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Galileo Reprint Edition

by John L. Heilbron (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
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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--the craters of the moon, the satellites of Jupiter--Galileo dramatically challenged our idea of the perfection of the heavens and the centrality of the Earth in the universe. Indeed, the appearance of the little book is regarded as one of the great moments in the history of science.

Here is a major new biography of Galileo, a fresh and much more rounded view of the great scientist than found in previous works. Unlike previous biographers, Heilbron shows us that Galileo was far more than a mathematician: he was deeply knowledgeable in the arts, an expert on the epic poet Ariosto, a fine lutenist. More important, Heilbron notes that years of reading the poets and experimenting with literary forms were not mere sidebars--they enabled Galileo to write clearly and plausibly about the most implausible things. Indeed, Galileo changed the world not simply because he revolutionized astronomy, but because he conveyed his discoveries so clearly and crisply that they could not be avoided or denied. If ever a discoverer was perfectly prepared to make and exploit his discovery, it was the dexterous humanist Galileo aiming his first telescope at the sky.

In Galileo, John Heilbron captures not only the great scientist, but also the creative, artistic younger man who would ultimately become the champion of Copernicus, the bête-noire of the Jesuits, and the best-known of all martyrs to academic freedom.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0199655987
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199655984
  3. Edition
    Reprint
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    September 7, 2012
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.2 x 6 x 1.6 inches
  8. Print length
    508 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Will no doubt become the standard, comprehensive biography."
--New York Times Book Review

"A masterpiece...It far surpasses all previous biographies of Galileo. Impeccable scholarship."
--Nick Jardine, Professor of the History and Philosophy of Sciences, Cambridge University

"Heilbron's biography is by far the richest account yet produced in English."
--Science Magazine

Book Description

A strikingly new portrait of Galileo--the most fully rounded biography available

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (September 7, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 508 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199655987
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199655984
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.79 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.2 x 6 x 1.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

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J. L. Heilbron

J. L. Heilbron

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
49 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

William S Jamison
5.0 out of 5 stars the problems of having a big ego
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2018
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Fascinating study of Galileo and his times. Builds a wonderful picture of the complexity associated with how Aristotle's philosophy was embedded in Church dogma and how the political shenanigans involved brought about the stresses associated with the new science. Pope Urban turns out to be the smartest guy in this story and closer to contemporary Model Dependent Realists than Galileo who is the traditional hero. In this biography he turns out to be more of the blundering ox that insists on his interpretation regardless of the hurt feelings he causes. Ego is a major factor. Very interesting read.
4 people found this helpful
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M. Garcia
3.0 out of 5 stars careless typos
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2011
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i was shocked at some of the careless typos in the book. here are two egregious examples...

1. "from the conception of virginia in 1599 to that of vincenzo in 1506"...clearly they mean 1606. the third child couldn't have been before the first by 93 years!

2. "virginia, born 1600, now famous as 'galileo's daughter'; livia, born 1601; and vincenzo, born 1606."...i know the difference between conception (see number 1 above) and birth, but please be consistent. this type of writing irks me, trying to be too clever and then tripping over your untied shoes.

these two typos occurred over pages 84 and 89. shouldn't the expert publishers at oxford university press have caught this?

there were a couple of others which i am too lazy to go flipping back to point out. after catching these two i had to stop and point them out.
6 people found this helpful
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Robert A. Rosenberg
5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular history
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012
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An erudite, witty tour of the times, life, and meaning of Galileo. Heilbron brings a career's worth of knowledge and insight to the task, and we get a richly evoked picture of a pivotal time in the early modern era. Readers unfamiliar with the science may find themselves skipping diagrams and explication, but they will not be missing the author's fundamental points. It's not a beginner's introduction to history, but anyone appreciative of serious research and good writing will enjoy this book.
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Philip S. Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Galileo visited in detail.
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016
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This is a well researched and long review (366 pages) of Galileo's life and accomplishments. The book requires the reader to be well grounded in history as well as science to appreciate the detail discussed. Not for the faint of heart. The New York Times Book Review calls it "An awesome command of the vast Galileo literature".
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Richard of Connecticut
4.0 out of 5 stars This will become the DEFINITIVE Biography of one of history's most impactful scientists - 4 Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2010
Let me sum it up in the beginning of this review for you. This book has 366 pages of narrative in 8 chapters. With footnotes, you are looking at 508 pages. The narrative is thorough, from the great scientist's birth in 1564 to his death in 1642. It is thoroughly researched and there is no question that John Heilbron did his homework objectively. He applied a scholar's eye to an enormous body of work that was created by Galileo.

