Isaac Newton

It's hard to conceive of a time when we did not perceive the world in terms of Newton's laws. This is the picture of a much less enlightened time, when Newton himself dabbled in alchemy and magic. Gleick's fascinating biography looks at history and a man born in the year Galileo died, who did some of his most important thinking while those around him died of the Plague. Far from our iconic picture of the carefree boy under the apple tree, Newton was irascible, vindictive, and egotistical. As interesting as the picture Gleick paints is, the book is difficult for the layperson. Incomprehensible math theory is hard to grasp unless one already has grounding in the subject. Nonetheless, Allan Corduner's narration is a pleasure to listen to. One can easily imagine his deeply satisfying voice, rich with accents and tones, coming directly from the halls of academia. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

March 31, 2003
Gleick's most renowned writing falls into one of two categories: vivid character studies or broad syntheses of scientific trends. Here, he fuses the two genres with a biography of the man who was emblematic of a new scientific paradigm, but this short study falls a bit short on both counts. The author aims to "ground this book as wholly as possible in its time; in the texts," and his narrative relies heavily on direct quotations from Newton's papers, extensively documented with more than 60 pages of notes. While his attention to historical detail is impressive, Gleick's narrative aims somewhere between academic and popular history, and his take on Newton feels a bit at arms-length, only matching the vibrancy of his Feynman biography at moments (particularly when describing Newton's disputes with such competitors as Robert Hooke or Leibniz). As might be expected, Gleick's descriptions of Newton's scientific breakthroughs are clear and engaging, and his book is strongest when discussing the shift to a mathematical view of the world that Newton championed. In the end, this is a perfectly serviceable overview of Newton's life and work, and will bring this chapter in the history of science to a broader audience, but it lacks the depth one hopes for from a writer of Gleick's abilities. Agent, Michael Carlisle.(May 16)Forecast: Despite the book's flaws, its brevity and Gleick's reputation may make this the perfect intro to Newton for readers new to him or to science. It could generate good sales.