Galileo in Rome: The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius

Rating:
Summary: Fine Scholarship that Reads like a Novel
Review: I have been interested in the Galileo affair for some years and I have read some fine and difficult scholarly works about the case, such as 'Galileo, Bellarmine and the Bible' by Richard Blackwell and 'Galileo: For Copernicanism and for the Church' by Annibale Fantoli and also the more readable, but well-researched, fascinating and well-written 'Galileo's Daughter' by Dava Sobel . All these readings have deepened my understanding of the issues involved in the affair, but have increased my hunger to know more. This lead me to read (with a great deal of skepticism, I may say) 'Galileo in Rome: The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius.'
After reading this work, I must agree with Stephen M. Barr, theoretical particle physicist at the Bartol Research Institute of the University of Delaware and author of 'Modern Physics and Ancient Faith', that 'Galileo in Rome'"represents the finest in modern Galileo scholarship." What I like most about this work is the combination of high quality scholarship with an excellent narrative strategy. The book tells the story of the founder of modern science from the perspective of his six visits to Rome. At the beginning he is a twenty- three- years old job seeker, at the end he is an old man sentenced to house arrest by the Inquisition. This book is powerful drama. It truly reads like a novel, but the tone is `dispassionate and objective' as a previous reviewer has noticed. Most importantly, it offers a balanced account that portraits the affair in all its complexity. This will certainly contradict the simplistic idea that everything was just a matter of `a papist obscurantism as the sworn enemy of all modernity.'Nevertheless, the trial was a tragic mistake and could have been avoided. It caused great damage to the Church and Galileo suffered a lot because of it.

Rating:
Summary: The Galileo of History
Review: I would recommend this book for anyone interested in understanding the Galileo affair as an historical event and not simply as the stereotype of obscurantist religion fearing the truths of science. Built around Galileo's six trips to Rome, the authors give a lucid explanation of Galileo's life and work. Galileo's is ever more successful as a scientist and ever more eager to vanquish those who disagreed with him.

While clearly a scientific genius, he claimed theories to be true without ever having physical proof. He insisted, falsely, that the tides were caused by the earth's rotation and then used the fact of the tides to argue for the Copernican thesis that the earth and not the heavens was in motion. When certain theologians objected that his theory seemed contrary to scripture, he entered, with no expertise, into a theological discussion on the proper mode of interpreting scripture. Unfortunately this intemperance in debate led finally to Galileo's "trial" and house arrest.

At the same time, the theologians are presented as a mixed lot, some opposing Galileo with an irrational zeal, others soberly weighing the evidence he proposed and so insisting that he treat his theory as a hypothesis and not as proven fact. The authors present the Church's position with some sympathy: it seemed imprudent to change the more obvious understanding of scripture without proof for the scientific theory that undermined it.

The book's prose is plain, but always clear and readable. The tone is dispassionate and objective. The authors, both serious scholars in the field, have clearly done their homework (but mercifully use endnotes) and present a balanced account. This book may not change your view of Galileo or the Church, but it will certainly leave you much better informed about the facts of the case. Given the importance of understanding science and religion, this is no small matter.