The Watershed: A Biography of Johannes Kepler. [Paperback]

Arthur, Koestler (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (January 1960)
• ISBN-10: 0385095767
• ISBN-13: 978-0385095761
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #643,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Budapest in 1905, educated in Vienna, Arthur Koestler immersed himself in the major ideological and social conflicts of his time. A communist during the 1930s, and visitor for a time in the Soviet Union, he became disillusioned with the Party and left it in 1938. Later that year in Spain, he was captured by the Fascist forces under Franco, and sentenced to death. Released through the last-minute intervention of the British government, he went to France where, the following year, he again was arrested for his political views. Released in 1940, he went to England, where he made his home. His novels, reportage, autobiographical works, and political and cultural writings established him as an important commentator on the dilemmas of the 20th century. He died in 1983.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Koestler and Kepler: The Perfect Fusion, April 16, 2006

By 

Devin Mcintosh "Devin McIntosh" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Watershed: A Biography of Johannes Kepler (Science Study Series) (Paperback)

"The Watershed" by Arthur Koestler is a magnificent piece of literature that is unique, yet well organized and informative of the life and works of Johannes Kepler. Koestler does a great job in showing how the modern world-view was slowly replaced by the medieval world-view and how science has progressively advanced. He has a direct goal to demonstrate the distinction between Humanities and Sciences. I believe it is a necessary book to read for anyone interested in science. It enables the reader with a greater understanding of the universe and the planets in our solar system. It is also unique in showing the struggles Kepler and many scientists face during their lives that they must overcome. Kepler's personal writings fused with Koestler's outside commentary provide for an informative read applicable to any reader. Koestler shows how Kepler's studies directly influenced modern astronomy and physics through his three laws, which were pivotal in the works of Isaac Newton. Also, he effectively demonstrates the process in which Kepler drew up his theories and found his discoveries, as well as the resistance he faced from the general public, himself, and other factors. "The Watershed is one biography that should be read by anyone interested in physics, astronomy, or any other science.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Watershed, June 10, 2004

By 

Terry M. Hardaway (OKC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Watershed: A Biography of Johannes Kepler (Science Study Series) (Paperback)

This book is an excellent read for all inquiring minds, young and old. As a young avid reader, it was this book and the memory of Koestler's words describing not only Kepler himself, but of the watershed crest where thought and reason began to cascade down the slope of knowledge; it was this that ignited within me the spark that touched off a greater quest for knowledge. My son is now nine, and I hope that this book may have the some of the same cathartic effect on him.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuck between two worlds, November 14, 2003

By 

Y. Zohar (Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Watershed: A Biography of Johannes Kepler. (Paperback)

Arthur Kooestler was a true 20th century man. At various periods in his life he was a refugee, communist, Zionist and democratic-socialist. He was a true cosmopolitan, in the positive sense, and also a student of the history of science.
The Watershed is a hymn to a forgotten hero of science - the astronomer J. Kepler who lived in the latter part of the 16th and early part of the 17th centuries. Koestler projects him as a true genius, the father of modern cosmology, who laid the foundation for modern astronomy and who paved the way for Newtonian physics but never realized the importance of his three laws. Kepler was caught between two worlds: the medieval theological world based on Aristotelian physics and modern science based on observation and calculation. If you like he was caught between his heart and his mind. This is readily seen in his works which range from the mystic to the scientific.
Keplers three laws were:
1.the planets do not orbit in circles but in ellipses.

2.the speed of the planets vary during their orbit.
3.there is an exact correlation between a planets' period of revolution around the sun and it's distance from the sun: the squares of the periods of revolution of any two planets are as the cubes of their mean distance from the sun.
In fact, Kepler had discovered gravity but didn't realize it. This great mind couln't make the the final jump into modernity. This book is a really fine portrayal of Kepler as a great thinker, a man of his times and as Everyman with the same personal problems we all experience.
I strongly reccomend this forgotten work to anybody interested in the history of science.