
Galileo's Daughter
A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love
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Narrated by:
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George Guidall
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By:
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Dava Sobel
About this listen
Galileo Galilei was the foremost scientist of his day. Though he never left Italy, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. His telescopes allowed him to reveal the heavens and enforce the astounding argument that the earth moves around the sun. For this belief, he was brought before the Holy Office of the Inquisition, accused of heresy, and forced to spend his last years under house arrest.
Galileo's oldest child was 13 when he placed her in a convent near him in Florence, where she took the most appropriate name of Suor Maria Celeste. Her support was her father's greatest source of strength. Her presence, through letters which Sobel has translated from Italian and masterfully woven into the narrative, graces her father's life now as it did then.
Galileo's Daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. Moving between Galileo's public life and Maria Celeste's sequestered world, Sobel illuminates the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court in Rome during an era when humanity's perception of its place in the cosmos was overturned. With all the human drama and scientific adventure that distinguished Latitude, Galileo's Daughter is an unforgettable story.
Critic reviews
"Sobel is a master storyteller...she brings a great scientist to life." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Innovative history and a wonderfully told tale." (Newsweek)
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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I wasn't aware it was going to be a book that cited lots of historical facts. It is not a historical fiction book told from any characters' point of view.Which scene was your favorite?
It gives you deep insight on the political/cultural control the church had in Italy in Galileo's time.If this book were a movie would you go see it?
Yes, definitely. But I think it has to be a miniseries.Any additional comments?
At the beguining I almost stopped listening, but once I got into it and accepted it as if I was attending a potential historical lecture I loved it.Lots of Historical facts.
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Compelling
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Crime of the Catholic Church
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Loved this book
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Wonderful biography
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FALSE ADVERTISING
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What you’d never know
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Eppur, si muove
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Dava Sobel has reconstructed the life and character of Maria from the correspondence with her illustrious father. This is a double story. We are told a great deal about Galileo's discoveries, thoughts and writings. What is unique is that we also learn about the everyday life of these two remarkable people. Maria was a brilliant woman who was totally devoted to her father and her vocation.
An absolute "must read". I have listened several times and enjoy it more with each retelling.
Geniuses have families too.
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Wonderful book.
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