The Life of Isaac Newton 1st Edition by Richard S. Westfall (PDF)

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Isaac Newton is indisputably one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. His achievements in mathematics and physics marked the culmination of the movement that brought modern science into being. In The Life of Isaac Newton, biographer extraordinaire Westfall lucidly and engagingly captures both the personal life and scientific career of Isaac Newton, presenting a fully rounded picture of Newton the man, the scientist, the philosopher, the theologian, and the public figure. This book is an abridged version of Professor Westfall’s highly acclaimed and well known Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton. By eschewing technical details, the author makes this book accessible to a wide range of general readers interested in history of science and biography. Westfall is also the author of The Construction of Modern Science.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: From Kirkus Reviews A condensed version of Westfall’s 1981 biography of Newton, Never at Rest (priced at $100 and not reviewed), that nevertheless displays a high level of scholarship and detail. Westfall (History and Philosophy of Science/Indiana University) clearly has pored over the letters and papers that accumulated over Newton’s 83-year lifetime (1642-1727), including the theological and alchemical writings as well as the all- important Opticks and Principia. There’s a presumption that the reader appreciates the revolution in science wrought by Newton, and the fundamental philosophical disputes between him and his contemporaries: Newton raging against the Cartesians with all their hypothetical and vortex-ridden speculations in contrast to his own theory-grounded-in-experiment approach. But while one can acknowledge the genius that was Newton, not even Westfall–with his consummate understanding, fair-mindedness, and sympathy–can make the man lovable. There are of course, the circumstances of the scientist’s life: His father died before he was born, and, when he was three, his mother remarried, leaving the boy to be raised by his maternal grandparents. Without undue emphasis on Freud, Westfall makes clear that such beginnings contributed to the loneliness and isolation, the neuroses, obsessions, and paranoia that characterized the life. The maligning of Robert Hooke, the undermining of the astronomer Flamsteed, and the vicious attack on Leibniz over priority in the invention of calculus add nothing to Newton’s luster. Still, the scientist mellowed in the end. He presided over the Royal Society, gained income from his position at the Mint, was generous to his many relatives, and enjoyed the company of his remarkable niece in his house in London. On his deathbed, Newton refused the sacraments, confirming his lifelong anti-Trinitarianism (which could not otherwise be revealed in public). An altogether admirable job of scholarship, whose weightiness is balanced by the surfacing, from time to time, of Westfall’s dry humor. (Six halftones; nine line drawings.) — Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Review ‘That this is the best biography of Newton is easily and truthfully said … surely no one is going to repeat Westfall’s immense and shrewdly conducted task in this century at least.’ A. Rupert Hall, New Scientist’… Westfall has organised his enormous task beautifully and done our most elusive worthy proud.’ M. Ratcliffe, The Times’… It provides a masterly, well-documented summary of contemporary views of all the many facets of Newton’s astoundingly wide-ranging career … and will be essential reading for aspiring Newtonian scholars.’ Marie Boas Hall, Nature’Altogether, this book should be considered an indispensable acquisition for any intelligent reader’s bookshelf … excellent value for money.’ Webb Society Quarterly Journal Book Description ‘… It provides a masterly, well-documented summary of contemporary views of all the many facets of Newton’s astoundingly wide-ranging career … and will be essential reading for aspiring Newtonian scholars.’ Marie Boas Hall, Nature Book Description In The Life of Isaac Newton, biographer extraordinaire Westfall lucidly and engagingly captures both the personal life and scientific career of Isaac Newton, presenting a fully rounded picture of Newton the man, the scientist, the philosopher, the theologian, and the public figure. Read more

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

⭐This detailed biography left me with a lot of unanswered questions about Newton’s personality and motives. It’s more oriented toward those interested primarily in the facts of Newton’s scientific career.As with many biographies, it doesn’t strike the ideal balance between generality and specifics, leaning mainly toward the latter and leaving the reader to draw her own overall conclusions.I also have to say that the writing style is very British in the sense that many terms familiar to those who were educated in Great Britain are opaque to non-Brits, and the author has a way of making backhanded comments that I found difficult to interpret or decipher.

