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Synopsis
According to traditional accounts, Newton was the first modern scientist. As creator of the theory of gravity, calculus, modern theories of light and devisor of the three laws of mechanics, his methods are perceived as the genesis of modern science. Yet the traditional version of his life fails to tell the full story. How, for example, could Newton's apparent empiricism be married with his interest in alchemy and magic? What had inspired him in his discoveries? How did he reconcile his scientific discoveries with his religious faith? Who was this man who, historians tell us, remained a virgin all his life and who seemed to be an argumentative egomaniac on the one hand, and a kindly old man on the other?

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"n the days before the English Civil War, Woolsthorpe was a peaceful Lincolnshire village, and even when, for a time, the world seemed turned upside down by internecine struggle the village survived the traumas almost unscathed." Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
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9 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (9 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: Good read for the mathematically baffled , 12 Jun 2006 By  Catfish "Ania" (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews    I've always been interested in how magic and alchemy was perceived and practised in medieval and Renaissance Europe, and was slightly weary of ordering this biography, terrified of the potential countless incomprehensible equations inside the book - luckily for me, there were none, and even the scientific aspects of gravity weren't given much coverage. So if, like me, you're interested in Newton's life, rather than his theories and what they all mean, you will certainly enjoy this biography. It focuses more on his time at Cambridge and his relationships with various people rather than dwelling on the physics, so for someone who doesn't really "get" the technical side of things, this was truly a breeze :) 4 stars instead of 5 because I thought more space would be given to Newton as alchemist, as the title suggests, but a lot of the 'sorcery' was simply in passing.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   8 of 11 people found the following review helpful: The best biography of Newton I’ve read to date, 31 Dec 2003 By  Keith Appleyard "kapple999" (Brighton, UK) - See all my reviews       I've read other biographies of Sir Isaac Newton, and this is the best. As the title suggests, there is an emphasis on his interest in Alchemy. I worried (unnecessarily as it turned out) that other aspects of his life would be neglected. But his time at the Royal Mint, and his clashes with Huygens, Hooke, Leibniz etc are well covered. The only disappointment for some readers might be that this is not an overtly scientific/mathematical biography - there are no formulae : so if you want to know that little more detail about Newton's discoveries, such as the Laws of Motion, Laws of Gravity, and Differential Calculus, you won't see any of that in here. In fact the word 'Gravity' (perhaps his most famous discovery) doesn’t even appear in the Index (although the 'Apple' does).  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   6 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Not engaging enough, bland writing of a great story., 12 Feb 2003 By  Martin Ohara "mohara@iee.org.uk" -