Synopses & Reviews
Galileo Galileiandrsquo;s
Sidereus Nuncius is arguably the most dramatic scientific book ever published. It announced new and unexpected phenomena in the heavens, andldquo;unheard of through the ages,andrdquo; revealed by a mysterious new instrument. Galileo had ingeniously improved the rudimentary andldquo;spyglassesandrdquo; that appeared in Europe in 1608, and in the autumn of 1609 he pointed his new instrument at the sky, revealing astonishing sights: mountains on the moon, fixed stars invisible to the naked eye, individual stars in the Milky Way, and four moons around the planet Jupiter. These discoveries changed the terms of the debate between geocentric and heliocentric cosmology and helped ensure the eventual acceptance of the Copernican planetary system.
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Albert Van Heldenandrsquo;s beautifully rendered and eminently readable translation is based on the Venice 1610 editionandrsquo;s original Latin text. An introduction, conclusion, and copious notes place the book in its historical and intellectual context, and a new preface, written by Van Helden, highlights recent discoveries in the field, including the detection of a forged copy of Sidereus Nuncius, and new understandings about the political complexities of Galileoandrsquo;s work.
Synopsis
The first entirely new translation of Galileo's major writings for more than fifty years, this marvelous volume includes selections from all of his important writings on science, including virtually the complete text of
A Sidereal Message and a substantial part of his masterpiece, the
Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems. The book contains all of Galileo's contributions to the debate on science and religion, including the letters to Benedetto Castelli and the Grand Duchess Christina, plus key documents from Galileo's trial before the Inquisition. William R. Shea's introduction gives a clear, lively overview of Galileo's career and achievements, and his notes explain the scientific and philosophical background.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
About the Author
Galileo Galilei (1564andndash;1642) was an Italian physicist, mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer. Albert Van Helden is professor emeritus of history at Rice University and the University of Utrecht. He is translator and coeditor of On Sunspots, also available from the University of Chicago Press, and coeditor of The Origins of the Telescope.
Table of Contents
Introduction Select Bibliography
A Chronology of Galileo
A Sidereal Message
Letters on the Sunspots
First Letter
From the Third Letter
Science and Religion
Letter to Don Benedetto Castelli
Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina
Letter from Cardinal Bellarmine to Paolo Antonio Foscarini
Observations on the Copernican Theory
From The Assayer
Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems
First Day
From the Second Day
From the Third Day
Fourth Day
The Trial
Two New Sciences
From the First Day
From the Third Day
Explanatory Notes
Index