Synopses & Reviews
William Shakespeare lived at a remarkable time—a period we now recognize as the first phase of the Scientific Revolution. New ideas were transforming Western thought, the medieval was giving way to the modern, and the work of a few key figures hinted at the brave new world to come: the methodical and rational Galileo, the skeptical Montaigne, and—as Falk convincingly argues—Shakespeare, who observed human nature just as intently as the astronomers who studied the night sky.In
The Science of Shakespeare, we meet a colorful cast of Renaissance thinkers, including Thomas Digges, who published the first English account of the "new astronomy" and lived in the same neighborhood as Shakespeare; Thomas Harriot—"Englands Galileo"—who aimed a telescope at the night sky months ahead of his Italian counterpart; and Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, whose observatory-castle stood within sight of Elsinore, chosen by Shakespeare as the setting for
Hamlet—and whose family crest happened to include the names "Rosencrans" and "Guildensteren." And then theres Galileo himself: As Falk shows, his telescopic observations may have influenced one of Shakespeares final works.
Dan Falks The Science of Shakespeare explores the connections between the famous playwright and the beginnings of the Scientific Revolution—and how, together, they changed the world forever.
Review
Advance Praise for
The Science of Shakespeare"Dan Falk is the finest science writer working today. This fabulous book will give equal joy to fans of the Bard and to history-of-science buffs. Note to Horatio: Read this -- it'll bring you up to speed." —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of
Red Planet Blues"There is science in everything, even the works of the immortal Bard. Dan Falk's rich and fascinating book brings to light the many ways in which Shakespeare and science influenced each other, from telescopes to blood-letting. A great read for anyone who enjoys words and ideas." —Sean Carroll, physicist and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe"Dan Falks book provides perhaps the best guide to the scientific worldview prevailing in the Elizabethan Age. We learn, for example, about what Giordano Bruno did while in England, about Thomas Harriots telescopic view of the Moons surface drawn some months before Galileos, and of the appearance of atoms in several of Shakespeares plays… Falks narrative voice is smooth, reasonable, likable." —Phillip F. Schewe, author of Maverick Genius"Dan Falk has written another splendid book. After Universe on a T-shirt and In Search of Time, he moves back four centuries to the science of Shakespeares day.... Falk sheds enormous light on the Elizabethan outlook and particular puzzles in the plays, all the while entertaining us in a most engaging way." —James Robert Brown, author of The Laboratory of the Mind"In this thought-provoking book, Dan Falk explores the intriguing connections between the Bard's writings and the dramatic scientific discoveries of the late Renaissance, introducing us to a fascinating cast of characters along the way. A great read." —Ray Jayawardhana, astrophysicist and author of Strange New Worlds and Neutrino Hunters"A highly entertaining and informative book… Falk has done his homework. He offers something learned but at the same time keeps it personal and unpretentious." —Dennis Richard Danielson, Professor of English, University of British Columbia, and author of The Book of The Cosmos"Readers will thank Falk for putting Shakespeare and Galileo on the same well-illuminated world stage." —Booklist
"A lively but serious look at the Bard's relationship to his age, particularly what we now call the Scientific Revolution." —Tampa Bay Times
"This eminently readable book should prove fascinating to both lovers of science and bardolators." —Library Journal
"At the heart of his argument is an ambitious effort to offer empirical assurance for what we all intuit — that art and science need each other, inform and inspire one another, and are branches from the same tree of the human longing in a universe that is more like a mirror of meaning than a window of understanding, beaming back at us whatever imagination we imbue it with." —Brainpickings
"This book is accessible, with clear explanations of potentially challenging concepts in the history of early modern science. It is an enjoyable read, which will appeal to non-specialists, but nonetheless is based on a comprehensive engagement with the pertinent academic scholarship. The work is well-informed, enthusiastic, and recommended to anyone seeking a new take on the oft-studied Bard." —Chemistry World