It is my opinion that if John Heilbron's Galileo suffers from one problem, it is the author's passion for scholarship versus making the subject of his book come alive. In essence, I found I suffered from a certain amount of boredom, and even found some of the reading tedious. This does not detract from the importance of this work, or the fact that nobody else has tackled Galileo in quite a few years.

For most of us growing up, Galileo Galilei was along with Da Vinci, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, one of the four most significant scientists to the general public in the last ten centuries. We know Galileo as a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and physicist. Perhaps more significantly, he was the man who invented the telescope, and thus along with Christopher Columbus is unique among Italians. Columbus discovered a new world here on earth, and Galileo discoverd new worlds in the heavens.

His importance cannot be overestimated. Look at just a few of the subjects he studied and expanded upon:

* If you want to understand the motion of uniformly accelerated objects, you must look at his work. It is even studied in school today.

* He is probably the dividing line between the old ways of looking at science and what today would be termed modern science.

* Since he is deemed to be the inventor of the telescope, he is probably the most important innovator in the field of observational astronomy. This includes the discovery of four of Jupiter's moons, the largest, plus the confirmation of the phases of Venus, and sunspot observations. Don't forget he also observed the Milky Way galaxy, another first.

* This is the man who took Copernican's view of the sun as the center of our solar system, and ran with it. He ran so hard that it brought him to his knees in front of the Inquisition and it is all covered in this book in exquisite detail. You will finally understand how strongly the Church fought to hold onto its views as the earth as the center of the universe. Not only clerics fought Galileo, but philosophers also.

He was denounced in 1615, and was cleared a year later. The Church warned him to get behind the old theory. Author Heilbron writes in detail how the master scientist went on to preach his views again in "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" published in 1632. This time the Inquisition did find him suspect of heresy. After withdrawing his previously held opinions, Galileo was placed under house arrest the rest of his life.

The man we know as Galileo certainly knew how to annoy people. He had been doing it since he was a young man, and as you also know when you do embarrass people with your superior intellect, they are not likely to forget it. These individuals who held pent-up resentments against the scientist got their revenge later on when the renowned thinker was having his difficulties with the Church and others.

In every book I seek to find the one page, paragraph or sentence that makes the book worthwhile for me to read. I found it on page 65 of this book. Cesare Cremonini was a Junior Professor of Philosophy at the University of Padua from 1591 to 1631. In the book Heilbron quotes Cremonini as saying, "Each of us is a microcosm of the universe: hence introspection can deliver knowledge of the world as well as of the self; he who knows himself is a natural philosopher." How profound a statement is this?

My favorite chapters were Chapter 4 on Galilean Science. The sub chapter on the Reluctant Astronomer is very interesting. Chapter 7 Vainglory which is about his problems with the Pope was fascinating.

SUMMARY:

Galileo was a Renaissance man as that term is used today. He was a musician, and a superb artist. He understood foreshadowing, and perspective. He was certainly a draughtsman. He certainly could have been a painter had he chosen to pursue it. He could be a great writer at times and was a world class philosopher. He loved technology, consider his invention of the telescope, and without question, he was into gadgets. He even made a living wholesaling out the telescopes he would create. He sold them to shopkeepers to be sold to others including ship captains. His powers of memory were prodigious. He could recite vast stretches of different writers. These included Dante and Petrarch.

