About this title: Drawing from over 100 recently translated letters, this historical account chronicles the life of the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei by examining his relationship with his eldest daughter, Virginia, a cloistered nun. This biography places their correspondence in historical context, detailing the religious and political climate of Galileo's time that led to his eventual conviction in 1633 for defending the Copernican system. A New York Times Notable Book for 1999.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. minor wear. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 420 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: 1st Printing
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Penguin USA, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780140280555ISBN:0140280553
Description: Good. No Dust Jacket as Issued. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Book shows moderate wear/ spine tight, pages clean/ covers scuffed, moderate edge wear/ personal inscription inside front cover/ readers slant/ corners slightly creased/ several page tips creased read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 2000-11-01
ISBN-13:9780140280555ISBN:0140280553
Description: Good. Softcover in good condition. Visible wear and signs of use from previous ownership. May have writing or highlighting on the inside pages. Sold as a reading/reference copy, and priced accordingly. read more
Edition: 6th
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Walker & Co, N. Y.
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780802713438ISBN:0802713432
Description: Cover Art. Very Good in Very Good jacket. Hard Back. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. The hard cover and the jacket has very light shelf wear.........We are very careful when we list our books, but sometimes something minor may get by.. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Viking Penguin, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780140280555ISBN:0140280553
Description: Very Good. TITLE: Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love // Tight Binding, Light cosmetic wear, square, edges and spine crisp, bright covers, ** OLD RANCH BOOKS: A Family Operated Bookstore Online Since '99 ** Brick & Mortar Bookstore ** read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Walker & Company
Date Published: 10/1999
ISBN-13:9780802713438ISBN:0802713432
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 420 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Walker & Company
Date Published: 10/1999
ISBN-13:9780802713438ISBN:0802713432
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 420 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
"I was really disappointed in this book. I knew when I purchased it that it wasn't actually about Galileo's daughter, that the story was almost entirely Galileo's. Still, I figured the the father/daughter relationship would provide some important framework for the story. It didn't really. This is a fairly dry biography of Galileo and the personal and professional events that shaped his life. There's not much more to it.
In the book, Galileo's daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, having been consigned to a convent as a preteen, is now a nun who rarely sees her father and communicates with him via letters. Her letters to him have survived and many are included in the book, but they don't shed as much light on Galileo's life as I'd hoped. I got really, really bored with the narrative, which was a very straightforward telling of the events of Galileo's life. In my opinion, nonfiction is always best when it reads like a novel and not like a history book. Unfortunately, this was a history book. I didn't enjoy the read and didn't take much away from it. It was a disappointment."
"This book does a good job of capturing the time....
It is a bit too gushingly admiring of Galileo, though. I suppose I'm judging him by the standards of our time not his, but he didn't marry the mother of his three children because she was below his social standing. Put his two daughters into a convent. Got his son declared legitimate, and really only focused on his work and convalescing. Not much to admire in that biography.
The science part is...I dunno. He's got a great mind, and he had a big ego.
Not a lot of drama there. Both Sobel and Galileo's daughter love him. I'm less convinced.
I honestly think I'm going to give up now. There are definitely better books out there."
"Galileo's Daughter was best book that I read in 2001. Dava Sobel, a natural storyteller, tells the well-known story of Galileo through the eyes of his daughter Sister Maria Celeste, who spent her adult life in a Franciscan covenant. The book is based on the 124 surviving letters that Maria sent to her father (Galileo's letters were all destroyed by the Catholic church). Galileo's Daughter is a wonderful mix of biography, scientific and political history, and touching memoir all wonderfully brought together under Dava Sobel's skilled touch. I am a devoutly scientific man and this book really touched me. I tried to read a short passage from this book to my wife but was overcome by emotion at the attempt. She ended up having to take the book from me and read it herself. That's a high compliment to give to any book."
"This book was clearly a labor of love, well researched and with sympathetic, very human depictions of Galileo, his daughter Sister Maria Celeste, and other folks. I learned a lot about Galileo's unbelievable discoveries, his equally important and forward-thinking contributions to the scientific community in terms of process and rigor, his family, and the politics, culture, and technology of the times he lived in. All very interesting. But the angle of this book, of Galileo's life being viewed through the eyes of his daughter, who shared his enormous intellect and capabilities and with whom he had a loving relationship, didn't really...work. Intelligent and accomplished as she seemed to be, she was a cloistered nun her entire (short) life, and, while her letters to Galileo survived, his letters to her did not; both these factors limited Maria Celeste as a main player in the narrative, despite the author's efforts. Nevertheless, a fascinating and inspiring story (and sobering--seems that every era has its folks who would rather hurt people than accept a change in common knowledge)."
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