Galileo

In this fresh & frank portrait, John Heilbron captures the hero & martyr of science with a wide-angle lens, which takes in the landscape of culture, learning, religion, science, theology, & politics of late Renaissance Italy. The result is a much richer & more rounded view of Galileo--as literary critic, poet, musician, mathematician, philosopher, theologian, & inventor. The book draws out Galileo's character, both psychological & scientific, by applying his literary criticism to himself; & presents his scientific thinking through excerpts from his writings & a dialogue in typical Galilean style. The company he kept is also given a subtler & more nuanced treatment--the men with whom Galileo jostled & jousted were complex, cultivated characters, defying simple labelling as 'brilliant friends' or 'stupid enemies.'