Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel--420 pages

  I thought that, perhaps, reading a historical fiction account of Galileo’s daughter might be a not-too-dull way to trick myself into learning about a world-view-changing 17^th Century scientist.

  I’m smarter now than I when I made the commitment to open to the first page if only because I know how wrong my initial impressions and lack of enthusiasm about this book were. First of all, Galileo considered himself to be a mathematician. Secondly, this book is non-fiction. Thirdly, the title is a ruse; the book is totally a biography of Galileo in which his daughter is but a character.
  Galileo lived in Italy, and I really like Italy and peeking into the religious/political landscape of different time periods. And best of all, I read through the book quickly, with excitement, frustration, anger, and fear based on what my now favorite mathematician was going through . Before reading this book, I had no idea how much Galileo Galilei happened upon, observed, and understood in ways no one else ever had. And I had no idea how difficult it was for him to make sure that the truth he saw didn’t die with him.

  My husband will not have to read this book because I couldn’t keep it to myself. Without his even asking, I gave him thorough and energetic reports of pretty much every chapter. Lucky man!