The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society and the Birth of the Modern World

The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society and the Birth of the Modern World by Edward Dolnick  378 pp.

This is the story of how Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Johannes Keplar, and Gottfried Leibniz invented science as we know it and the Royal Society provided a way to disseminate the knowledge to others in similar pursuits. Those early scientists and mathematicians were not pursuing science for science's sake. Rather they saw their task as a way of breaking the unknowable codes of God's creation thereby creating a stronger connection to deity. However, some, such as Galileo, ran afoul of the church when theories countermanded then current belief. Much of the book involves Newton's and Gottfried Leibniz's creation of calculus, the mathematics that allowed for explaining the movement of the planets, objects in space, and gravitational force. While this book does contain mathematical and technical formulas, they are presented in an easy to understand way. What could have been a dry tome is actually quite readable and interesting. And it has a cool cover.

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel, 432 pages.
I had been meaning to read this book since it came out back in 1999. I am glad that I finally did, as I enjoyed it very much. I remember this as part of that first wave in the "serious nonfiction that reads like fiction" wave of accessible, interesting accounts written about a serious subject, but written for the generalist, a genre that continues to this day.
Providing an overview of Galileo's life, with much of the detail from the latter part of his life taken from letters to him from his daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, a Clarisse nun who died at age 33, this is a fascinating look at the life of one of sciences great minds. She wrote to her beloved father often, about matters of her daily life, about his household, their family , and his laundry, but she also wrote to him about his work and about the troubles he had with the church and with the Pope because of his work. Galileo's letters to his daughter, though mentioned in her correspondence, have never been found, and may have not survived. A wonderful book.