Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love. Dava Sobel.  Penguin Group Penguin Putnam, Inc.  New York, NY.  2000.

Book review by Jane
Anyone who has a classroom understanding of Galileo will be thrilled to learn of this wonderful story of a real-life father and daughter.  Galileo and his daughter Maria Celeste, are in fact human, experiencing a great love for one another and sharing an intelligence and drive that the daughter apparently inherited from her father.  Dava Sobel compiled this account of Galileo and his daughter in part from the letters written by Maria Celeste to Galileo from the convent where she lived.  Along with a harsh and impoverished life, the convent offered Maria Celeste an opportunity to excel in her work.  Maria Celeste’s wonderful life from the convent is captured here, and displayed through the letters. 

This book brings many surprises and is written in such a way that they are not just events.  Illustrations and mention of other famous individuals allow the reader to form more valid visions of not only what took place, but how things were in Galileo’s time.  Although this book is a historical account, it is in no way dull.  Dava Sobel includes the events that we have learned in textbooks, but this account does not resemble a textbook.  In fact,a textbook would not describe in the human terms each step that Galileo went through during his Inquisition.  The reader can know the pain and confusion that he felt during those times, as well as the experiences of his great scientific accomplishments, and the more ordinary times in his life.  

This book will enlighten even the greatest fan of Galileo with the intricate details included in this account.  While it enriches the reader’s knowledge of history, it also encourages curiosity for historic figures, their families, and their general lives.  Dava Sobel obviously enjoys writing these kinds of accounts, as she has another book out about William Harrison, called Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, which should also prove to be an enjoyable book.  

Jane.