Newton's Gift: How Sir Isaac Newton Unlocked the System of the World

A look at a masterful intellect told with a bit of humor and splashes of poetry. This is not a technical book and was enjoyable to read even while I painlessly learned many things about mathematics.

Don't be frightened. David Berlinski is a gifted writer. In "Newton's Gift: How Sir Isaac Newton Unlocked the System of the World," Mr. Berlinski is warm, enveloping, and rhetorically at the top of his game. He writes beautifully. Mr. Berlinski does not call himself a mathematician. His Curriculum Vitae does not list numerous and continual treatises of interest primarily to mathematicians. He knows the field, at least through three dimensional vector calculus. His mastery lets him control the level at which he presents Newton's accomplishments to the reader. Berlinski mentions that Newton himself was less a mathematician than a physicist, which in no way diminishes Newton's supreme accomplishments. Berlinski compares the approaches of Newton and Leibniz, Leibniz being superior in simple and straightforward mathematical notation -- as the scientific world has clearly followed for the last three centuries. If your aim is to advance or refresh your learning of math, you will need to proceed through additional books, some of which, by the way, could be Berlinski's own. Nor is Berlinski's intent to be a definitive biographer of Sir Isaac. If that is what you want, Berlinski gives a standard reference. Berlinski's focus is narrower. He presents Newton himself, his personality, peculiarities, personal relationships, and limitations. Are you going to like Newton as you read this book? Perhaps you will, but that is not the point. Perhaps he is not "likeable" as such. You will understand him more, and more importantly you will be introduced to his significance in the scientific world. You will find him as one of the most antisocial of men, most markedly during the so-called "miracle year" of his discoveries. Soon after becoming an eminent member of the scientific world, he loses interest in those studies and leaves it to others to advance them, turning instead to the rather mundane work of a sinecure he is given -- Warden of the Mint -- and waging a highly successful personal war against counterfeiting. In closing, let me point out the Appendix to "Newton's Gift." Berlinski calls it "Descent into Detail." A nice touch, since as we all know, the devil is in the details, and you can guess what the descent is into. The appendix is a rapid and overall view of the math and physical concepts in the book. The first subheading is called "A Brief Mathematical Chrestomathy." An excellent word choice, for the reader's entry into Newton's world of advanced mathematics and the physical relationships of material bodies, benefits from the aid given by selected terms and figures to help understand the language spoken by the brilliant natives you will find there.

The story of Issac Newton and the Calculus and his discoveries in the physics of light and gravity and the movement of the planets is well told. Berlinski added an appendix with the Calculus’s formulas to play around with. But! Isaac Newton was not a very pleasant person—in my opinion. I lied the book and sent a copy of it to my brother, who also liked it.

The author did a marvelous job in trying to explain and simplify great mathematical concepts in order to be understood by a "normal" person. The book also shows that Newton, although a man with one of the most powerful minds in history, was still a human, with very "pedestrian" weaknesses. That only enhance the greatnes of the man. The book is very fast to read, and a great companion in the metro

This slender volume is a worthwhile read, albeit with some minor caveats. 1) The author's prose style is very much a matter of personal taste. Although he succeeds in some turns of phrases, the elaborate phraseology adds nothing to the substance of the book. Some readers may find this off-putting. 2) The author frequently refers to gravity as being "instantaneous." Quantum mechanics may offer instantaneous action at a distance, but gravity does not. Gravity propagates at the speed of light. 3) In the appendix, the author discusses the distance function D(x) = t-squared. There is an apparent typo on page 178 (hardback version), referring to "10 minutes." The author surely intended "6 minutes." A possible source of confusion to some readers.

I enjoy reading many types of books. This book got my interest because I history and non fiction.

Great read. Well written in the Berlinski style of humor.

I like reading Mr. Berlinski's works. This is my third course of his writings and Berlinski never fails to catch my attention in his way of describing his understanding of the world and its people. I get the impression that Berlinski is a fan of Newton. No, not just fan, but fan-atic as in the classic derivation of the term. Berlinski writes about Newton's achievements in a way that I would expect a fan of the Beatles or Bieber would write about their subjects. If I'm right, and this is actually the case, then don't be surprised when you read this book and find Berlinski's thoughts about Newton flit in a form in kind as moth around flame. I was most satisfied by Berlinksi's final chapter "The Quest" which put focus on the future for the "why's" of the output of mathematical physicists. Here Berlinski successfully (IMHO) provides a tragectory of what to make of math endeavors in a post-Carl Sagan couched world, by gently but firmly affirming that the laws of physics are trancendent and are not arbitrary. Just as Berlinski breathlessly and lovingly demures to Newton's achievements of mind to task, so too, the rest of us look at the world around us, and through the eyes of Berlinski and Newton ponder breathlessly and lovingly to the Creator of it all.

another amazing book by prof. Berlinski

Great condition

Berlinski offers a vague but valuable first insight into Newton's own sense of self-awareness concerning his science and its potential. The purpose of theoretical physics and its relativity to life itself are questions which often bubble to the surface of this intelligent but short examination of Newton as mathematical philosopher whilst also introducing the reader more concisely to the practical nature of Newton's developed theories. Calculus, light, optics, gravity and significant laws of mathematics (Principia Mathematica) are covered, but for my own liking, not quite adequately enough - often the maths remaining only a mere sketch. Berlinski evidences that Newton is a thinking titan, not only of his own age, but also for the industrial and technological ages which followed Newton's own lifetime. It's an easy read and the biographical content adequately shows Newton to be a somewhat flawed if difficult figure, withdrawn and brooding, as he struggles to succeed in melding his physics to an advocated science that, at its heart, remains biblically fundamental. At the very least we are provided with a notional Newton who offers tomorrow a wide reaching and inclusive account of how and why the world functions as it does. I'll read more Berlinski.