Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Newton's Tyranny : The Suppressed Scientific Discoveries of Stephen Gray and John Flamsteed by David H. Clark, Stephen H. P. Clark ISBN: 0-7167-4701-4 Publisher: W H Freeman & Co. Pub. Date: 15 November, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A side of Newtons personality that I did not know
Comment: Humans need heroes, and those prominent in any field are often portrayed as ideals no matter how flawed they may be in real life. The Clarks, scientists from the UK, have written a fascinating historical study of Isaac Newton, Astronomer Royal Flamsteed, and amateur scientist Gray with the intention of demythologizing Newton and giving Flamsteed and Gray what the authors consider to be their proper place in the development of 17th- and 18th-century science. Gray's contributions to the field of electricity and electrical communications and evidence for Newton's suppression of Gray's work are discussed in some detail together with Flamsteed's work in astronomy; the relationships between Flamsteed, Newton, and Gray; and the political and social climates of the times. The book was not written to demean Newton's accomplishments; the authors devote a fair amount of space to a discussion of Flamsteed's personal foibles that made the feud (concerning Flamsteed's astronomical data supplied t o Newton) between him and Newton difficult to avoid. In the words of the authors, "His [Newton's] genius would survive any detailed scrutiny, but the failure to recognize his aggressive character and his tyrannical behavior meant that the genius of others, including Flamsteed and Gray, was not recognized." All levels.
Rating: 5
Summary: Nicely written, and interesting to read
Comment: This is a quick read that is both well-written and well-organized. The authors take few diversions - historical, rhetorical, or empirical - from describing the relations among the characters in the title: the credentialed Newton, the laborious Gray, and the intermediary Flamsteed. The result is a concise and enjoyable report on what is known and what can be reasonably surmised about the relative contributions of these men. There is sufficient detail (and sufficient lack of colouring) to make the book of interest to scientists, and to historians and sociologists of science. But there the book is sufficiently accessibile, and the subject matter sufficiently finite to make it equally appealing to anyone with interest in such topics as politics, organizations, and astronomy, not to mention Newton and his era.
Rating: 4
Summary: The darker side of a great scientific mind
Comment: The Clarks make no bones about it: Sir Issac Newton was one of the greatest scientific minds of the his time. Of all time, in fact. Newton was the symbol of the triumph of science over superstition.
But Newton had a darker side. Despite the fame and recognition he had received, Newton refused to let anyone threaten to overshadow him or stand in his way of greater achievements.
Reverend John Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal - a position he held for 44 years serving under 6 kings. He spent his night in the observatory of Greenwich gazing through telescopes, cataloguing the stars. Newton wanted this information to figure out a better way to navigate to oceans, a major problem in his day. He was convinced Flamsteed was holding back the critical information he needed. For that, Newton used all the considerable power at his disposal to end the career of Flamseed. He almost suceeded. It was only because of the dedication of Flamsteed's widow that his 3-volumn Historia Coelestis Britannica was published.
Today, because of Flamsteed's work, we measure longitude from the place he accomlished his work - Greenwich.
The work of Stephen Gray is less known. A commoner trained as a dyer, he was a most unlikely member of the Royal Society.
Gray was a long time friend of Flamsteed. He carried on a regular coorespondence with the elder scientist, sharing with him his own celestial observations.
But it was Gray's pioneering work in using electricity for communications that earned him immortality. Work, that if not for Newton, may have been accomplished 20 years sooner.
 |
Title: The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London by Lisa Jardine ISBN: 006053897X Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus by Owen Gingerich ISBN: 0802714153 Publisher: Walker & Co Pub. Date: March, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy by David Lindley ISBN: 0309090733 Publisher: Joseph Henry Press Pub. Date: April, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: Pendulum : Leon Foucault and the Triumph of Science by Amir D. Aczel ISBN: 0743464788 Publisher: Atria Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps: Empires of Time by Peter Louis Galison ISBN: 0393020010 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
