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.
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
Description: Fine. Trade Paperback. Penguin, 2000. Fine Book. Aside from light toning, overall a clean and tight, lightly read copy. Media mail packed in protective bubble lined shipping bags, Priority in a Flat Rate Envelope. Shipped quickly. Prompt response to questions. read more
Description: Very Good+ Trade Paperback. Penguin, 2000. Very Good + Book. Lightly handled, with minimal wear to book. Aside from crease to back cover and toning to book, overall a clean and tight copy. Media Mail packed in protective bubble lined shipping bags, Priority in a Flat Rate Envelope. Shipped quickly. Prompt response to questions. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780140280555ISBN:0140280553
Description: Very Good. 0140280553 Previously read trade paperback book in very good condition, some very minor shelf wear, no rips or tears. 03334637 _ read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780140280555ISBN:0140280553
Description: Very Good. 0140280553 Previously read trade paperback book in very good condition, some very minor shelf wear, no rips or tears. 03335495 _ read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780140280555ISBN:0140280553
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. worn slightly at corners; otherwise fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 420 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
"This is an outstanding novel about the legendary Galileo and his life. Not having a passion for Galileo and knowledge limited to what I had learned in high school prior to this reading, I chose this book solely on the basis of the human interest element. I had never heard that he had a daughter much less an enduring record of such a relationship. What I found most fascinating was the brilliance of Galileo and his inventions. Although he was criticized and later penalized by the Catholic Church he devoted his life to understanding the world and proving his hypotheses through his numerous experiments and inventions. His life is truly amazing as is the background we get from Sobel about Italy and Italian culture at that time. The relationship that is established between himself and his daughter Suor Maria Celeste is clearly evidenced through the letters that she sends to her father. Unfortunately, there are no surviving letters from Galileo himself. How poignant are her inquiries about her father's work, health and home arrangements. It is clear from these letters that she holds her father in the highest esteem and that he returns this affection for her. Very interesting in itself is her life in the Poor Clare Convent and the trials she must endure in her life up until her untimely death from dysentery at age 34. I had the opportunity to see the author, Dava Sobel, speak in my community and she is a wonderful speaker. Her sheer determination to write this book was amazing. She learned Italian so that she could translate the letters! If you ever have a chance to see her lecture you won't be disappointed. An outstanding book with a goldmine of information that will inspire you."
"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."
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