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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
A little long-winded, but interesting. It's really about Galileo, not his daughter. I mean, she's in there, but just as a resource about her father - among several other resources. Maybe "Galileo's Daughter" had a better ring to it than any other title the author could think of? I might have chosen "The Assayer" as a better title.
Anyhow, you could read this book, or just give the Wikipedia page a scroll instead.
Anyhow, you could read this book, or just give the Wikipedia page a scroll instead.
I loved the excerpts from the daughter's own writing.
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Don't recommend listening to on tape - you miss out on a lot of the pictures, and all the Italian names start to sound alike. A bit slow in parts, but puts some scientific controversies in context - some of Galileo's quotes on whether or not having a new understanding of the universe is heresy are interesting when applied to evolution (still very controversial, at least for us public schoolteachers) instead of a heliocentric universe (which even very religious people now think is absurd to not "believe" in)
Sobel is a great science/history writer - her style is both technical when necessary and engaging. This book is written from the perspective of Galileo's daughter, living in a convent in 16th and 17th century Italy.
pretty solid. fantastic story that the author's writing didn't really enhance. The letters really spoke for themselves. The narrative really slowed down when the father-daughter relationship wasn't discussed, especially dropped off the cliff when she died, but nice to have that last chapter about what happened to Galileo. She tied up the narrative quite nicely.
I sometimes (often) have a hard time finishing works of non-fiction. But at about page 150, I realized I was choosing to read this book over riding my bike or cuddling with my boyfriend. I love the portrayal of Galileo, and am glad Sobel chose to explore his feelings about Catholicism in addition to his scientific work, rather than pitting the two as mortal enemies. That means a lot to me, as I spend time trying to find the balance between my faith and everything else, and refuse to throw the baby out with the bath water. Not a perfect book, but overall, I loved.
Also, I feel this book was sort of delivered to me prophetically, as it went on my mental long list when Dava Sobel spoke at KU in 1998, but I never read it till finding a $1 copy in the PS Bookshop moving sale a couple of weeks ago. Had I read it at anytime prior to the last year, it would not have been the right time. I love when that happens.
Also, I feel this book was sort of delivered to me prophetically, as it went on my mental long list when Dava Sobel spoke at KU in 1998, but I never read it till finding a $1 copy in the PS Bookshop moving sale a couple of weeks ago. Had I read it at anytime prior to the last year, it would not have been the right time. I love when that happens.
On the one hand, I learned a lot. On the other hand, wow was this book dry. While the idea to humanize Galileo through his relationship to his daughter sounds like it could be an interesting one, and no doubt it's a novel idea, the problem is simply that his daughter is just not an interesting person. Given the references to her intelligence, she is a product of her time - stuffed into a convent at an early age, the only way we know her is through her letters, which are pretty banal. And because that's the "new" element of the book, we often get the entirety of the letter, even if the only main point we're to draw from it is, "See, she's concerned!"
Needless to say, this causes a glacial pace to the story. While it gives new depth to his inquisition and run-in with the Church, that doesn't show up until halfway through the book. The first quarter moves okay enough as we learn about Galileo's younger years, basic background stuff, but the next quarter is awfully dull. Part of the issue is that there is now a focus on the daughter, whose life is plain. But mostly it's because for this reason we get letter upon letter in its full extent.
I enjoyed the debates between philosophers and especially the nuance of the papal encounters - painting a fuller picture of Galileo's faith especially lent the story a complexity with which I was sadly unfamiliar. And it also made me interested in reading the Dialogue itself, with a clear sense of humor present. But because the book trudges through the points in between these pivotal encounters, it just isn't a very enjoyable read, IMO.
A perfect example of the minutiae it slogs through occurs when we are handed four pages on the real estate market nearer his daughter's convent. Seriously. Stuff like that made me put the book down for days at a time.
In the end, I'm glad I read the book because I learned a lot. But I'm pretty sure there must be a more interesting book out there on the subject, so I can't really recommend it to others.
Needless to say, this causes a glacial pace to the story. While it gives new depth to his inquisition and run-in with the Church, that doesn't show up until halfway through the book. The first quarter moves okay enough as we learn about Galileo's younger years, basic background stuff, but the next quarter is awfully dull. Part of the issue is that there is now a focus on the daughter, whose life is plain. But mostly it's because for this reason we get letter upon letter in its full extent.
I enjoyed the debates between philosophers and especially the nuance of the papal encounters - painting a fuller picture of Galileo's faith especially lent the story a complexity with which I was sadly unfamiliar. And it also made me interested in reading the Dialogue itself, with a clear sense of humor present. But because the book trudges through the points in between these pivotal encounters, it just isn't a very enjoyable read, IMO.
A perfect example of the minutiae it slogs through occurs when we are handed four pages on the real estate market nearer his daughter's convent. Seriously. Stuff like that made me put the book down for days at a time.
In the end, I'm glad I read the book because I learned a lot. But I'm pretty sure there must be a more interesting book out there on the subject, so I can't really recommend it to others.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Dava Sobel writes nonfiction compelling well, as always. My main qualm was that the title would more accurately be Galileo, and also his Favorite Daughter, as the book was more about him than her. And WOW the drama of 17th century Italian Catholics!
I gave up and never finished this one. I loved her earlier book, Longitude, so I was sad to not enjoy this one as much. But I never really got into it.