Mechanism

Bertoloni Meli is an acknowledged maestro in this area of study. His crisp argument, unfolding via examples, case studies, textual or graphical analyses, and historiographical reflections, is aided by the extensive notes and bibliography . . . which can guide the interested reader’s follow-up on particular issues. . . . This erudite and energizing book redefines the problematic of early modern ‘mechanism.’

The book's excellent graphics are scattered throughout the text. . . . These provide the reader with a clear understanding of the complexity and diverse ways the notion of mechanisms became a crucial part of understanding the early modern world.

Bertoloni Meli’s Mechanism is a well-documented historical and philosophical work. . . . A substantive and well-argued book, erudite and rich in examples.

With great clarity, Bertoloni Meli presents us with a wealth of material on an intricate subject. His book complements recent scholarship, corrects erroneous interpretations, adds important reflections on the evolution of mechanical thinking, and thereby makes an outstanding contribution to early modern studies. His study may be acclaimed as a seminal text for our understanding of the mechanization of nature and of natural bodies in the seventeenth century and beyond.

This is an innovative book. Drawing on a profound knowledge of Marcello Malpighi and his intellectual milieu, as well as expertise in the study of the early modern life sciences more generally, Bertoloni Meli has genuinely complemented the recent literature on early modern mechanism and mechanical philosophy. An added bonus is his focus on visual representation, a rich seam that renders the book accessible to a wider readership than a pure philosophical or historical study.

We have not been clear about the various ways in which early modern figures thought about mechanism, and in absence of such clarity, our philosophical and historical work has been less rich and accurate than it might otherwise be. This book takes an important step in correcting the problem. Bertoloni Meli also does a wonderful job of synthesizing the material on mechanism with developments in the life sciences of the early modern period, another topic of intensive current scholarly interest.