The Life of Isaac Newton

by Richard S. Westfall

Book Overview

Los logros de Isaac Newton en el terreno de las matermaticas y la fisica representaron la culminacion del movimiento precursor de la ciencia moderna. Este libro reconstruye minuciosamente su vida y su... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521477379
• ISBN13: 9780521477376
• Release Date: July 1994
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Insight into a Genius

The Life of Isaac Newton, by Richard Westfall, addresses the life and work of one of the greatest scientists of all time. Indeed, many consider Isaac Newton to be the greatest scientist of all time, because his work was the culmination of the Scientific Revolution. Westfall covers Newton's unhappy childhood, from which he escaped to Cambridge University where he emerged as a solitary, studious individual. Newton's genius found expression during the anni mirabilis, 1664-1666, when Cambridge was closed due to the plague. During these years, Newton explored a wide range of scientific issues, including mathematical physics, optics, mechanics, and celestial dynamics. He expanded upon Descartes' geometry, to develop the calculus. He conducted experiments with light, concluding that white light is made up of a series of colors. Newton also pursued studies of the movement of objects, following up on the work of Gallileo. Westfall covers Newton's lengthy career at Cambridge, where he devoted his life to his studies, avoiding most relationships and incurring animosity and resentment among many of his fellow scientists, including Robert Hooke. Newton's masterpiece was the Principia, in which he laid out his three laws of motion: inertia; acceleration; and action and reaction. Newton also presented the laws of universal gravitation. Westfall was compelled to write this biography - which is a shortened version of his larger, more technical study - to share the unfolding of the amazing genius who discovered so many of the laws underlying the physical world. This book is worth reading because it provides in an accessible form insights into the discoveries in the fields of mathematics and physics that ushered in the world of modern science.

The Greatest Genius - Isaac Newton

The preface to "The Life of Isaac Newton" starts with "Few men have lived for whom less need exist to justify a biography." To this I would like to add that few books have been written which need to be read more than the "Life of Isaac Newton" by Richard Westfall.A thorough research of the life and work of one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived, if not the greatest, Westfall paints a vivid picture of the life of Newton from childhood to old age. He describes Newton as not only a scientific genius, but as the person who revolutionized science, and thus influenced the way of thinking, and indeed the way of modern life.Newton, to be sure, was not an easy person to live with, nor was he a perfect human being. All this however pales in comparison to his superior intellect and deep understanding of nature. The book gives ample accounting of Newton's two great works "Opticks" and "Principia" and how these two have influenced the world he lived in, and the effects they left forever since. This book is a necessary reading not only for those interested in science, but for all who want to have a glimpse into the way of life in the 16th and 17th centuries, and especially the way science and philosophy spread throughout the world.Read it!Shab LevyPortland, OR 2002

Stimulating, Informative, Inspirational

I couldn't agree with reviewer #1 more! As a doctoral engineer, I thought I knew everything about that greatest scientist that ever lived. But I was wrong. Westfall taught me plenty about his life and times.

very, very good

"The Life of Isaac Newton" written by the brilliant Richard Westfall is a masterpiece. This biography tells us of the great mind that was born Christmas Day 1642. Westfall goes in depth on Sir Isaac Newton's three laws. 1) Law of Inertia 2) F=ma, and who can forget number? 3) Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Folks if you're going to read one book this winter in should be "The Life of Isaac Newton" by Richard Wesfall.