Vintage Isaac Newton

Wonderfully lucid biography of this complicated genius who shaped our understanding of the universe and nature forever. His biography of Richard Feynman's life is equally superb.

A very fascinating read. Well written - not too technical. It gives an excellent ‘feel’ for the times in which Newton lived. It also depicts the lack of a scientific world at the time. Newton was of course one of the first true scientists, and a pioneer of the application of mathematics to the movement of the earth and planets. Highly commended.

Really enjoyed this book. Felt like I really got know Newton and his legacy. Particularly enjoyed reading about Newton maneuvering through the math and science limitations of his time. The scholarship of this book is obvious. Very readable.

I'm fairly well versed in science, and I've been impressed by everything I've read by James Gleick, so I place him in the top echelon of science writers. This excellent biography of Isaac Newton is no exception to that pattern. Newton was a scientist and thinker of nearly unparalleled brilliance and achievement, so there are many ways one could write his biography. Gleick chooses the tack of going with moderate length, and nicely balancing elements of Newton's personal history, personality, metaphysical assumptions, scientific methodology, scientific work, mathematical work, alchemical work, theological work, and relationships with colleagues. For me, this biography is as close to perfect as one could ask for. I particularly like Gleick's detailed descriptions of how Newton and others wrestled to define their basic terms and concepts in conjunction with marshalling all sorts of evidence and arguments in order to propose and defend a variety of hypotheses and theories. In that sense, this book superbly describes the difficult birth of the paradigm of classical physics, featuring Newton as the lead character during this pivotal historical period. After reading this biography, what are we to make of Newton? First of all, without a doubt, he was a genius at a level that few of us can scarcely comprehend, but he was still human, so he had his intellectual limitations and didn't always get things right. Secondly, he was a lonely figure, perhaps in part because of his upbringing. He was raised without a father and was distant from his mother, grew up poor (and died wealthy), had no wife or children (and apparently was a virgin), had no genuinely close friends, and routinely had strained relationships with his colleagues, sometimes to the point of bitter acrimony. All of this isolation may have focused his energy in a way that fundamentally contributed to his scientific acheivements, so one wonders what would have become of Newton (and world history) if he had lived a more "normal" life ... Anyway, I very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Newton, science, physics, mathematics, early modern history, etc. The only real prerequisite I see is having at least a vague recollection of high-school physics. Also, the unabridged audiobook is narrated very smoothly and engagingly (with a British accent) by Alan Corduner, so don't hesitate to give that a try. I envision returning this biography in the future whenever I need a dose of inspiration.

Esta es una gran biografía científica. Es el segundo libro de James Gleick que leo, después de su titánica biografía de Feynman. Y comparándola con ella, esta biografía de Newton es una obra increíble. Es un ejemplo maravilloso de brevedad. Hay tanta información acerca de Newton: su carácter, su conocimiento enciclopédico de la biblia, su religiosidad, su obsesión con la experimentación, su paciencia y sus relaciones con los demás, que resulta increíble que esté condensada en tan pocas páginas. Una verdadera joya de libro.