Galileo's Daughter: A Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel

[snugglekitty]

I picked up Galileo's Daughter on a whim from paperbackswap. Wow. It was really, really good. The story is the story of the life of Galileo, and especially of his relationship with his older daughter, who is a nun with the convent name of Maria Celeste. The time period featured here is not one that I've ever been especially interested in. Nor did I know anything about Galileo, (beyond that Indigo Girls song and a conspiracy theory that someone told me when I was a teenager, that the Church actually knew already that the earth went around the sun, they just weren't ready for the public to know) or think that it was a lack in my life not to, but this book was riveting. Sobel did a great job of keeping you interested with the narrative and the letters from Maria Celeste to her father, without neglecting contextual information about the politics and church doctrine of the time. This book transformed my understanding of this period of Italian history. The idea of being arrested, tortured, or even executed for disagreeing with church doctrine is chilling. If you are interested in science, history, or the relationship between church and state, run, do not walk, to your nearest local bookstore to pick up Galileo's Daughter. Dava Sobel also wrote a similar book which I plan to investigate: Longitude:The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. (If you have read her new, and apparently different book The Planets, what did you think of it?) Five stars.

ETA: Here are the read-alikes I suggested for this book in my newly edited "Best Nonfiction of 2007" post: "For a similar setting in fantasy fiction, try The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. For an anecdotal treatement of another oft-neglected subject, try Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky."

Comments

[kahoki.livejournal.com]

I first picked up Longitude:The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time when I had just settled into New England, and found it to be a fascinating read about a period of time that I wasn't that familiar with. Similar to what described about Galileo's Daughter, the vexing grind of authoritarian rules in the face of technological innovation and the perciverance of the inventor are worthwhile naratives to read. Will have a look to see if I can find my paperback copy on a handy shelf.