Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors => Topic started by: Evie on 24/09/2008 22:28:21
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Hey all!
I just wanted to recommend a good book to any of you that actually enjoy reading something without pictures. [???] [???]
I read it about a year ago and viewing some of the posts about comets passing by the earth and what-not reminded me of it.
The book is Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel, the writer of Longitude (which I haven't read, but I saw parts of the PBS series). I thoroughly enjoyed it and am interested to hear what any of you who have also read it think.
Here are the blurbs I found on the website:
"Sobel is a master storyteller.... What she has done, with her choice of excerpts and her strong sense of story, is bring a great scientist to life."
- Alan Lightman, The New York Times Book Review
"Sobel seamlessly recounts history as wonderful narrative filled with outsized characters all marching toward a booming climax."
- The San Diego Union Tribune
"Galileo's Daughter is a remarkable work for the beauty of the writing and the clarity of the time and relationships it creates. Sobel pays close attention to fine detail, resulting in a work that feels real."
- The Denver Post
"Sobel does wonders clearly explaining scientific principles... [She] is a most original writer, with a reverence for history and storytelling."
- USA Today
"[Sobel] shows herself a virtuoso at encapsulating the history and the politics of science. Her descriptions of Galileo's ideas... are pithy, vivid, and intelligible."
- The Wall Street Journal
"Recapitulating the splendors of her best-seller Longitude, Sobel finds a new way to celebrate history's intellectual heroes."
- Newsweek
http://www.galileosdaughter.com/home.shtml