Galileo and the Scientific Revolution Laura Fermi

An absorbing account of the origins of modern science as well as the warmly human story of a man and his pioneering work, this inspiring biography was co-written by a former director of the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics and ahistorian of science (who was also the widow of physicist Enrico Fermi). It begins in Galileo"s youth, when he intended to train as a physician but instead became captivated by the power of mathematical reasoning--an interest that led him to apply mathematical logic to natural events and, ultimately, to invent the concept of experimentation. Galileo"s many other innovations and inventions are related in fascinating detail, as are the clashes with dogmatists engendered by his discoveries, and a concludingexamination of his remarkable legacy. Unabridged republication of the edition published by Basic Books, New York, 1961. 12 Figures. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.