Theories of the World from Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution: Second Revised Edition

by Michael J. Crowe

Book Overview

Newly revised edition of Professor Crowe's accessible, enlightening book re-creates the change from an earth-centered to a sun-centered conception of the solar system. The work is organized around a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486414442
• ISBN13: 9780486414447
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

From Earth to Sun

Crowe's 'Theories of the World' is arguably the best available technical introduction to the shift from geocentrism to heliocentrism. Specifically, 'Theories' examines the transition between the ancient and medieval geocentric (earth-centered) world view (or 'Ptolemaic' system), to the two 16th-century heliocentric (sun-centered) world views (the 'Tychonic' and 'Copernican' systems). Clearly and simply written, and accessible to most readers with basic high school math skills, it is not light reading, but it is rewarding. One of the book's many strengths is its ability to maintain historical balance: rather than simply writing off the the geocentric view as the misinformed efforts of an era of ignorance, Crowe shows that given the technological, mathematical, and astronomical evidence available as late as 1615 (when Galileo and Kepler were grappling with the motion of the heavens), determining which of these three world views had the "strongest claim for acceptance" is not as obvious as one might think.

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