Giants of Science - Galileo Galilei
Gr 5-8-Both of these books are engaging and clearly written. Full-captioned color and black-and-white reproductions and photographs as well as boxed quotes enhance the text on almost every page. Galileo covers the life and accomplishments of the great scientist and is full of the drama of persecution, court trials, and house arrests. White does an excellent job of explaining the background of the conflict between the scientists of the time and the Catholic Church. He also includes many interesting tidbits, such as the fact that Galileo timed things by taking his pulse and then subsequently discovered the pendulum, which led to the invention of clocks and timekeeping. Newton's life was no less interesting, though not as strife ridden. At the age of 26, he became the youngest mathematics professor to teach at Cambridge. This position and his discoveries made his colleagues jealous, leading to charges of lying and fraud. Nevertheless, he was the first scientist ever to be knighted. This book is more visually appealing and engaging than Deborah Hitzeroth and Sharon Leon's Sir Isaac Newton (Lucent, 1994; o.p.). Each volume concludes with a time line of important events in the scientists' lives. Excellent additions to the science collections of school and public libraries.-Maren Ostergard, Bellevue Regional Library, WACopyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.