In this book, I have purposely presented the narrative of Newton'schronological studies from the bottom up, as a quest in search of the realChronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended and the realNewton. Newton's working practices and the structure of hischronological project are intrinsically connected: it is impossible tounderstand the one without the other. In more than one sense, both storiesare worth telling. The study of Newton's working practices revealsintimate details of a scholar at work, sitting behind his desk reading,taking notes, and writing; wrestling with Ezra, Nehemiah, and the identityof Darius the Mede; expanding, rewriting, ordering, and reordering thehistories of ancient Egypt, the Argonautic expedition, and the Jews inexile. The study of his chronological writings has shown how Newton neverabandoned the project he began in the 1680s, and how he perceived the topicsof idolatry, monarchies, and the prophecies in Scripture as closelyrelated.

Back in the 1960s, Frank Manuel realized the need for an integral approach toNewton's chronological writings when he mentioned that the task ofpreparing an edition of all variant versions would be‘Herculean’, which he wrote even before he had inspected themassive Yahuda corpus. Indeed, in the legend, Hercules was only able tocomplete the twelve tasks because of his superhuman strength and cunning. Ina sense, this is what the digital availability of Newton'smanuscripts and transcriptions has provided. Thanks to the digitalrevolution that has swept over the ‘Newtonian Industry’ andbeyond, the historian is no longer limited by time or space. The efforts ofthe Newton Project, the Chymistry of Isaac Newton project, and countlessinstitutional libraries, allow us to rebuild our understanding ofNewton's chronological research from the ground up. What this doesrequire, though, is a profound change in historical methodology. Suddenly,the word data enters the discussion, and with it the fieldsof information management, architecture, and technology. It is not as ifhistorians of the past were not managing the information they worked with,but they had to do so on a much smaller scale.