Offbeat Books: The Voynich Manuscript

So I have a ton of books that are beyond the typical fiction, books that aren’t just straightforward stories, and I thought it would be a fun addition to share them with you. So I think I’ll share them one at a time and really milk this idea (just kidding, but I do like just sharing one at a time, as it’s more in format with the blog.)

---

The Voynich Manuscript
edited by: Raymond Clemens

About the Book
Many call the fifteenth-century codex, commonly known as the “Voynich Manuscript,” the world’s most mysterious book. Written in an unknown script by an unknown author, the manuscript has no clearer purpose now than when it was rediscovered in 1912 by rare books dealer Wilfrid Voynich. The manuscript appears and disappears throughout history, from the library of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to a secret sale of books in 1903 by the Society of Jesus in Rome. The book’s language has eluded decipherment, and its elaborate illustrations remain as baffling as they are beautiful. For the first time, this facsimile, complete with elaborate folding sections, allows readers to explore this enigma in all its stunning detail, from its one-of-a-kind “Voynichese” text to its illustrations of otherworldly plants, unfamiliar constellations, and naked women swimming though fantastical tubes and green baths.
 
The essays that accompany the manuscript explain what we have learned about this work—from alchemical, cryptographic, forensic, and historical perspectives—but they provide few definitive answers. Instead, as New York Times best-selling author Deborah Harkness says in her introduction, the book “invites the reader to join us at the heart of the mystery.” 

Book Links

Goodreads
Amazon
Bookshop
B&N

A few of my favorite things:

Since 1912, they haven’t been able to fully decode this book. I love that a book was out there that they couldn’t crack, and they’ve thrown professional code breakers at this. The consensus is that it’s a medical book… maybe.

It’s beautiful, right?

Now you can see why I had to share some of the books that can’t really be reviewed and/or don’t fit into a set category.