IN THE years between 1609, when Kepler published his first two laws of planetary motion, and 1687, when Newton published Principia, a handful of European men laid the foundations of modern science and weakened religion’s hold on educated minds. Edward Dolnick chronicles these momentous times, explaining how these men changed the intellectual landscape forever by popularising their work and making knowledge public through articles and books.
Spicing chapters on difficult mathematical concepts with asides on the lives of scientists from Aristotle to Einstein, Dolnick invokes metaphors to sidestep the trickier mathematics – though less numerate readers may still have to take some things on trust.
Through this fascinating history, Dolnick reveals that all the geniuses of this seminal time were devout Christians who hoped their work would promote an appreciation of God’s creation. His book also shows us that, in that respect, they failed.
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The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the birth of the modern world
Harper