Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel (PDF)

Description

Inspired by a long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of his daughter Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel has crafted a biography that dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishments of a mythic figure whose early-seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion-the man Albert Einstein called “the father of modern physics-indeed of modern science altogether.” It is also a stunning portrait of Galileo’s daughter, a person hitherto lost to history, described by her father as “a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and most tenderly attached to me.”Moving between Galileo’s grand public life and Maria Celeste’s sequestered world, Sobel illuminates the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court in Rome during the pivotal era when humanity’s perception of its place in the cosmos was about to be overturned. During that same time, while the bubonic plague wreaked its terrible devastation and the Thirty Years’ War tipped fortunes across Europe, Galileo sought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope. Filled with human drama and scientific adventure, Galileo’s Daughter is an unforgettable story.Praise for Galileo’s Daughter : “[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.”-Wall Street Journal

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “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, New York Times“[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.” ―Wall Street Journal“Sobel does wonders clearly explaining scientific principles… [She] is a most original writer, with a reverence for history and storytelling.” ―USA Today“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.” ―Denver Post“Sobel seamlessly recounts history as wonderful narrative filled with outsized characters all marching toward a booming climax.” ―San Diego Union Tribune About the Author Dava Sobel (born June 15, 1947) is the author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, The Planets, and A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos. A former staff science reporter for The New York Times, she has also written for numerous magazines, including Discover, Harvard Magazine, Smithsonian, and The New Yorker.Her most unforgettable assignment at the Times required her to live 25 days as a research subject in the chronophysiology lab at Montefiore Hospital, where the boarded-up windows and specially trained technicians kept her from knowing whether it was day outside or night.Her work has won recognition from the National Science Board, which gave her its 2001 Individual Public Service Award “for fostering awareness of science and technology among broad segments of the general public.” She also received the 2004 Harrison Medal from the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in England and the 2008 Klumpke-Roberts Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for “increasing the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy.”A 1964 graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, she has taught several seminars in science writing at the university level, and held a two-year residency at Smith College in fall 2013.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is my favorite book of all time! Dava Sobel tells one of the most important stories ever told about two very important historical figures. The man that risked everything to drag the world in to the future, and the daughter who sacrificed her life and soul to give him the emotional support he needed to get through it all.I pitty the fools in the reviews who didn’t fully appreciate what Sobel has done for us. Considering only one side of the dialogue between the two survives, she somehow managed to seamlessly fill in the gaps and give us a full, epic and dramatic picture.And what a story it is! The whole time I was hoping it would be good all the way to the end, and as luck would have it, the ending is the stuff dreams are made of.I had no idea how difficult it was for Galileo and I certainly had no idea there was a brilliant woman in his life that helped him.Also surprising was how well connected he was. Had it not been for the Grand Duke, this story could have turned out much much worse and even possibly lost forever.I was also very surprised that several church figures were quite intelligent and were on his side, including the pope himself for a while until he turned to the dark side.The insidious evil of the church was known to me, but it was both worse than I had imagined and simultaneously more intelligent in a strange way. I mean only by reading the book can you even begin to imagine the conflict.I have no doubt those were tear drops on those letters. What a wonderful daughter he had. And what a wonderful relationship they had. But so damned tragic! I definitely couldn’t survive the convent life she lived!Just when I was thinking, hmm, that doesn’t sound as horrifying as I had imagined, one of the nuns stabs herself repeatedly while trying desperately to commit suicide. That cleared up the confusion right there for me. No, yeah, being a nun sucked really bad!As a father of a wonderful daughter myself, I especially appreciated the love and sacrifice. The love made the sacrifices possible. And he was a good father. He raised her well, and not having many good options he did what he thought was best and supported her both financially and emotionally to the very end.His other daughter seemed to be quite miserable most of her life, but hey those were tough times and he couldn’t know there were probably better options for both of them. Religion is an insane idea in sny times but back then it was the dominant force in all cultures. You couldn’t blame him for anything.My daughter is now reading this story after I told her it’s a wonderful and tragic daddy daughter story. But most importantly it’s an extremely important piece of history!

