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Isaac Newton

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Isaac Newton

Written by: James Gleick
Narrated by: Allan Corduner
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About this listen

 James Gleick has long been fascinated by the making of science: how ideas order visible appearances, how equations can give meaning to molecular and stellar phenomena, how theories can transform what we see. In Chaos, he chronicled the emergence of a new way of looking at dynamic systems; in Genius, he portrayed the wondrous dimensions of Richard Feymnan's mind. Now, in Isaac Newton, he gives us the story of the scientist who, above all others, embodied humanity's quest to unveil the hidden forces that constitute the physical world.

In this original, sweeping, and intimate biography, Gleick moves between a comprehensive historical portrait and a dramatic focus on Newton's significant letters and unpublished notebooks to illuminate the real importance of his work in physics, in optics, and in calculus. He makes us see the old intuitive, alchemical universe out of which Newton's mathematics first arose and shows us how Newton's ideas have altered all forms of understanding from history to philosophy. And he gives us a moving account of the conflicting impulses that pulled at this man's heart: his quiet longings, his rage, his secrecy, the extraordinary subtleties of a personality that were mirrored in the invisible forces he first identified as the building blocks of science. More than biography, more than history, more than science, Isaac Newton tells us how, through the mind of one man, we have come to know our place in the cosmos.

©2003 James Gleick (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Physics Professionals & Academics Science Heartfelt String Theory
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What the critics say

"Gleick renders a wonderful impression of the icon's mind." (Booklist)
"Allan Corduner's narration is a pleasure to listen to." (AudioFile)
"The extraordinary breadth of Newton's interests is brilliantly delineated by Gleick. Newton the man emerges from the shadows." (The New York Times Book Review)

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Profile Image for Wandering

Truly Poetic

Not all biography can be poetic. A history of an Alexander or a Genghis Khan or a Stalin may be well-written, but the subject matter requires a certain restraint by the author lest it appear that the deplorable is being dignified. In other cases, like the stories of great philosophers or scientists, the bare facts of the subject's life are pretty mundane, so there may appear little material for poetry no matter how truly great the subject. Consider Kant or Fermi.

In other hands, the life of Newton could have fallen into the second category. The outward facts of his daily life were often dull and, in later life, too often tawdry. But the life of his mind was truly glorious. What makes this biography so remarkable is the author's ability to express the majesty and profundity of Newton's great achievements in mathematics and "philosophy" (physics) in language that conveys the beauty of his ideas but without sacrificing scientific rigour and precision.

The narration is masterly. Most often not noticed (as is proper), until one is struck with the felicity of some turn of phrase.

I loved the audiobook and have bought the Kindle as well.

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