One of two titles launching a series offering insight into Arabic advances in science and culture.

These essays offer a sampling of the incredible wealth of knowledge and expertise of David E. Pingree (1933-2005), Brown Univ. Professor of the History of Math. and Classics. His contributions to the history of science are immeasurable. Pingree defined science as “a systematic explanation of perceived or imaginary phenomena”: “This broad view of science includes astronomy, mathematics, and other sciences with which we are familiar today as well as those subjects deemed nonscientific by today’s standards, such as astrology and magic . . . .”[Pingree] repeatedly demonstrated that not...