Galileo's Daughter

Dava Sobel's "Galileo's Daughter" is a brilliant, deeply moving account of the life of Galileo, a primal geek who altered the way humans look at the world, and of his tragic and mysterious relationship with his brilliant daughter, cloistered in a convent. "Galileo's Daughter" author Dana Sobel pages 419 publisher Walker rating 9/10 reviewer Jon Katz ISBN 0-8027-1343-2 summary Brilliant and powerful account of one of the first geeks

Albert Einstein considered Galileo Galilei to be "the father of modern physics - indeed of modern science altogether."

In a sense, the obsessive, rebellious and gadget-minded Galileo (1564-1642) was one of the first Geeks, and in the context in which he lived and worked, one of the bravest.

He was brilliant, humble and funny, qualities rarely seen in contemporary geeks and nerds, or anybody much. He was profoundly grateful to be able to use science to seek out the truth. In 1609, he set up a telescope in the garden behind his house, pointed it skyward, and saw never-before-seen stars and constellations.

"I render infinite thanks to God for being so kind as to make me alone the first observer of marvels kept hidden in obscurity for all previous centuries. "

It was gracious of Galileo to offer thanks, since he himself received precious few acknowledgements in his lifetime. He sent his out-of-wedlock daughter off to a convent when she was 12 and never saw her again, then ran afoul of the Catholic Church and the Inquisition for his heretic notion that the earth and planets revolved around the sun.

Yet, while he never set foot outside his native Italy, his discoveries rocked the world. His most remarkable invention, the telescope, enabled him to alter the conventional reality of the civilized world and to reinforce the then - stunning argument that the Earth moves around the sun. In a sense, he hacked the universe, attacking and solving the biggest problem in both science and theology. For this, he was hauled before the Holy Office of the Inquisition, accused of heresy, and forced to spend the final years of his life under house arrest.

Of his three illegitimate children, the oldest, (born Virginia in 1600, but re-named Suor Maria Celeste after she took vows of poverty and retreated permanently from the world, since illegitimate daughters were considered unfit for marriage) shared Galileo's brilliance and love of science.

She became his most determined supporter and prolific-letter-writing confidante, though he never saw her again. Her letters and life (his to her at the convent were destroyed once he was targeted by the Inquisition).

Dava Sobel's "Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love," by (Walker, US $27) expands the story of Galileo, his amazing accomplishments, adding his heart-breaking relationship with his daughter. It's a stunning book, beautiful and powerful, and it brings us back to the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court during an era when humanity's very perceptions of its place in the universe was being upended by one brave man.

In our time, Galileo would probably have ended up a zillionnaire, profiled on "Dateline" and shifting his stock-option wealth from one fund to another. In his own, he was tried and found guilty of heresy, "ordered in the name of His Holiness the Pope and whole body of the Holy Office to the effect that the said opinion that the Sun is the center of universe and the Earth moves must be entirely abandoned, nor might he from then on in any way hold, teach, or defend it by world or in writing; otherwise the Holy Office would proceed against him," which would have meant torture and death.

As the foreword to the book itself explains, this isn't a mawkish contemporary family story.

"Theirs is not a tale of abuse or rejection or intentional stifling of abilities. Rather, it is a love story, a tragedy and a mystery."

People who love science, technology and exploration will be knocked out by this volume, with its wealth of illustrations and gorgeous design. So will people who simply love a great and brilliantly-rendered story.

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