⭐This is a well documented, well written biography of a powerful intellect who nevertheless had his idiosyncrasies and insecurities. Isaac Newton is an admirable figure to read about due to his high degree of honesty. He was searching for truth and found a good deal of it. Mr. Newton’s search was related not only to the mysteries of natural phenomena but into the origins and authentic teachings of Christianity which led him to make discoveries that his church-dominated society would have found threatening to say the least. After all, if established religion is shown to have a grossly erroneous concept of the God of the Bible, whom they profess to worship, then they constitute a public spiritual hazard. Nevertheless this was the situation and Newton recognized it. He did not choose to publicize it though, apparently in order to retain his access to the levers of scientific progress.The author does Newton a service by not introducing his own opinions in telling of this although there are other areas where the story must be inferred from meager documentation. When the author’s opinion does enter, at least the reader is provided sufficient factual information to either agree or disagree.For example, calling Isaac Newton an ‘Arian’ is a bit of a stretch. Newton’s conclusion that God was not a Trinity did not depend on the teaching of Arius, but as the author explains, on his personal scrutiny of many Bible manuscripts, translations, copies, and primarily by accumulating a substantial list of relevant scriptures.It is a fascinating story of a man grappling with monumental issues and can be richly enjoyed even by those tempted to skim over the more demanding parts where concepts of Newton’s ‘Opticks’ and ‘Principia’ are explained.

⭐It would be hard to find fault with the genuis of Newton’s creations in mathematics, physics and the reflecting telescope. In deed, the only thing that could eclipse this genuis would be his own dark character demons. ‘The Life of Isaac Newton’, by Richard Westfall should be praised for a balanced reporting of both sides of this icon. Having previously read ‘The Curious Life of Robert Hooke’ by Lisa Jardine, I required some mention of Newton’s shabby treatment of this fellow genius. Westfall adequately covered this mistreatment, along with Newton’s unforgivable treatment of the Royal Astronomer, John Flamsteed, who provided 30 years of dedicated celestial measurements and Roger Cotes who proofread and corrected much of Newton’s later work.So divisive was Newtons leadership at the Royal Society, that there was a consistant 25% of Anit-Newton vote on every issue, even if there was unanimity prior to and after all votes. This un-need Anti-Newton-Newton rift tainted the Society for years after Newton’s death. Only under recent research have these facets of human fraility become known. It is sad that Newton’s behavior tarnished his well earned credits. This and ‘Robert Hook’ by Jardine are must reads to understand the origins of the Royal Society and the development of the English Scientific Method.

⭐I have learned a lot of interesting history of Newton. It shows how hard it must have been to be sooo smart as he was.

⭐Westfall’s “Life of Isaac Newton” is everything the other reviewers say in regards to it being a good ABRIDGED biography of Newton. True, it is based in thorough scholarship and has served for the basis for many other Newton biographies to follow. But I would strongly caution any historian, whether by hobby or profession, to solely consult this book when referencing or discussing Newton. Westfall’s abridged version lacks any mention of references (unless you count the very incomplete bibliographical essay at the end) in either footnotes, endnotes, or a comprehensive bibliography. In order to trace his references, one must consult his much more complete “Never at Rest”, which is, altogether, a much more academic book. Don’t get me wrong, “The Life of Isaac Newton” is easy to read and a good foundational text but should not serve as an authority on Newton, but rather a companion to a more authoritative text on Newton.Aside from the historiographical issues in this book, if it is to serve as an introduction to early modern science, it might also help readers to know that they should read, at some point, some sort of text that deals with British history from the Sixteenth through Eighteenth centuries, as Wesfall provides no historical or political background in which to understand Newton. Based on my own reading of books to suit this purpose I would recommend Simon Schama’s “History of Britain, vol. 2”; “Leviathan and the Air-pump” by Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer; “Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes, or “The Scientific Revolution” also by Steven Shapin (which would be less of a cultural or political history but a good introduction to the issues with history of science in the seventeenth century).As an alternative to Westfall’s abridged version, I would also suggest (though he is not an academic, he is a pretty well-regarded science journalist with a very readable style) James Gleick’s “Isaac Newton” which is a little shorter and more in depth in some regards (and does completely cite references).

⭐This is a book cut down from Westfall’s full biography for a general readership. It is a very useful and readable addition to my shelf of history of science books. It is much better than the other Newton biography I have. I would have liked to have been able to afford Westfall’s full biography. But I doubt that I would have read it from cover to cover as I did this one. I gained useful insights from this version, but I am left with questions which only the full biography is likely to answer.

⭐great read

⭐A most rewarding read.Enjoyable and educational.

⭐This book has way too much detail about trivial matter such as the number of sheep isaacs great uncle had.

⭐Language is little hard to digest, but still, I find its interesting.

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