Biography of a great priest/scientist/genius/crackpot

[John]

Greetings. Just wanted to share this self-promotional bit of news.

My publisher is giving away five copies of my biography of history's most colorful polymath: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/ent...

Here's all the stuff about it:

This is the vivid, unconventional story of Athanasius Kircher, the legendary seventeenth-century priest-scientist who was either a great genius or a colossal crackpot . . . or a bit of both.

Kircher’s interests knew no bounds. From optics to music to magnetism to medicine, he offered up inventions and theories for everything, and they made him famous across Europe. His celebrated museum in Rome featured magic lanterns, speaking statues, the tail of a mermaid, and a brick from the Tower of Babel. Holy Roman Emperors were his patrons, popes were his friends, and in his spare time he collaborated with the Baroque master Bernini.

But Kircher lived during an era of radical transformation, in which the old approach to knowledge—what he called the “art of knowing”—was giving way to the scientific method and modern thought. A Man of Misconceptions traces the rise, success, and eventual fall of this fascinating character as he attempted to come to terms with a changing world.

With humor and insight, John Glassie returns Kircher to his rightful place as one of history’s most unforgettable figures.

—

"This book is a gripping biography — it reads like a novel — of the adventurous life of Athanasius Kircher, a Renaissance man of many talents — priest, scientist, linguist, musician, geologist and other skills too numerous to list."
— Amazon Vine reviewer

"I've been waiting my entire adult life for someone to write a popular biography of the loopy, ingenious scholar-priest Athanasius Kircher, and John Glassie has delivered marvelously. A man of insatiable curiosity and staggeringly diverse intellectual passions, Kircher may have been the greatest polymath of all time—or at least the most eccentric."
— Joshua Foer, bestselling author of Moonwalking with Einstein

"In the course of his life, Kircher opined, almost invariably incorrectly, about the nature of light, magnetism, and the geography of the earth.... Glassie has a genuine affection for Kircher despite the latter's laughably bizarre theories and self-aggrandizing egotism. In fact, the author's affection humanizes Kircher, making him oddly credible."
— STARRED review in Publishers Weekly

“Glassie brings the ultimate mad professor Athanasius Kircher vividly to life, revealing him to be a kind of cross between Leonardo da Vinci and Mr. Bean. A most entertaining foray into the history of science.”
—Ross King, author of Brunelleschi’s Dome and Leonardo and the Last Supper

[Betsy, co-mod]

Sounds fascinating, John. Good luck with it.

[John]

Thanks, Betsy. I appreciate it.

[David]

Sounds like a wonderful book--it's on my "to-read" list.

[John]

Oh, that's great, David. It's an honor now for people to read the thing. Took five years to write. Thank you.

[John]

FYI, the hardback giveaway ends tomorrow.

[John]

Just wanted to say that the book is now available (as of a Nov. 8). Here is a link for ways to get it:
http://www.johnglassie.com/



Thanks very much!

John G.

[John]

Checking back in to say the book has gotten a nice response and to say thanks to those who may have picked it up. It means a lot to me. http://www.johnglassie.com/

"This fascinating biography of the Renaissance polymath Athanasius Kircher explores the birth of modern science through the life of one of the last pre-modern geniuses."
— The New Yorker

“You will come away from Glassie's book ... feeling inspired by the incredible inventive spirit of the man behind such creations as the ‘cat piano’ and ‘the speaking trumpet’ — and at the same time a bit sad that such characters as Kircher have been left mostly forgotten in the winds of time. You'll feel more knowledgeable about everything because of this book.”
— The Atlantic Wire, “Books We Loved in 2012”

“Hooh boy! ... Why do I love Kircher so much? Chalk it up to the man’s passion for scientific inquiry, and his boundless curiosity about how the world works.”
— Scientific American

"Brisk ... stirring ... [written] with impressive verve."
— The New York Times

"fun and magisterial ... A simply fascinating book about a fascinating figure."
— Baltimore City Paper

"In his quirky biography … Mr. Glassie uses Kircher as something of a comic foil to show how erroneous ideas about investigating nature helped lead to modern science... [A] spirited telling."
— The Wall Street Journal

[David]

I just finished reading the book. It is a fascinating look at what a highly-motivated, brilliant man did before the scientific method was fully established. Here is my review.

[John]

David,
Thanks so much for this thoughtful and generous review.
Best,
John