Translated by Dr Matthew Harding, a biographical outline of Amyaut's life is provided by Dr Alan Clifford.

From the Translator’s Introduction

The work which you hold in your hand is priceless. It is priceless not because it is intrinsically more valuable than any other great work of the seventeenth century or beyond, or because it is a free book to you the interested reader—you have paid an exact, fair price in acquiring this copy no doubt—but this text is priceless rather because not everybody gets a second chance to be heard in this lifetime. For...