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This was my first in depth look at Galileo and it really opened my eyes to his story. Famous for being the first person to point a telescope toward the stars and later being tried by the Inquisition, I came to find out there was a lot more to his story.
Sobel tells Galileo's story through the use of letters sent to him by his daughter Suor Maria Celeste. Unfortunately, all the letters written by him to her were destroyed so we can only see her side of things. Sobel gave life to Galileo so well that I envy those who knew him. He seems like such a smart guy and a wonderful person. He did everything right and everything that was asked of him by the church, and so it was quite amazing to see the Pope's reaction to his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, where Galileo compares the Copernican (sun centered) and Ptolemaic (earth centered) systems.
Pope Urban had been a friend of Galileo's before becoming Pope, and continued to be one in the early years of his papacy. He told Galileo that he could pursue his interests in a sun centered system as long as he posed it as hypothetical. And so Galileo wrote and published the Dialogue following this stipulation. It was reviewed two separate times by Father Riccardi, who discussed it with the Pope, before publication. Despite Urban having been a friend of Galileo's, he did not read the Dialogue when it was published because he was dealing with other things (30 years war, fearing Spanish intrigue, and doubling the papal debt). And so he had anonymous advisers judge it for him. Sobel says:
Besides this most famous of Galileo's works and its consequences, we read about his discovering the moons of Jupiter, how he discovered sunspots and used them to back up the Copernican system, and his theory on the motion of the tides and how the earth's movement caused them. He was also constantly ill throughout his life which affected the pace at which he could research and write. Once the inquisition was over and he was confined to house arrest, he began a new book about motion. Though not as infamous as the Dialogue, the new book titled Two New Sciences established Galileo as the father of modern physics.
Sobel's text and Maria Celeste's letters were put together seamlessly which made this an easy book to read and understand. The ending was especially touching, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Galileo.
Sobel tells Galileo's story through the use of letters sent to him by his daughter Suor Maria Celeste. Unfortunately, all the letters written by him to her were destroyed so we can only see her side of things. Sobel gave life to Galileo so well that I envy those who knew him. He seems like such a smart guy and a wonderful person. He did everything right and everything that was asked of him by the church, and so it was quite amazing to see the Pope's reaction to his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, where Galileo compares the Copernican (sun centered) and Ptolemaic (earth centered) systems.
Pope Urban had been a friend of Galileo's before becoming Pope, and continued to be one in the early years of his papacy. He told Galileo that he could pursue his interests in a sun centered system as long as he posed it as hypothetical. And so Galileo wrote and published the Dialogue following this stipulation. It was reviewed two separate times by Father Riccardi, who discussed it with the Pope, before publication. Despite Urban having been a friend of Galileo's, he did not read the Dialogue when it was published because he was dealing with other things (30 years war, fearing Spanish intrigue, and doubling the papal debt). And so he had anonymous advisers judge it for him. Sobel says:
Galileo's enemies in Rome, whose number was legion, saw the Dialogue as a scandalous glorification of Copernicus. and the pope, already loudly accused of flagging Catholic zeal on the battlefronts of Europe, could not allow a new affront to go unpunished.And so began the Inquisition.
Besides this most famous of Galileo's works and its consequences, we read about his discovering the moons of Jupiter, how he discovered sunspots and used them to back up the Copernican system, and his theory on the motion of the tides and how the earth's movement caused them. He was also constantly ill throughout his life which affected the pace at which he could research and write. Once the inquisition was over and he was confined to house arrest, he began a new book about motion. Though not as infamous as the Dialogue, the new book titled Two New Sciences established Galileo as the father of modern physics.
Sobel's text and Maria Celeste's letters were put together seamlessly which made this an easy book to read and understand. The ending was especially touching, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Galileo.