Customer Reviews

Two New Sciences and Drake's History of Free Fall

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

 

 

The "Two New Sciences" are required study at Thomas Aquinas College in California. I and a number of students have this paperback edition. The pages come loose and just keep coming loose as you study the propositions. Even being very careful with the book, the pages still keep coming out. I have heard a number of other people complain of this same problem.

Pretty much everyone here knows that the paperback edition falls apart and they only buy it since it is cheaper than the hardback. I have no idea how the pages hold up on the hardback edition, but I hear that it is better than with the paperback. So unless you intend to put it in a display case and read it from there, I urge you to skip the paperback version and get the hardback or get another publishing entirely (if such exists) until Wall & Emerson gets their act together and republishes this book, fixing the problem. I rate two stars only because of the greatness of the text itself, subtracting three for the horrible binding.

Very briefly: this book is the authoritative English translation of Galileo's masterpiece, after a long history of notoriously poor and incomplete translations. Some people have apparently had problems with the binding. I have had no such problems. My copy is well-worn from study, and the pages are still securely in the binding.

Galileo's Two New Sciences (originally: Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche, intorno a due nuove scienze) was first published in Italian in 1638. However, the publication was rushed at the end -- Galileo had gone blind, and would die a few years later in 1642. So many pieces that Galileo intended for publication, and which he dictated to his students at the end, didn't make it into print. Most English translations have been based on a (1914) edition which was missing these pieces.

Fortunately, the translation that Drake has produced in this book is based on a complete edition of Galileo's original Italian work, put together by Antonio Favaro (Le Opere di Galileo Galilei, 1898, Edizione Nazionale, Florence). The page-numbers of the Italian edition are included in this edition by Drake, for easy cross-referencing to Galileo's original language. Many of Galileo's manuscript notes have also been included as footnotes.

In addition, Drake has revised many of the faulty English translations here. As a historian and philosopher of science, Drake has shown in many places that these faulty translations have at times led to incorrect and incoherent interpretations of Galileo's work. These mistakes have been corrected in the present edition.

All in all, this book is a great purchase. First, it's a masterpiece, and a must-read for all philosophers and scientists. Second, it's the most authoritative English translation, designed for both students and scholars. It's hard not to thoroughly enjoy this book.