Praise for In Search of Time:
"What Hawking's [A Brief History of Time] should have been." —Ottawa Citizen
“Falk seamlessly combines science with literary and philosophical observations… and digresses to fascinating topics like root notions of past and future, the vagaries of memory, and the behavior of birds at breakfast time.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Time is a big subject and Falk is up to the task.” —The Globe and Mail
"In this thoroughly readable, broad-sweeping, and thought-provoking book, Falk surveys humanity's attempts to record and understand time, and poses some fascinating questions." —New Scientist magazine
"Falk displays a deft touch with both temporal history and experimentation." —Toronto Star
“Accessible and Entertaining.” —Financial Times
“Falk is a great writer.” —BBC Focus
"Dan Falk is a riveting writer: his latest book is almost unputdownable." —Martin J. Rees, author of Just Six Numbers and Our Final Hour
“An engaging writer who fearlessly tackles potentially brain-freezing topics.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“[Falk] selects, organizes and interprets a mass of lore for our enlightenment and pleasure. We owe him.” —Scientific American
Praise for Universe on a T-Shirt:
"A highly accessible introduction to some tough and important physics." —American Scientist
"Crisply written, well-researched." —Sky & Telegraph
"[Falk] has a wonderful gift for finding helpful analogies and for writing about science in a way that is accessible without sounding dumbed down." —Booklist
"Falk endorses the idea that the best hope for a so-called theory of everything is in string theory, a difficult area of sicence that Falk nevertheless deftly unravels for the uninitiated." —Science News
Synopsis
William Shakespeare lived at a remarkable time—a period we now recognize as the first phase of the Scientific Revolution. New ideas were transforming Western thought, the medieval was giving way to the modern, and the work of a few key figures hinted at the brave new world to come: The methodical and rational Galileo, the skeptical Montaigne, and—as Falk convincingly argues—Shakespeare, who observed human nature just as intently as the astronomers studied the night sky.
In The Science of Shakespeare, we meet not just Shakespeare but a colorful cast of Renaissance thinkers:
- Thomas Digges, who published the first English account of the “new astronomy” and lived in the same neighborhood as Shakespeare
- Thomas Harriot—“Englands Galileo,” who may have aimed a telescope at the night sky as early as his Italian counterpart
- John Dee, part scientist, part magician—and perhaps the model for Prospero in The Tempest
For readers of Stephen Greenblatt's Will in the World, Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter, and Peter Galison's Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps, this book explores the connections between the plays of William Shakespeare and the beginnings of the Scientific Revolution—and how, together, they changed the world forever.
About the Author
DAN FALK has written for Smithsonian, New Scientist, Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, The Walrus and many other publications, and is the author of In Search of Time and Universe on a T-Shirt. Hes been a regular contributor to Canadian public radio, and has won several international awards for his radio documentaries. Falk was a 2011-2012 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He lives in Toronto.
Table of Contents
1. "Arise, fair sun . . ."
A Brief History of Cosmology
2. "He that is giddy thinks the world turns round . . ."
Nicolaus Copernicus, the Reluctant Reformer
3. "This majestical roof fretted with golden fire . . ."
Tycho Brahe and Thomas Digges
4. "These earthly godfathers of heavens lights . . ."
The Shadow of Copernicus and the Dawn of Science
5. "sorrows eye, glazed with blinding tears . . ."
The Rise of English Science and the Question of the Tudor Telescope
6. "Who is it that can tell me who I am?"
A Brief History of William Shakespeare
7. "More things in heaven and earth . . ."
The Science of Hamlet
8. ". . . a hawk from a handsaw . . ."
Reading Shakespeare, and Reading Into Shakespeare
9. "Does the world go round?"
Shakespeare and Galileo
10. "Treachers by spherical predominance . . ."
The Allure of Astrology
11. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair . . ."
Magic in the Age of Shakespeare
12. "A body yet distempered . . ."
Shakespeare and Medicine
13. "Drawn with a team of little atomi . . ."
Living in the Material World
14. "As flies to wanton boys . . ."
The Disappearing Gods
"They say miracles are past . . ."