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The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World Paperback – Illustrated, February 7, 2012

by Edward Dolnick (Author)

260 ratings

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From New York Times bestselling author Edward Dolnick, the true story of a pivotal moment in modern history when a group of strange, tormented geniuses—Isaac Newton chief among them—invented science and remade our understanding of the world.

At a time when the world was falling apart— in an age of religious wars, plague, and the Great Fire of London—a group of men looked around them and saw a world of perfect order. Chaotic as it looked, these earliest scientists declared, the universe was in fact an intricate and perfectly regulated clockwork. This was the tail-end of Shakespeare’s century, and these were brilliant, ambitious, confused, conflicted men. They believed in angels and alchemy and the devil, and they believed that the universe followed precise, mathematical laws. This is the story of the bewildered geniuses who made the modern world.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial
Publication date

February 7, 2012
Dimensions

0.94 x 5.31 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0061719528
ISBN-13

978-0061719523
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Dolnick’s book is lively and the characters are vivid.” (New York Times Book Review)

“A character-rich, historical narrative.” (Wall Street Journal)

“Edward Dolnick’s smoothly written history of the scientific revolution tells the stories of the key players and events that transformed society.” (Charlotte Observer)

“An engrossing read.” (Library Journal)

“A lively account of early science. . . . Colorful, entertainingly written and nicely paced.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“[Dolnick] offers penetrating portraits of the geniuses of the day . . . who offer fertile ground for entertaining writing. [He] has an eye for vivid details in aid of historical recreation, and an affection for his subjects . . . [An] informative read.” (Publishers Weekly)

From the Back Cover

In a world of chaos and disease, one group of driven, idiosyncratic geniuses envisioned a universe that ran like clockwork. They were the Royal Society, the men who made the modern world.

At the end of the seventeenth century, sickness was divine punishment, astronomy and astrology were indistinguishable, and the world’s most brilliant, ambitious, and curious scientists were tormented by contradiction. They believed in angels, devils, and alchemy yet also believed that the universe followed precise mathematical laws that were as intricate and perfectly regulated as the mechanisms of a great clock.

The Clockwork Universe captures these monolithic thinkers as they wrestled with nature’s most sweeping mysteries. Award-winning writer Edward Dolnick illuminates the fascinating personalities of Newton, Leibniz, Kepler, and others, and vividly animates their momentous struggle during an era when little was known and everything was new—battles of will, faith, and intellect that would change the course of history itself.

Product details

Publisher : Harper Perennial; Illustrated edition (February 7, 2012)
Language : English
Paperback : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 0061719528
ISBN-13 : 978-0061719523
Item Weight : 11.2 ounces
Dimensions : 0.94 x 5.31 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #304,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #738 in England History
- #868 in Scientist Biographies
- #1,712 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
260 ratings

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A thoughtful book by a first-rate writer

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2017

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Why beat about the bush? I loved this book. I'm no scientist. I'm no mathematician. What I am is a historian and a novelist, which means I have a lively curiosity about a lot of things, the prerequisite for writing about anything. Edward Dolnick is a historian and his gig is the history of science. He also has that lively curiosity required of folks who think and put fingers to keyboards. For those of us of not scientifically gifted, we require someone, in this case Dolnick, to explain his subject. In this he excels. In The Clockwork Universe,the result is a highly readable book about how our modern age came to be. He builds his case well. Here's one example: In the Middle Ages, the big question was "Why?", as in why does this happen - the earth's rotation, etc., you name it. The answer was generally theological in nature - God did it, therefore, and so on, end of argument. As others, often risking church condemnation, took bold steps beyond, the question became "How?" This leap seems simple, but it is not. To his credit, Dolnick leads his readers along, and we make our own discoveries. I've given away many copies of this book to friends. I haven't quite started giving it away to random strangers yet, but it's good enough to be handed out on street corners. I learned a lot, and even more important, I thought a lot. Thank you, Edward Dolnick, for explaining unexplainable minds, like Sir Isaac Newton's, and Gottfried Leibniz's and others.

21 people found this helpful

A great look into the mind of the fathers of mathematics!

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2018

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The author does a wonderful job bringing us to the 17th century and into the minds of the greatest scientists to ever have lived!
Being a Christian, it was refreshing to discover the great faith of these men, and how their confidence that God was a mathematician drove them to find the keys of the natural world.
I commend the author, as it is clear he is not of the same persuasion about God as Newton and the others, yet still manages to present them in a fairly unbiased manner, though on occasion his disagreement did leak through. Probably the most disappointing argument he gave against the scientists of the 1600's view that God was a mathematician was as follows:

"The scientists of the 1600s felt that they had come to their view of God by way of argument and observation. But they were hardly a skeptical jury, and their argument, which seemed so compelling to its original audience, sounds like special pleading today. Galileo, Newton, Leibniz, and their peers leaped to the conclusion that God was a mathematician largely because they were mathematicians—the aspects of the world that intrigued them were those that could be captured in mathematics."

