Galileo's Daughter
Ratings20
Average rating3.7
A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and LoveInspired by her long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of his daughter, which she has translated into English for the first time, Dava Sobel has written a book of great originality and power, a biography unlike any ever written on the man Albert Einstein called “the father of modern physics – indeed of modern science altogether.”Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was the foremost scientist of his day. Though he never left italy, his birthplace, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. His telescopes allowed him to reveal a new reality in the heavens and to publicly propound the astounding argument that the Earth actually moves around the Sun. For this belief he was brought before the Holy Office of the Inquisition, accused of heresy, and threatened with torture. In contrast, his daughter Virginia, became a cloistered nun. Born in 1600, she was thirteen when Galileo placed her in a convent near him in Florence, where she took the most appropriate name of Suor Maria Celeste. Galileo later said of her that she had an “exquisite mind,” and her intelligence and loving support proved to be her father’s greatest source of strength through his most difficult years.“I had two daughters who were nuns and whom I loved dearly, but the eldest in particular, who was a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and most tenderly attached to me.” – Galileo Galilei (July 28, 1634)Galileo’s Daughter brings Galileo to life as never before—boldly compelled to explain the truths he discovered, human in his frailties and faith, devoted to family and, especially, to his daughter. Her presence graces his life now as it did then. Their voices, and those of others who touched their lives, echo down the centuries through letters and writings, which Sobel masterfully weaves into her narrative, building toward the crescendo of history’s most dramatic collision between science and religion. In the process, she illuminates an entire era, when the flamboyant Medici grand dukes became Galileo’s patrons, when the bubonic plague wreaked its terrible devastation and prayer was the most effective medicine, when the Thirty Years’ War tipped fortunes across Europe, and when one man fought, through his trial and betrayal by his former friend, Pope Urban VIII, to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope. An unforgettable story, Galileo’s Daughter is a stunning achievement.
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A bit of a slog at the end, but overall an interesting look at the era. It's really amazing that any advancements in science were made in such an environment.
5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
A biography of Galileo Galilei, told in part through letters from his daughter and supporter.
Review
Dava Sobel is easily the best science history writer I've encountered, challenged only and tangentially by Mary Roach. I've enjoyed Sobel's books Longitude and The Planets, and Galileo's Daughter is even better.
I knew only the outlines of Galileo's story, and not all of it correctly at that. I initially thought the approach of telling the story through letters from his daughter was forced, contrived. And in fact the first portion of the book – Galileo's early life – is necessarily not told through these letters at all. Yet once the daughter is old enough, and the letters do turn up, Sobel's handling of them is masterful – they're interspersed among narrative history sections in a way that feels entirely organic and natural.
Despite the title, the book is about Galileo, not his daughter. Yet they appear to have been so close that the title is fair – Galileo's story includes that of his daughter, who was his close confidante, advisor, friend, and even at times manager of some of his affairs – all from within the tight confines of a convent far from Rome and its intrigues.
Intrigues and politics are a substantial part of the story – currying of favor, influential supporters, and careful management of friends are essential to Galileo's successes and failures. What was heartening to me, though – especially in days like these, when science is seen by some as a bad word – is just how committed and supportive many people were. Galileo is seen, rightly, by many, many people as a forward-thinking genius. The fact that they have to twist their thoughts (or at least utterances) into theological knots in order to both appreciate progress and toe the Catholic line does credit to their intent, and their recognition of Galileo as a force to be reckoned with. It's equally heartening that his daughter, Sister Maria Celeste, a cloistered, prematurely toothless, 17th century nun under a vow of poverty, is, at least to some extent, recognized by contemporaries as an important participant in Galileo's achievements.
The book isn't perfect. I felt it ran a little long, and runs out of energy after Galileo's encounter with the Inquisition. And there are a lot of Vincenzios to keep track of. But Sobel picks it up somewhat at the end, with a conclusion that left me in tears (okay, it's not that hard to make me cry). All in all, a beautifully written, carefully researched and organized history of a giant in science, and the daughter who helped him get there.
Great science, history, and religion – as well as a touching father-daughter story.
