366. Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d

Rating:  ☆☆1/2

Recommended by:

Author:   Mary Losure

Genre:  Non Fiction, Biography, Science, History

176 pages, published February 1, 2017

Reading Format:  Audio Book on Overdrive

Summary

Isaac the Alchemist is a biography of Isaac Newton, the father of physics, an extraordinary mathematician, and leader of the scientific revolution.  It starts with his boyhood living in an apothecary’s house and traces his life through Cambridge and adulthood where he made remarkable discoveries and immeasurably impacted science, physics and mathematics.

Quotes 

“The outlines of birds and beasts and sailing ships could still be seen in the apothecary’s attic in Grantham, along with the drawings of men and mathematical symbols. But the boy who who had made them was gone. He had taken his notebook with him: his secret world of star names and tawny lions and golden ink made from quicksilver.”

 

“He could travel in his mind, though. He did it all the time.”

 

“When your head is filled with things that other people don’t seem to give much thought to – chymistry, star names, mandrake root, mathematicall magick – it can be hard to make friends. Being short, secretive, and smarter than everybody else doesn’t help.” 

My Take

A bit dry, but I did learn a lot about Isaac Newton.