Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Galileo: A Life
Galileo: A Life
Galileo: A Life
Ebook493 pages6 hours

Galileo: A Life

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

A suspenseful narrative and spirited rendition of the life of Galileo Galilei, the Renaissance giant who set out on a collision course with the Roman Catholic Church. James Reston's meticulous research, astute use of excerpts from letters, poems, and church documents enliven his hero on every page.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 28, 2018
ISBN9781587983207
Galileo: A Life

Related to Galileo

Related ebooks

Historical Biographies For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Galileo

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

19 ratings2 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    So much I never knew about Galileo and the Church - very interesting reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Galileo is one of the scientists I have always head about in school, especially my physics class. It figured it was about time I learned more about him. What struck me was the number of inventions he worked on in the quest for making a name for himself. In that age, the goal was to get the best teaching job, but only the best paid enough to live on (kind of like today?). The real money was in inventions. Galileo was always working to impress the local politicians in an effort to get commissions. He worked on so many different things, I have lost count. Of course, his most famous was the telescope. But, I was surprised to find out that he actually wasn't the first. A Flemish man was, but when Galileo heard he was in Venice to sell it to the city, he had a friend detain the man a day while he frantically finished one and presented it first. The council fell for it and the Flemish man went home in ruins, the patent being awarded to Galileo. Galileo was by nature a very showy man, who had to do everything with great bravado. He never missed a chance to show off, which is why he supposedly conducted his gravitational experiments from the top of the tower in Pisa. It was necessary for him to try and get as much attention as possible because he was always had money troubles. His family sucked him dry, from his musician brother that regularly sent his wife and children to live with him to his two sister's dowries that he got saddled with paying. Even his mother demanded money from him. It was this and a household of servants, workers and hangers-on that forced him to always be looking for the next best paying job. It was this need for the next job that got him into trouble with the Vatican. His views on the Copernican theory of a sun-centered solar system was at direct odds with the accepted Earth-centric view held by the Catholic Church. While he was in Venice, he had protection by the city-state from the Inquisition. Against all his friend's warnings, he left Venice for Florence to be the resident scientist to the Prince. That was just what the Pope was waiting for and it wasn't very many years later that Galileo was summoned to Rome to recant. After many years of political wrangling, he ended up being banished and not allowed to see anyone or do any more writing. He was lucky to be spared the Papal prison or the heretic's death, but the ordeal robbed him of his health and abilities to do what he so wanted to do. Very interesting book to put a lot of things in perspective beyond Galileo. This was the time when the Pope was cracking down on the Reformation and fighting wars with the "heretics" in Northern Europe. I enjoyed getting this period more firmly fixed in my mind. Good book.

Book preview

Galileo - James Reston, Jr.

