The Man Who Knew Everything

The Man Who Knew Everything is a biography of Athanasius Kircher, a 17th-century German Jesuit and scientist. He was one of the modern worlds first scientific celebritiesthe Einstein or Stephen Hawking of his time. In 1638, Kircher was lowered into the smoking crater of Mt. Vesuvius to observe how volcanoes work. After thirty years, he published an 800-page volume of his findingsalong with theories about fossils, geography, the Earths core, dragons, the location of the lost city of Atlantis, and more. Kircher has been described as the last Renaissance man, the first postmodernist, and the man who knew everything. The Man Who Knew Everything celebrates Kirchers insatiable curiosity, his willingness to ask questions and to suggest answers, even when he sometimes got it wrong. Peters dramatic re-telling of Kirchers life is complemented by colorized versions of his etchings, and lively illustrations by the award-winning artist, Roxanna Bikadoroff.