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crayolabird 's review for:
The breadth of this book is amazing. I got an intimate look at three different things: first and foremost. the life of a truly incredible and inspired scientist and mathematician. Second, a glimpse at the daily life and circumstances of women who lived in convents in Italy in the 17th century. Third, and what touched me most, an example of a truly exceptional father/daughter relationship.
Galileo was amazing: brilliant, inquisitive, determined and so human. I loved getting an in-depth understanding of what knowledge he actually gifted to the world. I loved to read about his experiments and how he made use of what materials and science were available to him. He loved and depended on his daughter, who was a truly selfless and dedicated woman. Her letters proved her to be a woman who was always thinking of others, trying to help solve their problems and, most importantly, prepared to do whatever her father would ask of her.
The book wasn't always easy to read - not because of Sobel's writing style (which I really enjoyed) but because Italian history is not my forte. Parts got slow for me and I finally just gave up remembering all those Italians. I will say though, when I picked it up, I never actually thought I would have TEARS, but when Suor Maria Celeste died, I cried. She was that impressive of a character. And it was painful to read about his imprisonment over telling the truth about the world as he saw it.
I'll finish by including one of my favorite lines of the book, actually, a quote by Galileo's son, Vincenzio (what a romantic name, eh?). About Galileo he said:
His most detested vice was the lie, maybe because with the help of the mathematic science he knew the beauty of Truth too well.
Galileo was amazing: brilliant, inquisitive, determined and so human. I loved getting an in-depth understanding of what knowledge he actually gifted to the world. I loved to read about his experiments and how he made use of what materials and science were available to him. He loved and depended on his daughter, who was a truly selfless and dedicated woman. Her letters proved her to be a woman who was always thinking of others, trying to help solve their problems and, most importantly, prepared to do whatever her father would ask of her.
The book wasn't always easy to read - not because of Sobel's writing style (which I really enjoyed) but because Italian history is not my forte. Parts got slow for me and I finally just gave up remembering all those Italians. I will say though, when I picked it up, I never actually thought I would have TEARS, but when Suor Maria Celeste died, I cried. She was that impressive of a character. And it was painful to read about his imprisonment over telling the truth about the world as he saw it.
I'll finish by including one of my favorite lines of the book, actually, a quote by Galileo's son, Vincenzio (what a romantic name, eh?). About Galileo he said:
His most detested vice was the lie, maybe because with the help of the mathematic science he knew the beauty of Truth too well.