Rating: 
Summary: An engaging and entertaining book
Review: I really liked the idea behind this book and I found it did not disappoint. Dava Sobel mixed in the letters with the historical facts of Galileo's life which really gave a full picture of the times in which he made his discoveries. Now we look back on what he has contributed to science and just accept it, but this book illustrated how revolutionary and original his thinking was. A wonderful read that shows the man behind the genius. Also makes a _great_ Father's Day gift if you have a dad interested in science!
Rating: 
Summary: Bringing a historical figure down to a more personal level
Review: Galileo's correspondence with his favorite daughter (only her letters to him are present; his letters to her were lost or destroyed) gives us a new perspective on a well-known historical figure and events.Sobel weaves fascinating historical background on everything from the plague to international politics around the tender letters from Galileo's daughter, Maria Celeste. Despite the fact that she's a cloistered nun, we learn quite a bit about the world at large. It's interesting to watch Galileo, a devout Catholic, grapple with his faith and with church authorities who believe science and religion are mutually exclusive. We get to see the personal side of Galileo's famous trial. The book also presents a suprising portrait of a strong, intelligent woman in a place where you might not expect to find her - a seventeenth-century convent. If you're not a science or history buff the book can get a bit dry in places, but Galileo's discoveries and persecution generally make for enough plot to draw you along over the rough spots.
Rating:
Summary: Galileo mainly (and a little bit about his daughter).
Review: The book traces the life of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) who was a pioneer in the field of science. He built the first real telescope and pointed it towards the skies to study planets and satellites. Galileo conducted extensive experiments on bodies in motion and also wrote a number of books on science. The book is developed around letters (of which 124 are surviving) written by Galileo's daughter Suor Maria Celeste (née Virginia Galilei) to her father. These letters were written by Suor Maria Celeste (SMC) after she entered the Convent of San Matteo in 1613 and till her death in 1634. Galileo had never married SMC's mother, Marina Gamba (from whom he had 2 other children), that is why he deemed SMC unmarriageable and sent her to a convent. He showered her with love (and financial aid) during her stay as an impoverished nun there. According to Sobel, SMC was a pillar of strength for her father especially during the inquisition of 1633 when he was tried for supporting Copernicus' heliocentric view of earth's motion (i.e. the earth revolved around the sun) as against the Church's view that the earth was at the centre of the universe. Galileo was made to recant his statements and apologize for his views (which were in retrospect correct!). However, the title of the book is misleading - The book is highly Galileo-centric and a very small portion of it actually deals with Galileo's daughter and her letters to him. SMC is suddenly introduced quite late in the book and her premature death is also very sketchily treated. The book also fails to discuss the belief (represented by SMC) vs. Science (represented by Galileo) conflict that existed in the father-daughter relationship. However, credit must be given where it is due - only the daughters letters to the father are surviving and Sobel has done well to develop the father-daughter relationship in the absence of the letters from Galileo to SMC. Sobel has only SMC's response's and references to Galileo's letters to base her analysis on. This is quite well handled. All in all a good read if you want to know about Galileo and his life. But if you want to know about Galileo's daughter you will not find much in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Was this about Galileo's daughter?
Review: I read all the reviews and thought this would be a good read about Galileo's daughter and her life. Ummm...not! It's about Galileo and his fight with the Roman Catholic Church. Oh, and there's some small bits and pieces thrown in about his daughter. I was very disappointed in this book; I was expecting to learn about Suor Maria Celeste (the "Daughter" of the title), and had to wade through all the well known historical details about Galileo for small glimpses at Maria Celeste's world. The title of this book should have been "All About Galileo (And a Little About His Daughter)".
Rating:
Summary: An interesting read, and I learned a lot
Review: The author of Longitude returns with another take on science and technology. Here she covers Galileo's later life, tying in the perspective of his illegitimate daughter, whom he has placed in a convent and whom is devoted to him. She in fact appears to be quite a remarkable woman, with stunningly beautiful penmanship, who works very hard at contributing to the convent and would probably have become the abbess for a time had she not succumbed to a tragic early death - even earlier than Galileo's, sad to say. Sobel does a good job of interpreting the Church's attitude toward Galileo and his theories in the context of the times, explaining just why the Church felt the need to resist Copernicanism. She in fact seems remarkably sympathetic to Catholicism and religion in general, referring at one point to a particular event (the plague leaving Florence) explicitly as a miracle. I found it a little hard to know what to make of that. She spends less time covering Galileo's theories, but still enough to appreciate his brilliance and his position as the founder of modern physics, if not modern science itself. I found it an interesting read and learned a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Galileo's Daughter : A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith,
Review: This book is full of facts about the life of Galileo and the times in which he lived, and I really enjoyed the feeling of being privy to the intimate details of his life and the lives of his remarkable offspring.The circimstances of their birth, (illegitimacy) had a profound affect upon their lives and the way they lived them, more so for his daughters than his son.