7Ubbook_preview_excerpt.html}ےGdgjR[IV(2(i! Jdf %{qDצYKdqv߽}E-ͮP< c]V÷Ӻ6aڦwqfUqXëOm,\vioU9j>_>cM&n[{Q=ѣ>{'oWBbWK{.}C_OðۮkL60`·cyUi.#enW-K!u]ߖ&c# DZK81VEcP_՜m78D*Nոo>7zbYDڷצn0bp5V _.6{^4GSAajqlw~y7+ſ|SfwN~xM͵O];B^MlP\;?s`_7?8{wnS[_>Ǿپz]mߟ7k85:#~|˻o/7aMĂ\UǪwXf-+/!~~r$-)z#Xض¶zӝ뾶?pTM07u}Q#v[]Uc1o7ԝk!ǩ>t`6n^>cr^}\u|7kag.|Ry7xonb7܀Og~!כۦ=ձ/57첷Er?L=zUG BF *2qy) a쓪hintO;Ƣ,+F䳋}(8ap M<@Pv}8bY-Ͽ]c5ˇvbq8y.6S~ČǨAwq)k[ 3|8-> z8Ck _$:bSrR)"~RZ-m1 _wj0->ZIrwoSkK:~}ǁØb.P2*~ ~Z4_$-^!c]y"8"1 +qRV՘@[ Y-#8YX;;T >F..70®qxjiSU-_2@00dzvP SYkGSn]P@J2ƶ6im ̕6Muh-|~63~'G.4igpCI0ᶅU@[`BLO-l Rq'+zSQft5y:, X|qb0f-0wEv>xߠo7Xtn2n+0 /D\O,ҞmׄmlZUG2kP؄X5|ȵ_Gw0yCMAvx7|>EY`xd~SwNpj[J;AĂT*:m<;Y"Wd*\/^'PIĘj+0넦;~i%~,=ţ2){)jh=[߄}G**i-L[ې/Yv[v Ѧ).w7 g&އCuiǂiALcN!TbZؕ7-Bv\*Wf+n_6#/>r`Vr;#4MCmB,ni kSEmq.sTKLnb߷oC(a@E؅2D J`MTw r/"|Foȋ"jc,WE+4JՃ_d7# +CLuMm{?Dg4@j嗅0a/؆mkC7ã Զxs}siCQޠ®żuwACi#B ;جrup$A .^`v \Kc; WszaC.bc\նDX۴hFHyAq"]4UDZqJ:|'[!v-t5!h؈d}&#=sidh>O(jLfpMͶcsSԯC IX>Ns\lH*L)R yh[ 0}+5^~2p4ba$J_hb8q}])jmD>=3k lcזrx!r ;(4.-%Iy@K3ϱ4%2Pa Z>MasfOP\$9{tgH~F6z8_+ X-v׃p0ʮZp[##Nz`lZXxVxi107Z|Y%ӣW OK<_X\3gl)uaK q Po/>{j?0\͡%O /\#@ ž:8%(?Ka(7\(3 `_}XNF׿ Ta24cpߌBm7Z| kF7q'y=*TO@_X1Bh-4 a#|,BO@I|N5P9E 8ʶf?&֩*'KjI:8h#S@:, tuD\ \_QRε7 Sld@~6t&d=M͎A!.7SLH?glgXH8>$3 !ص݄M;]"5ٛiBqc]݇wR^B5¨n([)g^Ad"Lx[ y}fjzXQo^0-n.&}vw֑1sEzm(x N׸/͹l&x1%ƺn۲& ZQrE  HB̹HP/[Y~EE/ߎ6R mESO.\F?cr''|aAL aT @3"m:&p'bn2NLKUI]eu6"}4p;,Md# ,TkN\HΘi,ׇ_fٸ'~=əvfrB1Buak{AE E] W&-ҙoYJa1@~g~@{r-i:5+7AۣS'Ib'ҥe^1k\Io>!ԫmi)8lB_y`_D%ĪZh(y8eqy/DN-tOs W9L>S4^*^}Fb {[n |obOdD"uʌ#u0 ZεX}i2DM~ȉ*eOl]wL^7#Ѫ]n Fe(mUIѸLwUهL+0gk,C1;-۲|^7{6Uz -/ilCT?ig /ף5Bd2#ZA8u])Je* r|ahJqjXA jݖrvݩMpjADOШ( گ1ǿ|r0Tq3ASEJCr)bU'6I qH㷷X ,ML5zzxAvۘ"T7w[OK3ZDq?^K-R~Cд Q6NXt T[OU/g,Zf۲Gg.K{-&km# qiԉJN`l2>zgV)y"WY6^hʲtNN1&"#yh%S.v5q՝9LRŔ_iO- f |M r9j>.Es3醴$nΒ{QFf #쪑$ӓ L9cXԹ}/$V,1A*d⠢1:όB9r]Z#oHn籀,] 68DӥGxz"5f61Õ/k4ė3LKt01Xl=)\U  =<6^ZL .3e :(2ZA|MLj:YX>܇c=>J\1!"z\}uph^a6g!WdC;]Ð(6n&f o.q۞ .<ϒk[Yu!t+K/F*ʄqX3k9AU8߶4q<މʹ]OW}:(m>@H(VOSױ7ͤ$e5O$q5ki91\$v=1ߟC˶<_s4âo/jNd5B4GBGQS" S6q& D/ hg6#'5F$J%CdrmO9C`58rT V:$Z>tRm0%P'^: 56񺟺1qF; WRM؎[0[Jin?W P 0+q[&_\G#7М-ïw(_ق-s-S^/a3s\{!˳5yL$CR d>9Lx 꽿2?PV4$M3u( _|m>E+qy/A#S8-Vi6!