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Title: Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer (Helix Books) by Michael White ISBN: 0-7382-0143-X Publisher: Perseus Books Group Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.48 (21 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: nobody buys that apple story anyway.
Comment: people have criticized this biography for not being some kind of newtonian primer. if you want to learn the calculus, look elsewhere. newton's scientific theories are merely sketched here...BECAUSE IT'S A BIOGRAPHY. if you want to refer to the more obscure biographical details contained in this book as "gossip," so be it; but it's silly to take white to task for not giving you the principia in cliff's notes.
that said, he is not the best author in the world. he does tend to stress certain points for no apparent reason; his phrasing is occassionally awkward and redundant; and too often he fails to back up his contentions with sufficient hard facts. but the book is readable enough anyway. betty jo dobbs' "janus faces of genius" is a much more thorough investigation of "the role of alchemy in newton's thought," and as far as popular biographies go, gale christianson's "in the presence of the creator" is more balanced and complete.
the notion that alchemical experimentation contributed in any direct way to newton's "legitimate" scientific discoveries is disputable. all white offers conservatives is a vague description of the so-called "star regulus of antimony," an alchemical phenomenon whose formation suggests lines of force drawn towards an attractive center. his contention is that newton's observations of this regulus may have contributed to his coalescing conceptions of attraction and gravity.
this biography is also a little less "clean" than others, emphasizing newton's paranoia, manipulativeness, and hypocrisy. if you can't deal with your hero's personal shortcomings being placed under the microscope, then pass it by. otherwise, dig in.
Rating: 3
Summary: Average Bio, Short on Science and Long on Gossip
Comment: This biography of the discoverer of gravity and inventor of calculus by the co-author of a similar work on Einstein misses the mark. Michael White concentrates on filling the gaps in Newton's personal life - mainly focusing on all his feuds but also offering unprovable speculation about a relationship with another man and with a widow - but offers little insight into the science. It's as if White assumes everyone understands how gravity works and what calculus is. There's little here that shows me how great a scientist Newton was, but too much to tell me that he was not much of a human.
There is also the author's contention that Newton's extensive dabblings in alchemy directly influenced his success as a thinker. Little evidence offered by White backs this up. White also undermines himself by connecting Newton's alchemy and Newton's unorthodox but deeply-felt Christian beliefs, thereby joining the far-too-long list of science writers who denigrate religion along the way to worshipping at the feet of Science.
Beyond all that, this book is competently written if wordy. White clearly needs Gribbin's help to succeed as a biographer.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great biography of a twisted genius
Comment: Think that Isaac Newton was the epitome of the cool, scientific, humanist mind? Think again. It turns out that the greatest scientific genius in history was a twisted, tortured mystic with homosexual tendencies, an ability to hold grudges for decades, an egomaniac, and a very petty man. The word "queen" (...) comes to mind. He spent a few years on his great mathematical and physics work. He spent decades and decades attempting to decipher alchemy and the Old Testament prophecies. He predicted the year that Chist would return to earth (1948). He thought the design of Solomon's temple was a code for all of recorded history. He wasted year after year on absurd alchemical experiments. He subscribed to the heresy of Arianism. He was deeply religious (and not at all secular) in his outlook (though not in his behavior). He was incapable of much human affection having been damaged by his upbringing. He went nuts several times. He sought revenge on his (perceived) enemies and did so with a tenacity and a ferocity that bordered on being satanic. This is an individual who would have been very comfortable as a guest on Art Bell's "Coast to Coast" program along with alien abduction "experts" and conspiracy theorists. He was brilliant and his mathematical work is still astounding. But forget the idea that he was some symbol of the new man of the enlightenment. He was nothing of the sort. A heck of a good read.
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Title: Leonardo: The First Scientist by Michael White ISBN: 0312270267 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Isaac Newton by James Gleick ISBN: 0375422331 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 13 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: The Life of Isaac Newton (Canto Original S.) by Richard Westfall ISBN: 0521477379 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1994 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Newton's Gift: How Sir Isaac Newton Unlocked the System of the World by David Berlinski ISBN: 0743217764 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Einstein: A Life in Science by Michael White, John Gribbin, John R. Gribbin ISBN: 0452271460 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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