The trouble with the church, translated "the pope" is covered in depth and I was suprised at how little I really knew about the events leading up to his fall from grace.I recommend this book without reservation, if you are not interested in the scientific and historical aspects of the era, skip them,but don't miss this read.
The most remarkable and rewarding part of this book is without question the letters sent to him by his eldest daughter while she lived as a Franciscan nun. What you take away from this poignant staory is not only an understanding of the times and people involved, but a rich, vivid tale of love and hope and peace, written between the lines of his beloved daughter's letters to her father.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Opinion about Galileo?
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Sobel's book. However, many years ago I read another book, the Sleep Walkers, by Arthur Koestler, with a lengthy section on Galileo ... the person and his work. To Koestler, much of the problem Galileo encountered with the Church, and many other scientists of his time, was a result of his antagonistic personality, his egotism, which led him to belittle anyone who disagreed with him. In other words, he wasn't the very pleasant and gentle guy portrayed by Sobel. I have no idea which author is correct, but I notice Sobel did not include Sleep Walkers in her bibliography. In any case it is clear Galileo was very devoted to his daughter, so he clearly had some good qualities in his personal dealings, in fact Sobel makes a strong case that he was quite generous to others. Maybe Koestler was wrong ... don't know.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, Inappropriate Title
Review: Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel is a beauty--to look at and to read.
Its cover is cameo-cut to reveal a portrait of Galileo's daughter inside a Florentine gold frame. The gold is repeated on the fly leaf and the blurbs are surrounded with a border depicting the heavens atwinkle with stars.
For those who enjoy a thoughtful book, the interior will match the beauty of the exterior. Sobel, the author of "Longitude," has done her homework and has a way with words besides. She brings Galileo and his friend and nemesis, Pope Urban VIII, alive. She opens ones eyes to Galileo's science and religion and even his beloved city, Florence. There was one disappointment: in spite of the fact that the book is built around the letters of Galileo's daughter, it is not really about her. Instead the daughter's letters hold a mirror up to her famous and brilliant father. What those letters reveal about her seem practically incidental. One can read between the lines but Sobel does very little of that for you. She is a writer interested in the big events, the philosophical issues of the time. The quiet, dutiful daughter gets short shrift-even in a book titled after her. Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place" --This text refers to the Paperback edition
Rating:
Summary: Love Uncovered
Review: Another year had I visited Santa Croce. The Holy Pilgrimage Year and additionally 2001.
I sat near Dantes statue on the steps - I had to go inside once again to view Galileo.
Many years have my travels brought me to Florence, Italy. A day beginning at Santa Croce in the early morning filted light as it shown upon the "Annunciation" by Donatello in the middle days of June.
Always had I lingered through many a year of "refreshings" as the Italians explain their restorations.
Now I am once again hearing ring true the word of Dava Sorbel "but still she is there".
A love story of profound portions filled with tears as the words flow deeply into ones hearts unfolding a story that shall last forever in history.
I visited the former sight of interment and have spoken to those who knew of San Matteo.
Nevertheless, Dava has captured every heart feeling of a man born with genius inside of him.
Love longs for fulfillment and as Dava folds you into a timelessness the words dwell within everyone who should read it.
Should you have the pleasure of visiting Florence, Italy. Go inside Santa Croce and know "she is there", The love of Galileo embraced forever with him...Thank you Dava for telling us about him. Karen Marie Schalk Ph.D
Rating:
Summary: Touching Love and Devotion
Review: This is a lovely tale of filial devotion between the scientist Galileo and his illegitimate daughter, Sister Maria Celeste, who lived out her life in an Italian convent. Maria Celeste inherited her father's brilliance in full measure, and she became a close companion to him through a protracted correspondence. Maria Celeste served as her father's copyist, secretary, housekeeper, and shopper as well as being his confidante. The reader feels she provided a needed anchor for him during his long difficulties with the Church. In return the few requests she made of him, such as money for a larger cell in her convent, were supplied promptly. Dava Sobel has turned out another story just as fascinating and appealing as Longitude. Galileo's Daughter deserves the highest praise.
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