Nostradamus and His Prophecies

By Edgar Leoni

Book Overview

For over 400 years the prophecies of the controversial French prophet Michel Nostradamus (1503-66) have fascinated people because they project far into the future (A.D. 3797), and because they are open to countless interpretations. Until the publication of this book, however, there was no truly complete translation of the prophecies with even the minimum of scholarly apparatus required. Edgar Leoni's comprehensive, definitive study not only fills that gap but goes far beyond.
This edition includes parallel texts in English and French of all Nostradamus's prophecies (arranged in then "centuries," or collections of 100 rhymed quatrains). Also included are explanatory notes, a series of indexes, historical background to the prophecies, a Commentary section, including the most famous -- and infamous -- interpretations; a critical biography of Nostradamus, his will and personal letters, and bibliographical material on both Nostradamus and his commentators.
Reviewing Leoni's opus in the American Historical Review, Harvard historian Crane Brinton praised the book's "meticulous scholarship" and obvious worth to historians, adding that "it also makes surprisingly interesting reading."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 048641468X
• ISBN13: 9780486414683
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 822 Pages
• Weight: 1.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

More Substance With Less Speculation

Edgar Leoni does a fine job with this book. Rather than engaging in superfluous speculation and spiritualization, Leoni simply translates the quatrains directly from French/Latin into English, and then compares the predicted events with possible matches to history. For predictions which haven't yet occurred, he gives an intelligent, straight-forward conclusion on its meaning, and does not hesitate to admit that some of the quatrains are simply to vague and obscure to pin down. This is also one of the few Nostradamus books to include all of the quatrains, as well as the preface and Epistle to King Henry II, in the correct chronological order. The index is very complete and easy to use. The only drawback is that Leoni wrote this book in 1960- if only he know what the rest of the 20th century would bring!

A Complete Book

The words of Nostradamus have never been more popular than at this very time. With the recent tragedies, many people are intrigued by his prophecies and their relations to modern times. Look no further for the most definitive book on the prophet.With the word for word French and English translations, this is the most complete, comprehensive collection of Nostradamus' prophecies. Each quatrain is accompanied by literary notes, historical backgrounds, geographical references, and intellectual theories. NOSTRADAMUS AND HIS PROPHECIES also has a very thorough biography that is loaded with pertinent and interesting facts. A copy of his last will and testament and his letter to France's King Henry are also included in this amazing book. What truly makes this book stand out is the indexes. The fantastic word index makes it so easy to find what you are looking for, the book practically reads itself. With a plethora of maps, illustrations, and genealogies, this is a very complete book that makes for interesting reading.

Really Good

This is really great for all who want a great book on Nostradamus. Especially those who can't read the old translated English, theres the commentary on every quatrain. There's also the biography, great index, and lots more.

The complete and definitive Nostradamus.

This is the first and only published work that presents the complete prophecies and scholarly translations. This volume houses the first comprehensive translation. It is printed with a word for word translation from the French with the English translation on the facing page. Dubious wording is explained in notes within the text. The most famous interpretations, and also the author's, are presented in a commentary section. Indexes are provided for every level of reader, from the casually curious to the elite historian and researcher, which are essential for comparing the quatrains with references to geographical ,proper names, and themes that may be the predictions Nostradamus correlated with astrological alignments. The biography of Nostradamus is also the most complete one existing in English. His last will and testament and his letter to King Henry of France provides the much needed definitive examination of this remarkable man. Finally, a very exciting inclusion, is the the treatment by the author, entitled Background and Rules of the Game, in which the author queries, how and why did Nostradamus do it? A great Work!

Amazing word find index and historical research !!

This is the only book I've seen or heard of that has a word index, geographic area index, dated prophecy index, astrological allignments index and much more, allowing quickly finding quatrains with such references. This should immediately be republished, what an oversight with the mellinial interest and the famous 1999 quatrain, with many other possibly related quatrains. Edgar has some questionable interpretations, but for the most part, he has put together a researcher's dream here.I'm lucky the Library here has it.