To me it seems very unjustified to accuse the fathers of "leaping" to the conclusion of God as a mathematician simply because they were mathematicians. To the contrary, an expert in a particular field would be the best person to recognize another expert in that field. A Bobby Fischer would most assuredly be able to discern if one were a grandmaster or not in the field of chess.
In like manner, the scientists saw God as a great mathematician because they saw the evidence of his great skills expressed in the universe, not because they were mathematicians.

This is an excellent book, and I do highly recommmed it for all interested in the history of these great scientists, and what life was like in the 1600s.

13 people found this helpful

Captivating, readable introduction to the beginnings of the modern world

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2017

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I picked up “The Clockwork Universe” expecting a biography of Isaac Newton and was delighted to discover a window into the late seventeenth century. This is not just the story of Newton, but of the intellectual climate of his times. This is not a boring book, but a fast-paced, interesting, readable and accessible narrative about Newton, Euclid, Halley, Hooke, Galileo, Leibniz and others. There is some science and math here, but only as much as necessary, and very clearly explained for the general reader. The language is not complex and non-academic, suitable for anyone with a high school education. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the beginnings of modern science and the modern world.

6 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2016

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This riveting and entertaining book tells the story of a group of odd but brilliant characters, most notably Isaac Newton, who essentially gave birth to the age of modern science. The author sets the scene in the mid seventeenth century England where superstitions, death and destruction dominate the day. The western world was still very much defined by mythical forces of good and evil.

For fifteen hundred years, since the classical Greeks discovered math and pondered form, purpose, symmetry and function, science was rather stagnant until the early sixteenth century when Copernicus posed that we’re not the center of our universe. A few decades later, Galileo discovered physics and established the rules for observational science.

In the seventeenth century, Newton and his contemporaries took Galileo’s ideas and built a whole new system of scientific method. New optical devices opened up whole worlds of observation in both the “heavens” and the microscopic. Newton’s calculus changed the way we understood motion, change and planetary movement, which lead to his masterpiece The Principia and his famous scientific laws.

The author portrays the competitiveness of these geniuses who both shared and sheltered their discoveries and data. Rivalry fueled much of the big breakthroughs in the period and the author does a good job describing the lively relationships. But the giant of the period was by far Newton and everyone knew it at the time. He was an extraordinary thinker who brought insight about much of the workings of the natural universe.

Overall, a truly terrific book!

6 people found this helpful

I sent this back with cause.

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2020

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When the first three chapters are a diatribe against God instead of against human folly and biblical ignorance I said; enough! Why can't the author just cover the man's life and accomplishments without the ever present ignorant railing on religion. Don't get me wrong, organized religion and pseudo-Christianity needs railing, but not in a book about a brilliant mind.

Save your rants for some other forum, not one which I pay money for.

4 people found this helpful

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Felixcat

Great!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

Very interesting and in-depth book on the history of science recommended.

Sean

Get it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

Excellent

RFOG

El título lleva a confusión sobre el contenido

Reviewed in Spain on November 11, 2012

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Podríamos decir que este es la continuación de The Genesis of Science ya que empieza más o menos donde acaba éste.

Lo compré pensando que era una historia de la Royal Society inglesa, pero en lugar de ello y pese al título, se centra más bien en el período histórico que va desde Copérnico hasta más o menos la muerte de Newton, y sobre todo ambientado en la cultura anglosajona, como no podría ser de otra forma.

En comparación al anterior, éste está mejor escrito y cubre el período de forma más o menos temática y luego cronológica, desde los aspectos sociales de la época, pasando por los médicos, de ciencias naturales y finalmente matemáticos y físicos.

Sin aportar nada nuevo sobre el período, sí que puede ser un buen punto de entrada para comprender el nacimiento de la ciencia tal y como la conocemos hoy en día.

One person found this helpful

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Anonymous4

Highly reccommend!

Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2017

Verified Purchase

I bought this as a gift for a science lover who says it is very interesting. He is fairly educated in this area, but says the book adds incredible detail and background into scentific history. I, being a complete science novice, also read a bit of it and found it fantastic. In sum, this book is great for both science enthusiasts and beginners. Highly reccommend!

One person found this helpful

Maksim Y.

Fascinating read.

Reviewed in Canada on October 31, 2019

Verified Purchase

Immensely enjoyed the book. Recommend to anyone interested in science or history.

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