Galileo's Daughter: Historical Romance Novel of Science, Faith & Love - Perfect for Book Clubs, History Lovers & Gift Giving

* Of course I'm not going to give the ending away.* However erudite I might smugly think I am about the merits of well-written non-fiction, I was simply blown away by the emotional firepower of the conclusion of this book.* I have been to Florence many times, and have visited the Church of Santa Croce during each visit, where Galileo's tomb resides today on the same floor as the legendary Michelangelo and Machiavelli.* If I had read something like Sobel's book 10 years ago, it would have sparked a burst of emotions heretofore missing in those visits, similar to splashing a million colors onto a blank canvas, or in the case of Galileo's tomb, injecting life onto a slab of colorless marble.* The amazing beauty of this work is that it reads like a novel, or more to the point, it paints pictures reminiscent of the language of cinema. It is historical, factual and meticulous. Yet it is not TOO detailed.* Unlike typical historical treatments of people whose accomplishments are regarded so magnificent that they are automatically given an entrance ticket into the pantheon of immortality, Sobel's story of Galileo and his relationship with his daughter is engrossing, spellbinding and bereft of the technical minutiae that bogs down many works of non-fiction.* Too often, authors attempting to bring life to the thoughts and actions of great figures, go so overboard with tiny details that they undercut their own efforts. They disrupt the narrative momentum so critical to good old fashioned story-telling. There's nothing worse than to read half way down a page and then realize that you missed everything crammed so badly into two paragraphs that you're forced to read them again.* "Galileo's Daughter" is a work of non-fiction and an easy read, despite its potentially forbidding subject. While much verbiage is expended about the master's fight to prove Copernicus' theory of a sun-centered galaxy, in the face of recriminations and potential persecutions from the Catholic Church, the author's method of tackling this issue is unlike anything you will ever find in a boring textbook. The result is pure entertainment, like watching a drama about a clash of ideas and egos, the stuff movies are made of.* After a while, you are lulled into thinking that the title of Sobel's book is merely a subtext to what is really Galileo's story. His daughter's letters simply humanize the "legend" of Galileo, transforming him into a domestic, a real person, a parent with the normal concerns for his children. For all of his cranial powers, Galileo is not so self-absorbed that he abrogates his responsibilities as a father. He comes off as a concerned parent who endeavors to provide the best for his children.* But then the twist! You think you know where this story is going because after all, this is a work of non-fiction! But you're wrong!* By the end of "Galileo's Daughter," author Sobel finds an ingenious way to circle back to what is inferred by the title of his book, despite the preponderance of words expended on Galileo himself.* The result is a stunner.* If you buy this book, and I recommend you do, DON'T cheat and go to its last few pages. If you do, you'll deprive yourself of the emotional impact of a revelation that may be common knowledge to some, but in reality is obscure to the greater body of people who think they know history.* "Galileo's Daughter" is a marvelous achievement. If all non-fiction works were written this way, I'd stop going to the movies.