A new biography of Isaac Newton that reveals the extraordinary influence that the study of alchemy had on the greatest Early Modern scientific discoveries. In this 'ground breaking biography' Michael White destroys the myths of the life of Isaac Newton and reveals a portrait of the scientist as the last sorcerer. According to traditional accounts, Newton was the first modern scientist . As creator of the theory of gravity, calculus, modern theories of light and devisor of the three laws of mechanics, his methods are perceived as the genesis of modern science. Yet the traditional version of his life fails to tell, by some considerable margin, the full story. How for example could Newton's apparent empiricism be married with his interest in alchemy and magic? What had inspired him in his discoveries? How did he reconcile his scientific discoveries with his religious faith? And, most of all, who was this man who, historians tell us, remained a virgin all his life and who seemed to be an argumentative ego maniac on the one hand and a kindly old man on the other? In this revelatory biography, White paints an original picture of Isaac Newton completely at variance with the traditional portrait.
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About the Author
Michael White was a science lecturer before becoming a full-time writer and journalist. He is the author with John Gribbin of the bestselling Stephen Hawking -- A Lifetime in Science. He is a regular contributor to the Sunday Times, the Observer,the Daily Telegraph, GQ, Focus and New Scientist.
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dreck,
By Caraculiambro (La Mancha and environs) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Isaac Newton (Paperback)
I completely hated this book.I gave it more than a chance, reading it patiently all the way nearly to the end. But it simply wasn't what I wanted. I wanted a straightforward biography of Newton: this book instead focuses not on the development of optics and the calculus, but rather on Newton's dabblings into mystical arcana, such as secret Biblical messages and alchemy. A good biography of Newton wouldn't shy away from mentioning this, but since those things are hardly why Newton is famous it seems inappropriate that they should form the chief emphasis of a biography of him, as they do here. If you're looking for a biography of Newton that more or less tells it like it is, don't buy this. Go elsewhere.
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