The New Scientist recently praised Mario Biagioli’s Galileo’s Instruments of Credit: Telescopes, Images, Secrecy. From the review: "[Biagioli’s] study presents a fresh and interesting view of the challenges faced by the 17th-century scientist."
Galileo’s Instruments of Credit proposes radical new interpretations of several key episodes of Galileo’s career, including his early telescopic discoveries of 1610, the dispute over sunspots, and the conflict with the Holy Office over the relationship between Copernicanism and Scripture. Galileo’s tactics during this time shifted as rapidly as his circumstances, argues Mario Biagioli, and the pace of these changes forced him to respond swiftly to the opportunities and risks posed by unforeseen inventions, further discoveries, and the interventions of his opponents.
Read an excerpt.