Galileo

Biography & Memoir, Reference, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science
Cover of the book Galileo by John L. Heilbron, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John L. Heilbron ISBN: 9780191625022
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: October 14, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: John L. Heilbron
ISBN: 9780191625022
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: October 14, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Just over four hundred years ago, in 1610, Galileo published the Siderius nuncius, or Starry Messenger, a 'hurried little masterpiece' in John Heilbron's words. Presenting to the world his remarkable observations using the recently invented telescope - of the craters of the moon, and the satellites of Jupiter, observations that forced changes to perceptions of the perfection of the heavens and the centrality of the Earth - the appearance of the little book is regarded asone of the greatest moments in the history of science. It was also a point of change in the life of Galileo himself, propelling him from professor to prophet.But this is not the biography of a mathematician. Certainly he spent the first half of his career as a professor of mathematics and has been called 'the divine mathematician'. Yet he was no more (or less) a mathematician than he was a musician, artist, writer, philosopher, or gadgeteer. This fresh lively new biography of the 'father of science' paints a rounded picture of Galileo, and places him firmly within the rich texture of late Renaissance Florence, Pisa, and Padua, amid debates on themerits of Ariosto and Tasso, and the geometry of Dante's Inferno - debates in which the young Galileo played an active role.Galileo's character and career followed complex paths, moving from the creative but cautious humanist professor to a 'knight errant, quixotic and fearless', with increasing enemies, and leading ultimately and inevitably to a clash with a pope who was a former friend.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Just over four hundred years ago, in 1610, Galileo published the Siderius nuncius, or Starry Messenger, a 'hurried little masterpiece' in John Heilbron's words. Presenting to the world his remarkable observations using the recently invented telescope - of the craters of the moon, and the satellites of Jupiter, observations that forced changes to perceptions of the perfection of the heavens and the centrality of the Earth - the appearance of the little book is regarded asone of the greatest moments in the history of science. It was also a point of change in the life of Galileo himself, propelling him from professor to prophet.But this is not the biography of a mathematician. Certainly he spent the first half of his career as a professor of mathematics and has been called 'the divine mathematician'. Yet he was no more (or less) a mathematician than he was a musician, artist, writer, philosopher, or gadgeteer. This fresh lively new biography of the 'father of science' paints a rounded picture of Galileo, and places him firmly within the rich texture of late Renaissance Florence, Pisa, and Padua, amid debates on themerits of Ariosto and Tasso, and the geometry of Dante's Inferno - debates in which the young Galileo played an active role.Galileo's character and career followed complex paths, moving from the creative but cautious humanist professor to a 'knight errant, quixotic and fearless', with increasing enemies, and leading ultimately and inevitably to a clash with a pope who was a former friend.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Revelations of Divine Love by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Wordsworth's Monastic Inheritance by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book The Limitations of the Open Mind by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book The AI Delusion by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Worlds of Arthur: Facts and Fictions of the Dark Ages by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Computer Science: A Very Short Introduction by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Darwin the Writer by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Modern China: A Very Short Introduction by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Analytical Sociology by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Churchill and Ireland by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Shakespeare's Comedies: A Very Short Introduction by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Oxford Handbook of Paediatrics by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Aesthetics of the Familiar by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Kim by John L. Heilbron
Cover of the book Binding Corporate Rules by John L. Heilbron
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy