LA Hija De Galileo

by Dava Sobel

LA Hija De Galileo

by
Dava Sobel

book data

2,691 ratings, 3.54 average rating, 411 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		16%
4		38%
3		32%
2		9%
1		3%

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published

March 1999 by Debate Editorial (first published 1999)

details

Hardcover

literary awards

Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science & Technology (1999)

isbn

8483062259 (isbn13: 9788483062258)

description

Everyone knows that Galileo Galilei dropped cannonballs off the leaning tower of Pisa, developed the first reliable telescope, and was convicted by th…more

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Apr 09, 2008

Brad rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in April, 2008

What a spectacular book! My advice to you is to violently discard the grossly inferior book you are currently wasting your time with for this one instead. Toss it aside like the trash it is. This is a far better substitute. Do yourself some good instead.

The mythology of Galileo, as truly the first modern scientist, is, of course, both revered and legendary. His condemnation by the Church, his cannon-balls from Pisa Tower and his ingenious improvements on the telescope--well known st...more What a spectacular book! My advice to you is to violently discard the grossly inferior book you are currently wasting your time with for this one instead. Toss it aside like the trash it is. This is a far better substitute. Do yourself some good instead.

The mythology of Galileo, as truly the first modern scientist, is, of course, both revered and legendary. His condemnation by the Church, his cannon-balls from Pisa Tower and his ingenious improvements on the telescope--well known stories, to be sure--are re-told here with fresh insight and clarity. Importantly, though, is that I felt that one can not help but be struck by the contemporary relevance in these stories. The truths that science reveals and the unwillingness that a particular ideology or political group exhibits towards accepting those truths are just as damaging today as they were 400 years ago. Consider Galileo’s cannon-balls: the thinking at the time was that the speed of an object in free-fall was proportional to its weight. Galileo reasoned that it was intuitively wrong to suggest that, from a height of 100 feet, a 100 pound ball would hit the ground, while a 1 pound ball, dropped at the same time, would have only traveled one foot. When he tried the experiment, the discrepancy between the two weights was merely a few inches. As I read of how some of Galileo’s contemporaries’ refused to accept these discoveries, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to the animosity displayed by some toward climate change. Just as some are willing to disregard the overwhelming support of whole hypothesis because of a few findings to the contrary, so too were Galileo critics willing to disregard his whole hypothesis because of those two inches. His response was that they ignored the ninety foot discrepancy the old dogma suggested, to focus instead on his two inches. Yet today so many are comfortable ignoring the facts of climate change, focusing instead on those two inches of debate. And just as Galileo’s two inch discrepancy was due to air resistance, so too will science address all the complex facets inherent in the vigorous and healthy debate of climate change. If it is evolution, stem cell therapies, projected water shortages or the impending energy crisis, so many today are willing to disregard science when it interferes with their comfort. We have not only forgotten Galileo, we have reduced him to a myth, a story only. Someone who played with a telescope instead of someone who changed the world.

But, in addition to all this, perhaps even above all of this, the book is a beautiful story of the love between a father and his daughter. Through the surviving correspondence of Galileo’s daughter, a bright yet reclusive nun, we see the esteemed scientist in a whole new way. As a person, a father, rather than an obscure legend. Moving and simple and powerful. All told, this was beautifully done.
(less)

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Apr 07, 2008

Becky rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in April, 2008

recommends it for: those interested in science and history

As the daughter of a physicist, I couldn't resist this book. It is a biography of both Galileo and his older daughter, who was a nun in a local monastery. Her letters to Galileo are the foundation of the book. I enjoyed reading the history of Galileo's trial for heresy and also the day-to-day events that mostly comprise his daughter's letters. A fascinating look into the life of Galileo and 17th-century Italy.

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Dec 20, 2008

Brian Steed added it (review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in April, 2003

Although I understand the need to give a lot of page-space to the life of Galileo’s daughter, whose letters contribute much of the narrative of the book, I was still a little annoyed whenever Sobel sidetracked from the more interesting Galileo story to give us more detail regarding the life of his daughter. Still a wealth of info about the man's life and times, much of it about the nature of the scientific world in the 17th century and the struggles of the papacy to reconcile scientific disco...more

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Sep 22, 2008

Jesse rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in October, 2008

In the seventeenth century, Galileo Galilei, already a trailblazing scientist, challenged conventional thinking and- more perilously- the Catholic Church by advocating and expanding on the ideas presented by Copernicus, regarding Earth's place in the universe. Indeed, Copernican thinking rejected a Ptlotemyan view of the world, instead advancing the scandalous theory that the Earth moves around the Sun. The implications of this were severe. If the Earth was not the center of the universe, a b...more In the seventeenth century, Galileo Galilei, already a trailblazing scientist, challenged conventional thinking and- more perilously- the Catholic Church by advocating and expanding on the ideas presented by Copernicus, regarding Earth's place in the universe. Indeed, Copernican thinking rejected a Ptlotemyan view of the world, instead advancing the scandalous theory that the Earth moves around the Sun. The implications of this were severe. If the Earth was not the center of the universe, a belief held since the glory days of Greek philosopy, then what exactly was it? Galileo, on a purely scientific level, held that the Earth (in addition to revolving on its own axis- another problematic notion), in its submissive adherence to the Sun, was but another celestial object in the universe, subject to the same cosmic laws that applied to all the heavens. For the Church, this was heresy. If the Earth was not favored by God, why then might man not be as well? And, getting closer to what may have really scared the Vatican, might the Church itself not be so favored?

This fascinating dispute between religion and science permeates the whole of Dava Sobel's wonderful Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love (Walker & Co., 1999). Building upon the private letters of Suor Maria Celeste, Galielo's daughter, to her father, Sobel presents a man torn by a scientific mind and a religious heart. While Galileo privately believed in the ideas of Copernicus, his Dialogue, which detailed both systems through the imagined conversations of three diverse individuals, did not openly advocate the Copernican view. The man from Florence was no fool. This was still a time of the Inquisition. That the Church ultimately persecuted Galileo, despite haven given permission for him to publish his work, speaks to the fear of the Vatican to allow any viewpoints which even hinted as alternatives to Heliocentrism.

If Sobel had concentrated solely on the facts of Galileo's battles with the Church, her narrative would have been gripping. However, she goes further and introduces the reader to Galileo's illegitimate daughter, a nun who served as a constant source of inspiration and, as it became clear that her father would not emerge from his battles unscathed, his consistent shelter from despair. What emerges is a haunting love story, father-for-daugher, daughter-for-father. It is in the letters from Suor Maria Celeste, which Sobel has translated from the Italian, that one begins to comprehend just how much was at stake for all involved. It is in these passages that Sobel's narrative transcends dry, historical recountance, becoming something all the more intimate and heartfelt in the process.

The true tragedy of Galileo's life is that it was so misunderstood. It was never his intent to overthrow Church dogma. Indeed, his was a mind in which both science and religion could co-exist; a "conviction that God had dictated the Holy Scriptures to guide men's spirits but proffered the unraveling of the universe as a challenge to their intelligence" (p. 8).(less)

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Jul 27, 2007

Anne rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in June, 2007

This is a biography of Galileo, told in part through letters written to him by his illegitimate daughter, a cloistered nun and Galileo's confidante. Over 125 letters written by her survive, though all of the letters from Galileo to his daughter have reportedly been lost or destroyed. While the familial relationship was interesting, I didn't feel as if the correspondence added much to the narrative, and it seemed as if most of the biographical information about Galileo came from other sources. As...more

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Dec 06, 2008

Martha Gimbut rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Wonderful book -- especially if one enjoys science and history (non-fiction). I love Dava Sobel -- all her books are enjoyable.

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Mar 30, 2009

Kaara rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in March, 2009

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 th...more

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Feb 17, 2009

Black Elephants rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in August, 2007

I don't normally read non-fiction, but for the last few months, I've found myself in a fiction funk. I can't finish any fiction and I wonder if it's because I've hit a point where all prose, themes, motifs, and etc seem the same, and are therefore uninteresting, to me. For someone who has relied exclusively upon fiction to add zest to her literary life, this turn of events is really distressing.

However, my non-fiction choice turned out to be quite fun. Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel ...more I don't normally read non-fiction, but for the last few months, I've found myself in a fiction funk. I can't finish any fiction and I wonder if it's because I've hit a point where all prose, themes, motifs, and etc seem the same, and are therefore uninteresting, to me. For someone who has relied exclusively upon fiction to add zest to her literary life, this turn of events is really distressing.

However, my non-fiction choice turned out to be quite fun. Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel was surprising, enlightening and extremely well-written. Usually, I find that non-fiction (though granted my last non-fiction was Hirohito and the Modern-Making of Japan) moves too slowly for me because my mind is trained to pick up the pieces of a narrative, rather than the foundations of fact and history. But Sobel's history of Galileo's unpublicized relationship with his daughter is a narrative and thus moves along more like a stream in spring than its waters in winter.

