http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780802713438-5: I'd been interested in reading this book since it was published in 1999, but I rarely buy non-fiction, so I didn't have the chance until I borrowed it from my mother a couple weeks ago. This is a biography of Galileo, told in part through letters written to him by his illegitimate daughter, a cloistered nun and Galileo's confidante. Over 125 letters written by her survive, though all of the letters from Galileo to his daughter have reportedly been lost or destroyed. While the familial relationship was interesting, I didn't feel as if the correspondence added much to the narrative, and it seemed as if most of the biographical information about Galileo came from other sources. As I am not particularly interested in astronomy, mathematics, or physics, I found most of the discussion of Galileo's findings and research a bit boring (I know it's all incredibly important and I respect that, I just don't care to read about it). I was interested in Galileo's treatment by the church, but at this point I feel like most of that information is common knowledge, and I almost felt as if Sobel's retelling of the story was like reading a high school textbook. I was unimpressed by her writing, and felt as if the use of the letters was too gimmicky - a way to appear to have a new angle on Galileo's life, but not really adding much overall. That being said, a very well-read friend of mine who reads biographies by the dozen loves this book - and feels that it was most certainly deserving of all the praise it has received. More science-minded individuals would probably enjoy it.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Galileo's Daughter - Dava Sobel
http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780802713438-5: I'd been interested in reading this book since it was published in 1999, but I rarely buy non-fiction, so I didn't have the chance until I borrowed it from my mother a couple weeks ago. This is a biography of Galileo, told in part through letters written to him by his illegitimate daughter, a cloistered nun and Galileo's confidante. Over 125 letters written by her survive, though all of the letters from Galileo to his daughter have reportedly been lost or destroyed. While the familial relationship was interesting, I didn't feel as if the correspondence added much to the narrative, and it seemed as if most of the biographical information about Galileo came from other sources. As I am not particularly interested in astronomy, mathematics, or physics, I found most of the discussion of Galileo's findings and research a bit boring (I know it's all incredibly important and I respect that, I just don't care to read about it). I was interested in Galileo's treatment by the church, but at this point I feel like most of that information is common knowledge, and I almost felt as if Sobel's retelling of the story was like reading a high school textbook. I was unimpressed by her writing, and felt as if the use of the letters was too gimmicky - a way to appear to have a new angle on Galileo's life, but not really adding much overall. That being said, a very well-read friend of mine who reads biographies by the dozen loves this book - and feels that it was most certainly deserving of all the praise it has received. More science-minded individuals would probably enjoy it.
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