The planetary observations of the Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) provide the data upon which Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) will later base his famous three laws accurately describing the revolutions of the planets around the sun. The play's conflict stems not only from Kepler's urgent need for Tycho's observations to prove his theories, and Tycho's equally urgent desire not to share them before he can use them (with Kepler's help) to prove his own, but also from the utterly different characters of the two men. Kepler is an advocated of the Copernican sun-centered system, Tycho of the Ptolemaic earth-centered system. Kepler's cunning and seeming weakness are pitted against Tycho's arrogance and seeming strength. A stake is the glory and fame for one of the greatest discoveries of all time: how the solar system works. This conflict will keep you on the edge of your seat from first page to last.
JOSEPH COWLEY was born on October 9, 1923. He graduated from Columbia University in 1947, interrupting his academic career to serve two and a half years with the Army Air Force during World War II. The last few months of service were spent overseas as a bombardier with the Eighth Air Force, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. He received his M.A. from Columbia in 1948 and taught English at Cornell University before entering sales.
Most of his career was spent writing and editing material on sales and management for The Research Institute of America. Taking early retirement in 1982 to devote himself to fiction, he moved with his wife Ruth to Lebanon, Ohio, to be near the eldest of their four children and the two grandchildren existent at the time. They now have seven grandchildren: Jesse, Noah, Sarah, Samantha, Eliot, Sophia, and Sean, and live on Long Island.
Joseph Cowley is the author of the novels The Chrysanthemum Garden, Home by Seven, Landscape With Figures, Dust Be My Destiny, The House on Huntington Hill; the plays The Stargazers, Twin Bill, and A Jury of His Peers; two collection of shorter fiction, one called The Night Billy Was Born and Other Love Stories, the other Do You Like It and Other Stories; and, with Robert Weisselberg, The Executive Strategist, An Armchair Guide to Scientific Decision-Making. He has also collected some of his favorite writings in a book called "The Best of Joseph Cowley" as a tribute to his deceased wife, who would never in life have allowed her photo to appear in or on any of his books. His latest book is a biography: John Adams: Architect of Freedom (1735-1826), published in August of 2009. He is currently condensing classic novels for a Japanese publisher.
His articles have appeared in trade and science journals, and his short stories in Prairie Schooner, New-Story, The Maryland Review, Ohio Short Fiction, and other literary journals and anthologies. He has recently completed a biography of John Adams (it is due out this month, May, 2009), working on a sequel to the adventure novel Dust Be My Destiny, and also writing a futuristic thriller called Don't Shoot--I'm Not the Enemy. On the back burner are another short novel, and another historical play, this one about Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sophia.
NOTE: Joseph Cowley is listed in Who's Who, International Who's Who of Writers and Authors,Who's Who in the World, Strathmore's Who's Who,Cambridge Blue Book, National Register's Who's Who in Executives and Professionals, and other reference volumes. Among the organizations he is or has been associated with are Mensa, Great Books, Authors Guild, and a 12-Step program.
E-Mail: JoeCowleysr@gmail.com
Website: www.josephcowley.com
Blog: www.thisandthatsomeofitpersonl.blogspot.com
Also: wwwbooksandlife.blogspot.com (note that the "www" are part of the URL)
Phone:1-631-506-7033
google01b75a14f75ce2a3.html
Information also available at:
www.marquiswhoswho.com
www.writester.net/???stories/????p=121
and other websites (use Google).
