Newton&39s Gift How Sir Isaac Newton Unlocked the System of the World [Paperback]

Sir Isaac Newton, creator of the first and perhaps most important scientific theory, is a giant of the scientific era. Despite this, he has remained inaccessible to most modern readers, indisputably great but undeniably remote.
In this witty, engaging, and often moving examination of Newton's life, David Berlinski recovers the man behind the mathematical breakthroughs. The story carries the reader from Newton's unremarkable childhood to his awkward undergraduate days at Cambridge through the astonishing year in which, working alone, he laid the foundation for his system of the world, hisPrincipia Mathematica,and to the subsequent monumental feuds that poisoned his soul and wearied his supporters.
An edifying appreciation of Newton's greatest accomplishment,Newton's Giftis also a touching celebration of a transcendent man.David Berlinskiis an essayist, philosopher, and mathematician. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton and has spent many years in various academic positions across America and abroad. He is the author ofA Tour of the CalculusandThe Advent of the Algorithm.He lives in Paris.Contents

Introduction

A Note to the Reader

1. In the Year that Galileo Died
   
2. An Escape from the Plow
   
3. The Infinite
   
4. The Special Instrument
   
5. Newton in His Prime
   
6. The Field of Rancor
   
7. A Good Question
   
8. A Study in Starkness
   
9. A Loan from the Future
   
10. The Orb of the Moon
    
11. The System of the World
    
12. The Captive of His Camouflage
    
13. Master of the Mint
    
14. The Defile
    
15. The Quest
    

Appendix:Descent into Detail

Newton Chronology

IndexNew ScientistThis is Newton brought to life. You step through its pages into his mind.Julia KellerChicago TribuneDavid Berlinski plus any topic equals an extraordinary book...Making simple and accessible that which had previously been murl³%