The Golden Ratio

The Golden Ration by Gary Meisner is an exquisitely illustration, beautifully and clearly written introductory book about the Golden Ratio and related subjects. There are lovely full-colour illustrations and photographs on nearly every page. The book begins with the unique properties of the golden ratio and then continues on to its appearance in art and design, architecture (pyramids, cathedrals, musical instruments), nature (leaf and petal arrangements, fractals, spirals, facial proportions, buckyballs, quantum physics, golden DNA, the nautilus controversy), and many other interesting mathematical goodies such as tessellations, platonic solids, the Fibonacci sequence, Pascal’s Triangles etc. The book also includes appendices that deal with critical thinking, notes and further reading, and “Golden Constructions”. There are a number of equations and geometrical illustrations, but nothing particularly complicated. In the author’s own words: “not everything is based on the golden ratio, but the number of places in which it seems to appear is truly amazing and we are sure to uncover it more and more as technology advances and out knowledge of the physical universe expands”.

There are numerous books on Golden Ration topic, basically with the same information, more or less detailed. What stands out in this particular one is the presentation.

The book is divided in 6 sections: Golden Geometry, in which are outlined the basics of 1.618 number, Phi and Fibonacci, presenting the relation between the numbers in Fibonacci sequence and Φ, The Divine Proportion, on how the name was coined and its appliance in art, with examples from da Vinci, Rafael and Michelangelo, to name just a few, Golden Architecture and Design, showing various buildings and monuments using this ratio from the Great Pyramids to Nothe Dame, Golden Life, on how Phi is present from DNA to flowers and facial features and Golden Universe, in which we learn that Φ can be found from quantum level to planets’ orbits and black holes.

Each of these sections has diagrams and pictures, to deliver a better visual experience. It’s an exquisite read and even if you’re not fan of math, it’s an easy read, which will enchant both your eyes and your mind. Beside being a science book, it is also an art and photography album.

The Golden Ratio is a book on mathematics, written by Gary B. Meisner, an applied math guy who kept finding instances of phi (φ) in everything from sunflowers to renaissance paintings.

From his website:

The inspiration for the site was a deepening awareness and appreciation of the beauty and design in life. The more I explored, the more I discovered that the number called Phi, or 1.6180339…, appears as a pervasive constant of design in many aspects of our existence.


This book is ostensibly aimed at the layman. That being said, it's not going to be a free ride. Much of the content covers concepts which require a modicum of effort and thought. It is enjoyable on a surface read. The illustrations and accompanying notes are appealing and historically interesting, however, the meat of the book requires some effort and probably some fiddling with pen and paper, following the proofs in the book. The description of Pythagoras and the Kepler triangle made me smile. (It's both gorgeous and elegant).

The book is arranged in chapters which introduce and develop the idea of phi, explain the golden ratio and progress to a discussion of occurrences of the golden ratio in art, mathematics, biology, engineering, and astronomy amongst others. The text is accompanied by illustrations and stock photography which support and illustrate the examples. The book ends with appendices, a bibliography and further reading list along with notes from the author, image credits and acknowledgements and finishes with a cross referenced index.

This edition was released 18th Sept 2018 by Quarto's Race Point imprint, it's 224 pages and available in hardcover (and possibly ebook) formats.

Four stars for the engaging text and enthusiastic prose along with the lovely illustrations. The author's passion for the subject shines throughout the book.

This is a lovely coffee table book which explains and examines the Golden Ratio using clear and simple understanding accompanied by array of beautiful imagery from art, architecture, and nature. A book that would surely be appreciated by anyone who loves math, design, or classical art.

Thank netgally, the author for an Advanced Copy of this book. I really enjoyed this book. It's well worth reading

As opposed to pi, 1.342, we discuss phi, 1.618. This number is used to give a proportion and build rectangles, such that a painting may be shown to be two thirds one thing and one third another, with the more exact proportion of phi.

After a look at the Greeks and Arabian scholars and mathematicians, Kepler, Fibonacci and daVinci, we turn to paintings and architecture, then natural world occurrences. I enjoyed the many colourful graphs and photos. I am not at all sure that we are told anything new. Painters and architects constructed their work with care from outline up, so getting scale and perspective right and enabling them to transfer from a small work to a large surface like a wall, by gridwork. Photographers today use the principle of thirds up and across, dividing a view into nine. I think the imposition of some of the golden rectangles on portions of murals and photos seems arbitrary and forced in some cases.

This book will be enjoyed by those studying maths, and probably art and architecture as well. I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

This is a beautiful book. The art work and layout make it a joy to read. The great artists truly had a command of ratios like no others and nature shows us just how perfect it is.

If you love math, geometry, and the history of both, this book is for you. The book provides an in-depth description of a concept in math called the golden ratio and its use throughout history. It is superbly illustrated.

This was a beautiful book and would translate well to a hardcover coffee table book for someone who enjoys math and imagery. It was not as much fun to read on my iPad.

Love this- there is more to just number, ratio or geometry. This book discussed this history of the golden ration and when and where it can be found, which is all over the place.
This is accessible and clear, and very understandable. Its a beautiful book and I enjoyed it very much.
Highly recommend.

This book explores the occurrence of the golden ratio in history in various forms. Given my background in STEM, I really enjoyed reading this book!

Even if it is written for people who don’t have much knowledge about mathematics, some effort is still required to understand the concept and the way it’s applied. Though I’m sure it can be enjoyable as a surface read also.

The book is comprised of 6 chapters, each of them offering more information on the concept of <b>phi</b> (Φ ≈ 1.618; aka the golden ration | golden number | golden cut | mean ratio | divine proportion), its relationship with the Fibonacci sequence, its use in art (Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticeli, Rafael), architecture (pyramids, temples, cathedrals), design (musical instruments, brand logos, cars, fashion), and other sciences, its presence in nature and the Universe. The text is accompanied by diagrams, photos and illustrations to explain and support the examples.

Even if I was amazed about phi's properties and mostly about its occurence in nature, and I deeply enjoyed the art and the historical voyage, I'm still not convinced about its intentional use in all the given examples, and I especially didn't like the divine note in which the book ended.