True to medival perceptions of women, Sobel relegates Suor Maria Celeste, Galileo's daughter, into the background of the narrative. The first half of the book is really Galileo's story and how he became a famous guy. As the narrative progresses, Suor Maria Celeste quietly makes her presence known to us and Galileo's friends; history has saved her letters to Galileo and Sobel, while letting Galileo move the narrative, let's Suor Maria use her own voice to say her own thoughts.

What I loved about this book was how Sobel made the period come to life. Suor Maria's letters of her convent life, her daily housekeeping transactions and solicitations to and on behalf of her father and relatives during this backwater time period seem so normal. I also didn't realize that the Black Death and Galileo existed around the same time, or that at that time, in Italy, philosophers were paid more and more respected than scientists. To the people of then, philosophers dealt in the tangible, while mathematicians dealt in the intangible. Apparently, Galileo was one of the first scientists to write the world in terms of numbers. The story also succinctly lays out Galileo's trial and even provides tidbits of the actual literary work that brought about the whole mess with the church.

I loved how even back then, words of literature (for it was Galileo's scientific treatise on the position of the sun in literary and fictional form that brought all the trouble), could cause such a scandal. I love how Suor Maria's language brings her personality and intelligence to life. I love how words gave her access outside of the cloistered walls of her convent and how words connected her with her father's deepest and most famous thoughts.

Fiction funk or not, the freedom of expression and the fight for free thought and expression in Sobel's book are excellent fun. I highly recommend this read.

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Mar 14, 2010

Robert Chen rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

I found interest in Galileo when I was in 4th grade, and his story has always intrigued me. It was very interesting to read this book, which gives a history of Galileo's life in context with the events that we occurring at the time (Inquisition, plague, 30 years war). In this book, you learn why Galileo is often considered to be the "father of modern science" as stated by Einstein and other esteemed scientists.

While Galileo's daughter may have been a large part of his life,...more

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Oct 25, 2009

Lori DeMaria rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

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 Chu...more

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May 12, 2009

Thermalsatsuma rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

bookshelves: book-a-week-2009

Read in May, 2009

Galileo was one of the foremost scientists of the Renaissance and his troubles with the authorities of the Catholic church are well known, with a grudging apology and an admission that the Earth does indeed orbit the Sun being offered only recently. It is tempting to paint his life as a simple conflict of science and religion, but in this book Dava Sobel offers a much more rounded and nuanced picture of the man. Drawing on his published works, letters, trial documents and most intriguingly a se...more Galileo was one of the foremost scientists of the Renaissance and his troubles with the authorities of the Catholic church are well known, with a grudging apology and an admission that the Earth does indeed orbit the Sun being offered only recently. It is tempting to paint his life as a simple conflict of science and religion, but in this book Dava Sobel offers a much more rounded and nuanced picture of the man. Drawing on his published works, letters, trial documents and most intriguingly a series of letters sent to him by his beloved daughter, Sobel shows how Galileo lived and worked, and also the harsh realities of life in Italy at the time with the plague being a constant threat.

After acquiring an early telescope and improving the design, Galileo was able to observe such wonders as the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, craters on the surface of the Moon and sunspots on the face of the Sun which convinced him that the Copernican view of the solar system was not only true but could be demonstrated to be so. He distributed telescopes to various nobles and other influential people, and propounded his views in various letters and debates causing him to be denounced to the Inquisition. A decree was issued declaring heliocentrism to be "false and contrary to Scripture", but as a rational Catholic Galileo was sure that it was his accusers that were misinterpreting scripture for their own ends. He began work on his 'Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems' that was to prove to be his undoing in years to come.

The most interesting and moving sections of the book are the letters sent to Galileo by his daughter Virginia, later to become Maria Celeste when she entered the nunnery of San Matteo in Arcetri where she was to spend the rest of her life. Unfortunately Galileo's replies to his daughter were lost, presumably destroyed by an Abbess nervous of being associated with somebody accused of holding heretical views, but the letters offer a unique view of the minutiae of life in 17th century Italy.

The details of Galileo's trial and the vindictive punishment made me angry at the arrogance of the Inquisition and the Pope, and the arguments offered have little to do with theology and are purely concerned with political power and control. It is heartening that Galileo did have supporters both within and without the Church, although it would take centuries before their arguments were acknowledged.

Galileo's true legacy is the value of experimental science and observation, above the Aristotelian theoretical world view, and if reading this book encourages anyone to pursue an interest in looking at how things really are rather than how you imagine them to be, then it will have done its job. (less)

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Nov 30, 2008

Mark rated it:

(review of isbn 0739322907)

I received this as a gift from my grandmother years ago. I never read it, but finally got around to enjoying this book in audio formatted, downloaded from my public library. I'd read Sobel's other (much shorter) book about the problem of Longitude, and I really liked the combination of history, technology, and science.

This book is more like a biography of Galileo, told through the voice of his daughter in a convent. One half of their correspondence survives, the other half--Galileo's...more

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Mar 13, 2010

Rachel rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in February, 2010

Sobel's biography of Galileo (and his oldest daughter) is flat. The best parts of this history are the letters of Suor Maria Celeste describing life in the convent. I wonder how familiar that lifestyle would seem to modern sisters. Suor Maria Celeste was clearly a brilliant young woman herself and became a leader in the convent through practicing medicine, writing, and strategically using her father's connections to raise money for the poor sisters. Also interesting is the portrayal of a pop...more

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Feb 26, 2009

Wayne rated it:

(review of isbn 1841154946)

bookshelves: memoirs-biography, science

Read in January, 2005

recommended to Wayne by: Dava Sobel's previous book,"Longitude."
recommends it for: anyone

MMmmmm...who really wants to read about Galileo's daughter???
Dava Sobel worked a Masterpiece with "Longitude".
So I trusted her to amaze me again.
She DID.

This is an engrossing, informative and moving account of life in Renaissance Italy, of the struggle to make knowledge legitimate and accessible, of the beginnings of a new type of astronomy, of a family caught up in these events. All filtered through the letters between a father who had the world at his fe...more

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May 21, 2009

Danny Langford rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in December, 2007

recommended to Danny by: Dr. Barbara Jackson, Professor of Biology, Tennessee Technologic
recommends it for: And college student studying science or history

This is one of the most entertaining, engaging and thoughtful history lesson you will ever read. Providing enormous insight into the way our history classes "spin" and distort historical figures and obscure the real struggle of scientific change and the baby steps that lead us to real revolution of an new zeitgeist. It it also a amazingly personal exploration into the structure of discovery and and development of scientific method. Sobel does this with fleshed out anecdotes and person...more

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Mar 19, 2008

Loni rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in June, 2008

It is quite rare that I quit reading a book, but today this one falls in to that category. It has taken me 2 weeks to get 100 pages into it, and I still can't figure out why it was recommended. If someone has read it and has some great insight as to why I should pickup it up off the floor, where I tossed it, let me know! If any 'friends' want to give it a try let me know.. it is yours!!

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Jan 08, 2010

Sandy rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in January, 2010

Wow. There was a lot I didn't know about Galileo Galilei (including his last name, and the fact that he had three illegitimate children). This was quite the educational book, although if I hadn't had to read it for my book club, I may have gotten bogged down and stopped, largely because of all of the confusing Italian names (many de Medici's, popes, cardinals, and nobleman who either supported Galileo in his work or were jealous of his success). I'm also not really that interested in astronomy o...more

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Dec 01, 2008

Chianti4two rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in January, 2005

Galileo's eldest legitimate child, a cloistered nun born 'Virginia' on (my bday!) 13th August in 1600, was her father's greatest source of strength during his most productive & tumultuous years, ones where he was tried by the Holy Inqusition as punishment for his genius. The telescope opened the heavens and challenged the old reality of an earth-centric universe, yet for the miracles he unveiled he was tried for heresy and spent the last of his days under house arrest. The letters of his daughte...more

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Mar 31, 2009

Stephen rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

Read in June, 2001

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 wonderful...more

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Nov 04, 2009

Bethany rated it:

(review of isbn 0140280553)

bookshelves: biographical-type-stuff, politics-history-econ-non-fiction, science-y-things

Read in November, 2009

Dava Sobel proves herself imminently capable of tackling scientific histories in a way that is accessible, in-depth, and engrossing. Having previously read (and loved!) Longitude, Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science Faith and Love is an equally intriguing delight.

Sobel explores the life of Galileo through a unique prism - that of the prodigious correspondence that existed between he and his eldest daughter. Using translated letters to frame the history; the reader ge...more

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