⭐If you want to know more about Galileo’s life and about what life was like for people living in Italy during his time, this is a great book for you. If, instead, you were fascinated by the idea of learning about Galileo’s daughter, realize that she is not really the subject of the book!I learned a great deal from the book, but the most lasting lesson was the death grip that the Catholic church has on much of the world during Galileo’s time. People were not allowed to think for themselves or, more significantly, share their views with others. Everything published was subject to church censorship.For me, the book reminded me of how thankful I am to live in a time and place where we are free to thing for ourselves and to freely express our ideas to others. Everywhere in the book we see the evil that is the result of life in a theocracy! Having recently read Margaret Atood’s sequel to The Handmaiden’s Tale, The Testaments, I saw numerous parallels. The Catholic Church and the ruling Princes in Italy engaged in deep corruption. The wealthy and powerful were able to behave as they wished; the powerless and poor suffered consequences at every turn.And the greatest casualties were Truth and Progress. The church had a vested interest in controlling knowledge and resisting change. People who resisted paid for their actions with their lives and liberty.Is the book entertaining? It depends what you are looking for. It’s not a fast read! Being the head of a book club, I HAD to read it. Did I learn a lot from it? Yes! Is it a book I would have chosen for myself and finished reading? Probably not.But if you are interested in Galileo and the history of his times, this is definitely the book for you.I have learned in twenty-five years leading two book clubs that one of the great virtues of a book club is that it introduces you to writers and books you would not have picked up on your own. Sometimes, you end up expanding your tastes. As a result of someone’s book club choice, I read my first Louise Penny novel. I have now read ALL her books! The same is true for Kent Haruf.So, back to Galileo’s Daughter, it is not my kind of book, but many people will find it’s just what they are looking for!

⭐Galileo: thrown in prison by the Catholic Church for his belief that the earth rotated around the sun. Galileo was an amazing and brilliant genius. His suffering at the hands of the Catholic Church is really disheartening. In 1992, a mere 350 years late, the church acknowledged “a tragic mutual incomprehension.” All in the name of religion. Dava Sobel is a science writer, so I knew the book was going to be on the dry side as opposed to an exciting book. However, there are so lovely passages:Chapter 3, Bright stars speak of your virtues (my favorite line)Chapter 30, My soul and its longingChapter 33, The memory of the sweetnessThe body of research undertaken by the author is daunting. I would love to see someone take this body of research and turn it in to a wonderful book of historical fiction based on true facts. It is an amazing story that is still relevant in 2022. The timeline at the back of the book is very helpful.

⭐This book captivated my imagination. I like reading about things in the medieval times. It explained the science and the significance of the discoveries made by Galileo. It also helped you to understand how people lived back then and what life was like for women. If you liked James Michener spoke about Michelangelo -The agony and the ecstasy –you will really like this book about Galileo’s daughter

⭐In some ways it is unfair to give it a low rating since in part it was my error in not reading the description better. I love historical fiction- real facts woven into a story. This is more factual, pieces of written letters, etc and lacks the story telling element to it. Mind you, some points are definitely interesting, but it is more of a chore to read than a pleasure.

⭐Dava’s writing style keeps the reader absorbed as she poetically dances through time, this is the only way to learn about the history of, what initially appears, to be a tedious subject. Quite the opposite, however, my knowledge of the father of astronomy is greatly improved. Loved the frequent quotes from the early letters, the quality of which puts modern tweeting to shame.

⭐Gran inviestigación de Sobel para recrear la vida de un gran científico: te ayuda a sumergirte incluso en sus sentimientos. Amé a María Celeste, su devoción por su padre y la valentía con la que enfrentó su destino en el Convento. Un poco lento al principio pero la última tercera parte es apasionante. Si te gusta la ciencia, amarás conocer más del fundador de la física moderna y de la ciencia moderna en general, según Einstein.

⭐

⭐Enjoyed the insight into life during this period and the challenges Galileo and his family faced.

⭐A store of new facts to me about Galileo and the blindness of the RC church and the Vatican. His daughter was devoted and loving.

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