When my brother asked whether I wanted any books (such a silly question! I always want books), I put in this book by Dava Sobel on the list. I loved her book Galileo's Daughter wherein she traces Galileo's life using the letters his daughter, a nun, wrote to him. It is a meticulously researched book. A beautiful book. Unfortunately, the letters are one-sided for though we hear his daughter's voice, we never hear his voice. His letters to his daughter were destroyed after her death by the Mother Superior in fear of the Church- by then he was suspected to be a heretic.
A More Perfect Heaven traces the life of Nicolaus Copernicus who first propounded that the Earth revolves around the Sun in stark contrast to Ptolemy's view and the Scriptures. Copernicus was a canon, but not ordained, attached to the Cathedral of Varmia. Scant information is available about him. In fact, there is only one portrait of him. But Dava Sobel brings him alive using the limited information available about him.
The book can be roughly divided into three parts. The first part is where Copernicus conceives the idea of Earth revolving around the sun. In 1510 he proposes the theory in Brief Sketch, a small manuscript he publishes. He then spends years getting the necessary proof. No telescopes were available but Copernicus builds a sundial and uses it to track the movement of the Sun. He also studies the lunar eclipse year after year, building up a data base, if you will. As he struggles to make sense of the data, he arrives at the conclusion that Ptolemy was wrong. It is the Earth that revolves around the Sun. However, he does not publish it.
The third part talks about Rheticus, a young man from Wittenburg who arrives at Copernicus's doorstep. He has read Brief Sketch. He wants to meet Copernicus because he wants to learn the theory from him so that he is able to cast better horoscopes. What happened at the meeting we do not know because it is not recorded. What we know is that Rheticus convinced Copernicus to publish his work. Copernicus is reluctant because he is sure that he will be laughed at and even worse people who do not understand the work will declare him a heretic. But Rheticus convinces him, and the book is published. Copernicus dies after the final proofs arrive- he does not live to see his book in the published form.
For some years the book is ignored by the Church. It is when Galileo openly espouses the Copernicus theory that the Catholic Church gets into the act. The book is put on the list of Index of Prohibited book. But they do not burn it (fate of many other books) because theory proves useful to them for reinventing the Calendar and moving from Julian era to the Gregorian Calendar. However, despite being on the list of Prohibited books and decried by the Church (ironically Martin Luther, the reformer, too does not accept the concept because it is against the Scriptures), everybody ends up reading the book. Kepler, Galileo, possibly Newton, the list is endless.
These two parts are based on the facts.
The second part is a play written by Sobel wherein she imagines the meeting of Rheticus and Copernicus leading to the publication of the manuscript. I was not too enamoured about the second part. It was okay- it did not detract anything from the book but it did not add anything either.
The evolution of the heliocentric model started from Copernicus propounding his theory. Then came Kepler who explained that the revolutions are not concentric but are elliptical. The third and final act was Galileo who using the telescopes he built concurred that the Earth did move. And for that he was severely reprimanded by the Church.
So having the read the first and the last act, the second act is left. The Astronomer and the Witch is the story about Kepler and his mother, who was accused of being a witch. It is on my reading list.
A More Perfect Heaven traces the life of Nicolaus Copernicus who first propounded that the Earth revolves around the Sun in stark contrast to Ptolemy's view and the Scriptures. Copernicus was a canon, but not ordained, attached to the Cathedral of Varmia. Scant information is available about him. In fact, there is only one portrait of him. But Dava Sobel brings him alive using the limited information available about him.
The book can be roughly divided into three parts. The first part is where Copernicus conceives the idea of Earth revolving around the sun. In 1510 he proposes the theory in Brief Sketch, a small manuscript he publishes. He then spends years getting the necessary proof. No telescopes were available but Copernicus builds a sundial and uses it to track the movement of the Sun. He also studies the lunar eclipse year after year, building up a data base, if you will. As he struggles to make sense of the data, he arrives at the conclusion that Ptolemy was wrong. It is the Earth that revolves around the Sun. However, he does not publish it.
The third part talks about Rheticus, a young man from Wittenburg who arrives at Copernicus's doorstep. He has read Brief Sketch. He wants to meet Copernicus because he wants to learn the theory from him so that he is able to cast better horoscopes. What happened at the meeting we do not know because it is not recorded. What we know is that Rheticus convinced Copernicus to publish his work. Copernicus is reluctant because he is sure that he will be laughed at and even worse people who do not understand the work will declare him a heretic. But Rheticus convinces him, and the book is published. Copernicus dies after the final proofs arrive- he does not live to see his book in the published form.
For some years the book is ignored by the Church. It is when Galileo openly espouses the Copernicus theory that the Catholic Church gets into the act. The book is put on the list of Index of Prohibited book. But they do not burn it (fate of many other books) because theory proves useful to them for reinventing the Calendar and moving from Julian era to the Gregorian Calendar. However, despite being on the list of Prohibited books and decried by the Church (ironically Martin Luther, the reformer, too does not accept the concept because it is against the Scriptures), everybody ends up reading the book. Kepler, Galileo, possibly Newton, the list is endless.
These two parts are based on the facts.
The second part is a play written by Sobel wherein she imagines the meeting of Rheticus and Copernicus leading to the publication of the manuscript. I was not too enamoured about the second part. It was okay- it did not detract anything from the book but it did not add anything either.
The evolution of the heliocentric model started from Copernicus propounding his theory. Then came Kepler who explained that the revolutions are not concentric but are elliptical. The third and final act was Galileo who using the telescopes he built concurred that the Earth did move. And for that he was severely reprimanded by the Church.
So having the read the first and the last act, the second act is left. The Astronomer and the Witch is the story about Kepler and his mother, who was accused of being a witch. It is on my reading list.
