Quarrelsome and quirky, a disheveled recluse who ate little, slept
less, and yet had an iron constitution, Isaac Newton rose from a
virtually illiterate family to become one of the towering
intellects of science. Now, in this fast-paced, colorful biography,
Gale E. Christianson paints an engaging portrait of Newton and the
times in which he lived. We follow Newton from his childhood in
rural England to his student days at Cambridge, where he devoured
the works of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, and taught himself
mathematics. There ensued two miraculous years at home in
Woolsthorpe Manor, where he fled when plague threatened Cambridge,
a remarkably fertile period when Newton formulated his theory of
gravity, a new theory of light, and calculus-all by his
twenty-fourth birthday. Christianson describes Newton's creation of
the first working model of the reflecting telescope, which brought
him to the attention of the Royal Society, and he illuminates the
eighteen months of intense labor that resulted in his Principia,
arguably the most important scientific work ever published. The
book sheds light on Newton's later life as master of the mint in
London, where he managed to convict and hang the arch criminal
William Chaloner (a remarkable turn for a once reclusive scholar),
and his presidency of the Royal Society, which he turned from a
dilettante's club into an eminent scientific organization.
Christianson also explores Newton's less savory side, including his
long, bitter feud with Robert Hooke and the underhanded way that
Newton established his priority in the invention of calculus and
tarnished Liebniz's reputation. Newton was an authentic genius with
all too human faults. This book captures both sides of this truly
extraordinary man. A volume in Oxford's Lives and Legacies series.
Brief, erudite, and inviting, the exciting new Lives and Legacies
series offers a fresh look at some of the greatest minds in the
humanities and sciences. Written by prominent authors, these
engaging volumes will shed light on the life and work of our
leading intellectual, artistic, and historical figures.
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