuscript was pulled apart at some point and reassembled again. The multi-spectral analysis largely confirms the findings from the previous material analysis. The faded yellow is organic yellow. The azurite has impurities of some barium compound. Nothing is found that does not belong in the 15th century.
I think in relation to the VMs forensics - I suffer from the 'CSI effect' (when juries in court are so used to crime-TV-sagas, where a spec of something sends the detectives to the right location, that they view the real-life evidence presented in court as weak). I wish it was like on TV - scoop -research - and tell us where it is from
There is a really clear picture of the Tepenece's signature. I wish they had recovered somehow the alphabet from the first page.
Next William Sherman reviews the major cryptographic attempts in the history of the manuscript.
Jennifer Rampling attempts to make connection with the alchemy tradition. She has some good points and image comparisons.
Raymond Clemens has the final word to wrap-up the volume (I totally enjoyed the picture of Umberto Eco holding the Voynich manuscript).
The letter of Ethel Voynich from 1930 is prominently featured at the beginning of the book.
At the end - I bought the book the have my own copy of the Voynich manuscript - so I can leaf-through it and see the pages in their actual size. I got what I wanted and what I expected. Plus, the price is a bargain.
