Customer Reviews

Heavenly Intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and the Murder Behind One of History's Greatest Scientific Discoveries

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I debated over whether or not to read this book. I am fascinated by the relationship between Johannes Kepler and the lesser known but crucially important Tycho Brahe. Still, it was only about a year ago that I read Kitty Ferguson's excellent book, Tycho & Kepler. In addition, I was rather turned off by the Gilders' assertion that Kepler had murdered Brahe in order to get his astronomical data. Ultimately, however, I felt I had to give the book a chance.

There is a lot of good stuff here. Though not as in-depth as Ferguson, the Gilders produce a very readable outline of the lives and relationship between Kepler & Brahe. It is solid prose that reads very quickly and hits all of the major points. I also enjoy their use of primary sources such as Kepler's letters and other writings. I felt I had a much more personal understanding of Kepler--his obsessions and irritations--after reading this. However, it is clear the Gilders prefer Brahe and, though I feel he is very underrated historically, he is by no means an angel himself. Still, if they wouldn't have gotten into the forensic information about Brahe's death they would have written a wonderful dual biography.

So, what to make of this forensic evidence? I am generally suspect of these investigations because what can you really know for sure 400 years after the fact? Well, I found their evidence very convincing of one thing: that Tycho Brahe was murdered, most likely by mercury poisoning. On the other hand, I felt their assertion that Kepler was the perpetrator much less convincing. Certainly, Kepler was difficult to work with and sometimes weak on ethics where his science was concerned; however, it is a long way from jerk to murderer.

Brahe was a nobleman recently expelled from his homeland by his enemies now dealing with a court at Prague ruled by an increasingly mad "emperor." No one knows the extent of Brahe's household including servants and minor assistants at the time of his death. Certainly Kepler ranked high among Brahe's assistants but the two did not really get along. Is it likely that Brahe would have had Kepler at his side during an excruciating illness, taking a cup of mercury-laced milk from him at his bedside? I don't think so. And could Kepler have kept this murder a secret when he was so apt to rage and verbal self-flagellation? Again, I don't think so.

Ultimately, I think the Gilders have done a service by bringing out the simple fact of Brahe's murder. I, for one, had never come across such an assertion in my reading and I am glad to know it. But they go too far to accuse Kepler. There is a tendency these days to fling whatever mud we can at the "great men" of history. Kepler may not have been a great, or even a good, man but he was a great intellect and there is little to prove him a murderer. Unfortunately, the truth of Brahe's death will likely never be known.

I'll be brief. This book is an outstanding work, reflecting genuine scholarship and wide ranging research. I found it painful to read. Why? The experience is somewhat like seeing O. J. Simpson credibly accused of murdering his ex-wife. One of the idols of one's youth is shattered before your disbelieving eyes. But the authors make a convincing case.

Astronomy and cosmology receive very light treatment. I suppose if you are not aware of the roles of Tycho, Kepler and Copernicus in revolutionizing astronomy, this is not the place to start.

I think anyone interested in the history of astronomy needs to read this book, but only after one is aware of the larger history of cosmology.

Why only four stars? There is a certain lack of coherence that might have been remedied with better editorial review. In addition conciseness seems to spill over into misstatement in places.

This book is as worthless for research as "The Da Vinci Code." I was particularly shocked at the authors' decision to ignore the fact that Tycho was an unbearable snob, a petty despot and a complete boor in order to portray Kepler in the worst possible light. If Tycho was indeed poisoned, it may have been by one of the hoodlums in his family or one of the many powerful nobles he snubbed.
Although it is common to sacrifice the innocent in the interest of sensationalism, this pseudo-historical account, with its extensive bibliography, truly sinks to new lows in selective revelation. The cynical allusion to Kepler's religious ambivalence is the product of the post-modern approach to religion, where, for instance, Catholics get divorced and hope for the best. It is clear from his writings that Kepler took his religious commitments seriously and was genuinely hurt by what he called the un-Christian attitudes between the brothers in Christ.
The decision to overlook this along with other well documented information that calls Tycho's character into question (for instance the horrors of his treatment of the Hveen population or his routine snubbing of Christian IV) and reveals Kepler as a man of conscience falls somewhere between irresponsible and slanderous.

The Gilders have combined short biographies of both Brahe and Kepler to tell a story about early modern science, centered on their startling theory that Brahe was murdered by Kepler.

I haven't personally researched these individuals outside this book, so I don't feel fully qualified to comment on the rather sensational accusation which other reviewers here have dismissed so emphatically. But even from this one book, it's clear that Brahe, although a nobleman, didn't own land or substantial wealth which he could leave to his survivors. His income depended entirely on his professional skills and high reputation, which his children didn't share. So his death was an utter disaster for his family, rendering his wife an implausible suspect, notwithstanding the theories of some reviewers here. Kepler, who by winding up with control of Brahe's unique and immensely valuable body of astronomical observations was the greatest beneficiary of the scientist's death, is at least a plausible suspect.

