FrFrom Publishers Weekly
Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was a towering figure in early modern science, a contemporary of Tycho Brahe and Galileo who discovered the fundamental laws governing the motion of the planets. Connor goes further, offering a remarkably human portrait of Kepler, grounded in the day-to-day life of a mathematician and astronomer simply trying to make a living and navigate the turbulent politics of Counter-Reformation Europe while staying true to his own ideals. This is not the Kepler one might know from textbooks—Connor's Kepler is a man driven by his deep Lutheran faith, yet ultimately excommunicated for his desire to reach out to Catholics and Calvinists; a man who seems less concerned with greatness than truth and a little bit of peace and happiness. As Connor writes in his preface, the book is as much a piece of literary nonfiction about the "kitchen details" of life in the early 17th century as it is a biography of a great astronomer. As the engaging narrative ranges from life amid religious unrest in Prague to the "trumped-up" witchcraft charges against Kepler's mother, one finds oneself lost in a world haunted by shadows and fears, yet which holds the promise of a new era of reason and enlightenment. This portrait poses a striking contrast to that in Heavenly Intrigue, which dubiously purports that Kepler was a virtual psychopath who killed Brahe to obtain his secret data. Maps.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
FFFrom Booklist
On his deathbed, one of history's greatest astronomers voiced no satisfaction over his achievements in advancing planetary physics but a great deal of frustration over his lifelong powerlessness to resolve religious conflict. A former Jesuit, Connor here probes the dark religious events that enshrouded the brilliant scientific career of Johannes Kepler. The forces of Reformation and Counter-Reformation repeatedly convulsed the European world in which Kepler pursued his pioneering research, but Connor chiefly scrutinizes the religious turmoil peculiar to Kepler's life. Readers see, for instance, how Kepler fought to maintain friendships with both Catholics and Protestants, how he struggled to harmonize his own sophisticated faith with his wife's simple piety, how he suffered when his intellectual openness cost him his cherished communion as a Lutheran, and, finally, how he jeopardized his reputation to defend an eccentric mother accused of witchcraft. Rich with new translations of Kepler's journals, poetry, and correspondence, this compelling narrative will leave readers wondering how a man so enmeshed in religious travail ever managed to penetrate the mystery of planetary orbits, to blaze a path toward calculus, and to formulate the founding principles of optics. But nothing will astound readers more than the way the religiously vexed Kepler persisted in interpreting his discoveries as evidence of the divine harmony in the universe! Connor indeed argues that precisely because he framed his science in the language of worship, Kepler has received less than his due from rationally minded scholars. This luminous biography will help remedy that injustice. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Praise for Kepler's Witch
"...a remarkably human portrait of Kepler. . . . [an] engaging narrative." (Publishers Weekly )
"A compelling story of scientific discovery. . . crisply written, meticulously researched and highly recommended." (Tucson Citizen )
"A detailed and fascinating account of the life and times of one of the great founding figures of modern science." (John Polkinghorne, author of Belief in God in an Age of Science )
"A fascinating book, analyzing a pivotal time in western intellectual history." (John Shelby Spong, author of A New Christianity for a New World)
"Connor delves into Kepler's life in such a way that the scientist becomes a person of flesh and bone."(National Catholic Reporter)
"Connor has illuminated the life - and thus also the work - of one of history's greatest star-gazers." (David Edmonds and John Eidinow, authors of Wittgenstein's Poker and Bobby Fischer Goes to War)
"Connor's skillful narrative brings to life an extraordinary man who wanted to know the mind of God." (Kenneth Silverman, Pulitzer-Prize winner and author of Lightning Man)
"Fun to read..." (Los Angeles Times )
"His biographer depicts him brilliantly . . . healthy, purposeful, and illuminating." (Kirkus Reviews )
"James Connor narrates the compelling human drama behind significant scientific discoveries of the seventeenth century." (Eve LaPlante, author of American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans )
"Kepler has received less than his due from rationally-minded scholars. This luminous biography will help remedy that injustice." (Booklist - Starred Review )
"No other Keplerian biography fleshes out so fully the background against which the astronomer worked." (Christian Century )
"A compelling story of scientific discovery. . . crisply written, meticulously researched and highly recommended." (Tucson Citizen )
"A detailed and fascinating account of the life and times of one of the great founding figures of modern science." (John Polkinghorne, author of Belief in God in an Age of Science )
"A fascinating book, analyzing a pivotal time in western intellectual history." (John Shelby Spong, author of A New Christianity for a New World)
"Connor delves into Kepler's life in such a way that the scientist becomes a person of flesh and bone."(National Catholic Reporter)
"Connor has illuminated the life - and thus also the work - of one of history's greatest star-gazers." (David Edmonds and John Eidinow, authors of Wittgenstein's Poker and Bobby Fischer Goes to War)
"Connor's skillful narrative brings to life an extraordinary man who wanted to know the mind of God." (Kenneth Silverman, Pulitzer-Prize winner and author of Lightning Man)
"Fun to read..." (Los Angeles Times )
"His biographer depicts him brilliantly . . . healthy, purposeful, and illuminating." (Kirkus Reviews )
"James Connor narrates the compelling human drama behind significant scientific discoveries of the seventeenth century." (Eve LaPlante, author of American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans )
"Kepler has received less than his due from rationally-minded scholars. This luminous biography will help remedy that injustice." (Booklist - Starred Review )
"No other Keplerian biography fleshes out so fully the background against which the astronomer worked." (Christian Century )
R"Fun to read..." (Los Angeles Times )
"Connor's skillful narrative brings to life an extraordinary man who wanted to know the mind of God." (Kenneth Silverman, Pulitzer-Prize winner and author of Lightning Man )
"Kepler has received less than his due from rationally-minded scholars. This luminous biography will help remedy that injustice." (Booklist - Starred Review )
"James Connor narrates the compelling human drama behind significant scientific discoveries of the seventeenth century." (Eve LaPlante, author of American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans )
"A compelling story of scientific discovery. . . crisply written, meticulously researched and highly recommended." (Tucson Citizen )
"...a remarkably human portrait of Kepler. . . . [an] engaging narrative." (Publishers Weekly )
"No other Keplerian biography fleshes out so fully the background against which the astronomer worked." (Christian Century )
"Connor delves into Kepler's life in such a way that the scientist becomes a person of flesh and bone." (National Catholic Reporter)
"Connor has illuminated the life - and thus also the work - of one of history's greatest star-gazers." (David Edmonds and John Eidinow, authors of Wittgenstein's Poker and Bobby Fischer Goes to War)
"A fascinating book, analyzing a pivotal time in western intellectual history." (John Shelby Spong, author of A New Christianity for a New World )
"A detailed and fascinating account of the life and times of one of the great founding figures of modern science." (John Polkinghorne, author of Belief in God in an Age of Science )
"His biographer depicts him brilliantly . . . healthy, purposeful, and illuminating." (Kirkus Reviews ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.