Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love

* Of course I'm not going to give the ending away. * However erudite I might smugly think I am about the merits of well-written non-fiction, I was simply blown away by the emotional firepower of the conclusion of this book. * I have been to Florence many times, and have visited the Church of Santa Croce during each visit, where Galileo's tomb resides today on the same floor as the legendary Michelangelo and Machiavelli. * If I had read something like Sobel's book 10 years ago, it would have sparked a burst of emotions heretofore missing in those visits, similar to splashing a million colors onto a blank canvas, or in the case of Galileo's tomb, injecting life onto a slab of colorless marble. * The amazing beauty of this work is that it reads like a novel, or more to the point, it paints pictures reminiscent of the language of cinema. It is historical, factual and meticulous. Yet it is not TOO detailed. * Unlike typical historical treatments of people whose accomplishments are regarded so magnificent that they are automatically given an entrance ticket into the pantheon of immortality, Sobel's story of Galileo and his relationship with his daughter is engrossing, spellbinding and bereft of the technical minutiae that bogs down many works of non-fiction. * Too often, authors attempting to bring life to the thoughts and actions of great figures, go so overboard with tiny details that they undercut their own efforts. They disrupt the narrative momentum so critical to good old fashioned story-telling. There's nothing worse than to read half way down a page and then realize that you missed everything crammed so badly into two paragraphs that you're forced to read them again. * "Galileo's Daughter" is a work of non-fiction and an easy read, despite its potentially forbidding subject. While much verbiage is expended about the master's fight to prove Copernicus' theory of a sun-centered galaxy, in the face of recriminations and potential persecutions from the Catholic Church, the author's method of tackling this issue is unlike anything you will ever find in a boring textbook. The result is pure entertainment, like watching a drama about a clash of ideas and egos, the stuff movies are made of. * After a while, you are lulled into thinking that the title of Sobel's book is merely a subtext to what is really Galileo's story. His daughter's letters simply humanize the "legend" of Galileo, transforming him into a domestic, a real person, a parent with the normal concerns for his children. For all of his cranial powers, Galileo is not so self-absorbed that he abrogates his responsibilities as a father. He comes off as a concerned parent who endeavors to provide the best for his children. * But then the twist! You think you know where this story is going because after all, this is a work of non-fiction! But you're wrong! * By the end of "Galileo's Daughter," author Sobel finds an ingenious way to circle back to what is inferred by the title of his book, despite the preponderance of words expended on Galileo himself. * The result is a stunner. * If you buy this book, and I recommend you do, DON'T cheat and go to its last few pages. If you do, you'll deprive yourself of the emotional impact of a revelation that may be common knowledge to some, but in reality is obscure to the greater body of people who think they know history. * "Galileo's Daughter" is a marvelous achievement. If all non-fiction works were written this way, I'd stop going to the movies.

For us laymen - neither historians nor scientists - Dava Sobel has delivered a fascinating and readable exploration of a time in history that has had an immeasurable effect on our own, "modern" life, both at the societal and individual levels. She offers a thorough and apparently well-documented re-analysis of events that shaped the futures of the sciences and the Catholic faith. She tackles these large issues with clarity and an ability to communicate technical, or hairsplitting, concepts to the average reader. She is able to take us through the relationships, personal strengths and follies, and international events that led up to Galileo's famous trial, and does it in such a way that we are not bored in the least. At the same time, she gives a unique look at the daily lives of people who walked, talked, breathed and loved, just as we do today. Through her research and descriptions, we see that we are not so different from the people who lived so long ago - a good lesson for these very-millennial, oh-so-modern times. In fact, the joy of this book is not the discovery that Galileo had a daughter, and that they wrote letters to each other that we can peek at. The joy is in realizing that we are part of that same tapestry of life; that we are not so unique - and alone - after all. In terms of expectations for this book, other reviewers are correct: the first portion of the text barely touches upon Suor Marie Celeste at all. However, this delay works. By the time we get to her story, and the story of Galileo's trial, we have enough background information to make them meaningful, and not just a list of dates and characters. This book was well-written; the style is comfortable and the narrative flows. It's as if a favorite storyteller has moved from fact to fiction and, with no embellishment of the truth, makes the past come alive. I recommend you read this, if only to get a sense of what has made us who we are today.

Strong writing and evidence of excellent research. Well written with a strong voice. By definition, telling a story by way of ancient letters is tedious. That said, Dava Sobel keeps the flow with reportage of events and background not included in the letters to keep the reader engaged. What was especially noteworthy to me was the backstory of the letters. The life of some women in the 1600s was revealed leaving this reader wanting more detail. The submissiveness was repulsive, but the need for it, the pervasiveness of it, was shown as ordinary. I do believe a whole other book could be composed just to reveal more of what the nuns and other women had to endure. The myths about Galileo's life were corrected.

Among the books I've really loved recently I'd group this one with Sobel's own "Longitude" and Gleich's "Isaac Newton". Even Mantel's couple of Cromwell dramatic biography novels. So, is Masterpiece a superlative too far? I'd argue that one of the outstanding achievements of this book is her love of the two main characters. This is lightyears away from a dry historical repositioning. At the end, Galileo's coffin is finally moved to a place worthy of the man's stature, and Sobel has done the same, to both father and daughter. The contribution of these people is to be finally recognised, and that is a worthy premise for a book and a writer. Sobel maintains and defends the man's dignity and reminds us that in observation, concept, theory, evidence and proof the was consistently accurate, in a period of human history when such things were rare or unheard of. In response to his critics and specifically those who campaigned to suppress his enlightening discoveries he argued robustly and with immense strength of character and courage. Despite long periods of personal suffering he dedicated his life to creating significant works, bringing mankind into a new era of understanding. If all of that were not enough, Sobel throws open the door to 16th and 17th century life in a cloistered convent, a spiritual prison for non-marriable girls. The poverty and denial over a short period would test any modern sensibility, but these women spent their lives suffering and providing what little they had to share with other people. Sobel quotes the daughter's letters and reveals the devotion and love which somehow sustained both of them, and her own many talents. I loved this book. Not a single sentence was irrelevant, every thread of context, every name, family lineage, outbreak of the plague, his books and works, the discoveries and innovation, it's all there to describe a life, a lifetime of a genius, the father of modern science. Her understanding of historical context is magnificent. It's a work of art.

J'avais lu ce texte en français mais je suis heureux de l'avoir acheté dans l'édition originale, en anglais. Cette version est riche d'illustrations et d'une belle présentation dans le graphisme. Le texte reste d'un intérêt majeur: à travers ce livre Galilée est encore vivant. J'ajoute que j'ai acheté le livre d'occasion mais qu'il était en parfait état.

Another wonderful book by Sobel. Her prose is clear and concise. I have read all of her works and have found all of them fascinating and illuminating.

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Full of information that was new to me. The relationship Galileo had with his eldest daughter was wonderful and very touching to see. She wrote him long, beautiful letters which are in the book in translation. The letters are set in context through a narrative of events in Galileo's life. A recommended read.