Newton's Gift: How Sir Isaac Newton Unlocked the System of the World FROM OUR EDITORS
Our Review
A lyrical writer on the subject of mathematics, David Berlinski (A Tour of the Calculus and The Advent of the Algorithm) takes on one of the most significant scientific thinkers of all time. Although Newton's Gift does convey something of the life and times of Isaac Newton, the main strength of this book is its emphasis on the actual work that led to Newton's fame. It's very difficult to try to imagine a time when concepts that are now commonplace and ingrained in the way we think about the world didn't exist. Universal gravity was once such an idea. The connection between falling apples and the orbit of the moon was an insight of genius because Newton discerned the underlying principles at work -- that any two material objects attract each other. The natural state of objects is to be either at rest or to travel at a constant speed in a straight line unless acted upon by a force. Therefore the orbit of the moon is actually the moon continually falling toward the earth from the point where it would have been traveling in a straight line if the earth's gravity were not pulling on it. (Berlinski provides simple diagrams in the text to illustrate this point.) Previously, forces were thought to be active only when two objects were in contact with each other, such as two billiard balls knocking into each other. Any sort of "action at a distance" violated previous scientific explanations.
Berlinski also offers an explanation of how Newton arrived at the calculus, a discovery made nearly simultaneously with Gottfried Leibniz, as well as descriptions of Newton's other achievements, including whipping the English Mint into shape and terrorizing suspected counterfeiters. However, he gives brief mention of Newton's theological and alchemical interests. Readers interested in this aspect of Newton's thought should turn to Michael White's excellent Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer. On Newton's infamous vindictiveness, Newton's Gift does recount Newton's battle with Leibniz over the calculus and his deletion of all references to Robert Hooke from his masterpiece, the Principia, when Hooke accused him of plagiarism. For more on Newton's contentious relationships with other scientists, the recently published Newton's Tyranny details how Newton suppressed the work of two of his contemporaries, John Flamsteed and Stephen Gray.
--Laura Wood, Science & Nature Editor
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Sir Isaac Newton, creator of the first and perhaps most important scientific theory, is a giant of the scientific era. Despite this, he has remained inaccessible to most modern readers, indisputably great but undeniably remote. In this witty, engaging, and often moving examination of Newton's life, David Berlinski recovers the man behind the mathematical breakthroughs. The story carries the reader from Newton's unremarkable childhood to his awkward undergraduate days at Cambridge through the astonishing year in which, working alone, he laid the foundation for his system of the world, his principia Mathematica, and to the subsequent monumental feuds that poisoned his soul and wearied his supporters. An edifying appreciation of Newton's greatest accomplishment, Newton's Gift is also a touching celebration of a transcendent man.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Isaac Newton (1642-1721) invented or coinvented calculus, discovered gravity and organized physics around mathematical laws. These and other findings in math and optics established him as the great mind of his age. Retiring, introspective and sometimes difficult, he also devoted much of his time to fine points of Christian theology. Known for hit books about math, Berlinski (A Tour of the Calculus; The Advent of the Algorithm) devotes this compact, engaging and readable volume to Newton's life, mind and accomplishments. Mixing snapshots of Sir Isaac's life and times with explanations of what the great man discovered, Berlinski hopes to produce not a detailed biographical record but "a sense of the man" and of how his mind worked. Berlinski's prose adapts with equal ease to historical background and to mathematical explanations: he's sometimes glib, but often a pleasure to read. (The text includes only the barest, most necessary graphs and equations: an appendix goes into greater detail.) The volume draws clean connections between Newton's works and his life, and links both to big questions dear to Berlinski: Did Newton inaugurate two centuries of attempts to explain all of life through math and physics? If he did, how? Are those attempts ending now? And how, exactly, does math relate to physics--or to anything else in the world? Some readers will engage with Berlinski as he explores these philosophical tangents; others will simply enjoy his explication of Newton, whom Berlinski very plausibly labels "the last great natural philosopher whose vision about the world can be expressed in an intuitive way"--not to mention "the largest figure in the history of western thought." (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Library Journal
Berlinski, the author of several other works of science popularization (e.g., The Advent of the Algorithm, LJ 3/1/00), here presents a concise review of the development of Sir Isaac Newton's classical mechanics. He also provides selected brief biographical sections that highlight Newton's somewhat enigmatic personality and his work methods. The discussion of Newton's achievements in mathematical physics necessarily makes some use of diagrams and mathematical equations, but these are kept at a level that should be accessible to lay readers. An appendix gives further details but is still reasonably elementary. In several concluding pages, Berlinski reflects upon the meaning of Newton's work from today's perspective and ponders its implications for the future of physics. His writing style is, in turn, profound, dramatic, quirky, and entertaining. Occasionally, he almost strains too hard to make his work reader-friendly, but in general this is a very effective popular science book. Strongly recommended for both public and academic libraries.--Jack W. Weigel, Ann Arbor, MI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
Kirkus Reviews
An exuberant, enlightening account of Newtonian mechanics by Princeton mathematician turned mystery novelist and essayist (The Body Shop, 1996, etc.).
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