If you want to understand the achievements of one of the great scientists of the millennium, you will not find a better scholarly understanding of Galileo's world than John Heilbron's work. Once again, you will probably have to maintain your own interest level, as opposed to having an author whisk you away on a journey through a book that you can't put down. Thank you for reading this review.

Richard C. Stoyeck
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B. Smith
2.0 out of 5 stars Too academic, boring
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2018
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Bought this after reading a bio of Johannes Kepler. They were contemporaries. The Kepler book was excellent. This one, however, was more academic and not an enjoyable read.
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Conker
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Portrait of Galileo's Life and Legacy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2024
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Balancing Science and Humanity in Galileo's Story Heilbron's biography of Galileo strikes a delicate balance between the scientific achievements and personal struggles of this iconic figure. The author skillfully delves into the intricacies of Galileo's groundbreaking observations while also providing a nuanced understanding of the challenges he faced within the societal and religious context of his time. This book is a testament to Heilbron's ability to humanize scientific history without compromising its intellectual depth.
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Dysan
5.0 out of 5 stars Very happy with the deal
Reviewed in Canada on December 25, 2016
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Very happy with the deal, better than the picture, hope to do business with you in the future, highly recommended AAA++
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K. da
5.0 out of 5 stars Detaillierter Einblick in das Leben von Galileo Galilei
Reviewed in Germany on September 30, 2015
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Galileo von Heilbron ist eine minutiöse Rekonstruktion des Lebens des berühmten Astronomen. Dabei wird von der Beziehung zu seinen Eltern und Geschwistern bis zu seinem Tod im Schatten der Inquisition ein umfassendes Bild eines Mannes gezeigt, der mit Hilfe vieler einzelner Episoden sehr menschlich und nah wirkt. Einzelne ausführliche Zusammenfassungen von Galileis Büchern sowie Skizzen seiner geometrischen Beweise liefern dabei eine Vielzahl von Einblicken. Besonders seine Ummenschen werden hier in schier unzählbarer Form miteinbezogen, sodass es leicht fällt, den Überblick zu verlieren. Hier hilft das Personenregister weiter hinten.

Grundsätzlich schreibt Heilbron sehr launig und streut an der einen oder anderen Stelle mal einen Witz ein. Aber, leichte Kost ist dieses Buch nicht! Ich las es im Zuge einer Seminararbeit für die Uni und musste insofern relativ aufmerksam alle einzelnen Kleinigkeiten aufnehmen. Insofern würde ich dieses Werk nicht jedem Nahe legen. Wer sich jedoch wirklich eingängig mit dem Leben Galileis befassen möchte und von vornherein mit Biographien viel anfangen kann, dem wird Heilbrons Biographie sicher weiterhelfen. Das zum Teil thematisch gegliederte Sachswortregister am Ende und der Stammbaum helfen dabei besonders bei Rechercheaufgaben.
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Roger Godsmark
5.0 out of 5 stars Very comprehensibly written
Reviewed in France on October 26, 2012
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Heilbron has been able to produce a wealth of information about Galileo in this book which is extremely detailed and maintains one's interest.Very good value and well worth a read.
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007
3.0 out of 5 stars Brain freeze...no this is a brain burn
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2017
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This is a fine book, but this is not for anyone without solid mathematics background or has a deep understanding of old physics....I will complete the book (currently 150+ pages in wooo) but IT....IS....A....CHORE, previously read Stephen Hawkins A Brief History of time and although that was brain cell creating work I enjoyed it and most certainly learned a hell of a lot..also digested a Newton book with relative ease..this one I am sure is a wonderful book but really feel the author has not aimed this at people like me which is why I really am struggling, learning bits here and there but looking forward to just getting it out of the way. Maybe it is just Galileo and his side of things that are not as engaging as the other fathers of science I do not know, but if anyone can point me to a Galileo book that is less equation flooded then that would be great!
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