Some writers have suggested that Brahe's death was an acidental overdose. (Alchemists of the period, and Brahe was one, did employ mercury in various elixirs.) But the Gilders' argument that Brahe owuldn't have accidentally administered the very large does of mercury that killed him I found quite persuasive.

It's unfortunate that the discussion of this book has centered so strongly on the controversy of whether Kepler was the killer, because there's a lot of other interesting material here, all of it skillfully told. The importance of Brahe's contribution to science, the remarkable ingenuity with which Brahe compiled observations actually more accurate than were possible with early telescopes, the analysis of why both Brahe and Kepler still took astrology quite seriously, and the remarkable methods which made it possible to demonstrate beyond serious dispute, 400 years after the fact, that Brahe died of mercury poisoning and not the traditionally supposed bladder or kidney failure, are all clearly described and make the book worth reading even if you can't accept the authors' murder theory.

I really enjoyed this book, which reads like a novel, but has a wealth of research and references. I learned a lot about the science of early astronomy and was captivated by the main protagonists, Brahe and Kepler. Brahe was aristocratic, out-going, larger than life. Kepler was physically abused as a child and ended up a real mental case. For me, it made these remote, historical figures flesh and blood. Because the authors go back to the personal letters of these two men, you feel like you're getting to know them intimately. The portrait of Kepler is especially amazing: a genius who also happened to be a psychopath.

I've researched this duo as well, extensively, from a scientific viewpoint, as one who works in a scientific field. The relationship between these two investigators is unique and well worth studying independently, away from the 'whodunnit' scenarios that this book creates.

The duo of Brahe/Kepler is an 'odd-couple'. For a few examples, of which there are countless dozens: Brahe was a showboat, he loved to party, cleanliness was his forte, kept up on his scientific discipline, whereas Kepler hated to bathe, seemed overly introverted, and was prone to reach out to spiritual/astrological notions about atronomical events.

The person most likely to kill Brahe was his devoted wife, whom he virtually ignored. She was the one who administered his medicine on his deathbed. Tycho suffered for days, the pain never went away. And so it was his wife who euthanised him. The author Joshua Gilder ignored the family's role in Tycho's death, as Tycho ignored his family during his life. With many children, all to maintain the observatory, we hear of not one child who was interested in the data he collected, or even suspicious of malfeasance. It's too bad, because in ignoring the role of Tycho Brahe's family, Gilder poorly scandalised a great scientific contributor, Johannes Kepler.

If you are interested in this topic, please conduct your own research, it will be worth it. Because the book is awful.

CSI should make this an episode. There are so many pieces of evidence that
the authors weave together to come to their pretty startling conclusion - that
one of the greatest astronomer of all time (Kepler) probably poisoned another
one of the greatest astronomers of all time (Brahe) to get a hold of his
planetary observations. The authors don't say they can prove Kepler did it, just
that all the evidence points in his direction. And they've found a lot of
evidence in letters no one has published before, at least in English. If I were on
the jury, I think I'd vote to convict.

Boy, this book sure paints a different picture of Johannes Kepler than I learned in school! He's still the genius who discovered the Three Laws of Planetary Motion that led to Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation, but the authors use Kepler's own words and actions to paint a portrait of someone who was by turns prone to violent rages (the family he grew up in was violent, abusive and crazy) and coldly calculating - a man without a conscience. Then they take us step by step through his first interaction with Brahe (considered then the greatest astronomer of his time) to Brahe's death a little more than 2 years later, convincingly detailing Kepler's tricks, lies and other stratagems to steal Brahe data - including in the end, poisoning him with mercury. What's so good about this book is that it doesn't take one or two stray bits of information and "spin" them to make its thesis. Every word and deed is documented, almost always with original sources - generally Kepler's own letters. This is a must read for anyone interested in the history of science, or just interest in a great story for that matter.

I read this book in one day because it really would not let me put it down. The accusation that Kepler murdered Brahe is not new - it was simply forgotten over the centuries because people want to believe that morality and intelligence go together. Brahe, being a geocentrist, must be a kook - and Kepler must be a hero for opposing him - right? Wrong.
This is not an astronomy text, but a well-written crime story that honestly looks at the religion, politics, science and sin that led to the murder of Tycho Brahe. It's better than CSI because it really happened.

This is an extraordinary book: a narrative history of science that doubles as a real-life murder mystery. First the authors open a window on a fascinating time, when astronomy, astrology and even alchemy were all considered different branches of the same science. The authors do a wonderful job bringing those times alive and writing about the sciences in a way that is totally accessible to even a liberal arts major like me. I especially enjoyed the sections on Tycho Brahe's alchemy, and the authors' deep research into his mercury drug, which convinced them that it was a by-product of Brahe's lab that was used to poison him. Then the authors use modern forensics and medical knowledge, along with a Law-and-Order type analysis of motive, means and opportunity to pin Kepler - his assistant at the time, and one of history's most famous astronomers -- as the most likely culprit. I found it all fascinating and entirely plausible.