А?Uz9d v-5n2'Ԓ\uA! dJ=g.`+UU}GEqq#Lp:d_ âIE aȍfTD*9nyVz)GkH6:h-M~_d 䑯.ԜF}Vj1/*i$=.$XtYe7+Uϋ/EOfthX_96%$p-i[yv7Um/LQT4BEq- vOD">kU3RpsvSs'X=\C\`ŶPN"hE2۶wMnl0C@o_,A&\R᪸abLv;2p \*N)u8X(ñuI1އL|{HX#9m5ZZVdUzAZR1z ]8cwRVa s#|[x1Wg@M72=\D,{%z<+:8k8ջ۞+#|JlRʉ4Tkf~QN8q3SK~>wjMԜX r1"gP"ldCd. 1Εec>WM,Is"_n [CՇ JX!DK4@H=x66dZ ➏pIDE=/|bR[c6F~Ƃ1Rъ&M,eeE6 ʟi粟[e@Œ<Zd PxMߐb*6\Q}Exϕ0MNՎ\CHD++1 G`$4,UZڟnIl Ӛ B؉ s!z\̝+L򦂼AR SzO̧ V*k+G8fGVJ*-*409vn陼DbX3oh>'IE!4Vc+kulo|xnAfJrozp S[y2QrY<ۋxOe2vS![ o8?(XT))Iz1zteŜz-eN˙ ?\= @b7Ǘ؊Ɇ͜[@b{7lrF58'dN0pG d21-E&9?U|,$;O u*Iہ< 7SZ+ #a-QCiݖf$;8+ 4&NWlTZCZg.̱ܚ5JiW3+/b%K09Vz M0po0l0?pXgbgj/e[Jx{ >.,cS4Nt>eBgqQ&B8:O\!.2!I*[%TB#L>x߷õ Mwȏf t^@O]m cb L+>U.#q¥WZ/ȥrw + E,@yV#4ix.`钴s9*xt9&UĬS<`H(3g |zne4N#I/Ja0Z6m¦L[lrrSZqSkoڼ)u~IygQtsįDuWJЊm=**^}n b:`_UF [R{9y`KfAHV22vPbvEQX}h;r(|&NŬbF.6Zbgv}XhOX3$j/[.3<.tُȅҟŮJaO\b'EtFoZάDۼ/Mm]SݿȆ!PmS9QUaɇ&r jKek>nIqw1h- #KZcH/eE.GjHs\?'RU#^i0`v|s%5lVNj~ltmu.R{CÄtm;*\R協Rsn ֟Mft~}nLEUEg5gM4=%08VrJkNynM 0[LVMlWE4yQ99wͭ *-ntu Θ[܃Zڋ.@V ;4qN[c!HVQxwG1YطEa3UkGt};*+J\zD5 5)&&<]IN%C bzY7D iR@-ċ*H:W0emug5qZėH1`iFYNufUƺq2}'Ij6f=lghI$NBy>_X-nb^U] 봄p%[(o&ЧQkX$hԃ`vFᡀQ,U,UX9tJ'Pݵ}%&N]$u/OS}&?+6d&ɼJHk=[%}{SW ~}|Ͼ!2V_V9Y!gwyJ3Ijrгp@i'MzeHץcك7jp'Ԣk8zx.T+vԷE[XLIJV!..sc=XRA|0x +N1Ak/gNj_&xv}Nqr~t"H_q vdU*7m,w^[7,vheD؂"/`V F:BGM,5rPX;j;io w -Sʫz|͇ZB{堓z{vՎ.ϖΆc2ql(܂'F+˝F`,^N~W#&J"DG;݇(o*BȸZ+T -zrfN,Kl*@;Izx$T : Xu{DHVaNm'=xJ8|)Ҁ.Jn>$h_C {JzNH]F ƓL>Z֓u$jxz%f?x's}hpZ*\ˉoqVڌõ]lݲq-;!~EeǸE/E޽e)Mm7";])h=.ȅ^;CŬ܈ם&.jus"A=*\GG:<?[g5:k@mn[MMu70tR]ȯ5= "4k5MFI]HM}=b*9gFޝvФysKnG(LB4NlK:6-uHAh7won*ge-"E)Sg U_GCev+nVj4fSL̡5~ k.?-f,dU^a';4P;+* KbxCWǁlĢI'JhyLRq6Ek[=h煜gM#́SNR9b}rШ;mw<(z;Yf#6<.w9ZI/j>wPA4s7<q%k-]wN^[>^fIfP \ĎMn6n-fj~T.)`'zOg3=~OA k噱uqrg-&$ `cʱη(%^ fu ,Xj1VCBi0 kk4,_k8WZ04timA?]([ 6m){?%\?_XCGC1X#wX6]iXK]LC`p-nUO)Lhk$詜USci^d5DVz~]TsLΆ{!":Dy_IR@);SP>< O5R_^ԦIM_%6wac;G;uyZ?%4A`Is'/# c>p/pJxNN9,'VY;o-5s*" C\XXj^>_l\[IŔKrXXdpӢQpfna_MmDpnaάSJB0Z|RNn7ia` VQG\O\C2xo MuDr1"@۝K'l@蜶ᇯx|:ACJ#)誄lj56@TPG5jv< ײ~yߊ—c{ e b1MoHt7[4^SVj7~xrvKaӈڃdXD536{Y|T!Z `[6iGhQי;bje j[jeJbv!i!ӽ=|k_kU$rXWָ4ury6|QAI^agqdeG]--?s>+Bb
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1