We read this book as the monthly selection in our bookclub. The book is very interesting, but definitely NOT a FAST read. Several people in our bookclub commented that they felt the book was too long, and not well-edited. Some people had read Longitude, by the same author, and said that it was a better book. Nevertheless, when we discussed what we would have taken out, every person had a different opinion. For each of the things that one person in the group didn’t care for, another person in the group enjoyed. So I think it was fine.
Some people were disappointed that the book turned out to be more about Galileo than his daughter. But for me, I enjoyed that it was. I felt the last third of the book was the best. I learned a LOT from reading this book. Sobel brings the characters to life. I feel like I know Pope Urban now as a human being. I also know Galileo and his daughter both as human beings, just as if I had met all of these people in my current life. Some people in our group were not interested in the science presented in the book, but really enjoyed reading about all the herbal and plant remedies used during the Middle Ages. The herbal things didn’t interest me, but I LOVED the science discussions presented in the book.
No matter WHAT your interest, this book is a slow, but very worthwhile read. It stimulated me to want to read much more on many of the subjects that were only touched on in the book.
Amazon Home
