Product Description
Heavenly Intrigue is the fascinating, true account of the seventeenth-century collaboration between Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe that revolutionized our understanding of the universe–and ended in murder.One of history’s greatest geniuses, Kepler laid the foundations of modern physics with his revolutionary laws of planetary motion. But his beautiful mind was beset by demons. Born into poverty and abuse, half-blinded by smallpox, he festered with rage, resentment, and a longing for worldly fame. Brahe, his mentor, was a flamboyant aristocrat who had spent forty years mapping the heavens with unprecedented accuracy–but he refused to share his data with Kepler. With Brahe’s untimely death in Prague in 1601, rumors flew across Europe that he had been murdered. But it took twentieth-century forensics to uncover the poison in his remains, and the detective work of Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder to identify the prime suspect–the ambitious, envy-ridden Kepler himself. A fast-paced, true-life account that reads like a thriller, Heavenly Intrigue is a remarkable feat of historical re-creation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Intrigue Indeed: More Like Scienc Fantasy
Brahe and Kepler were giants, both in science and in character, and they deserve better than this book. There are some interesting factoids about Kepler's pathologic family, his strange relationship with his university and his well known struggle to obtain the observations of the orbit of Mars which were made by Brahe. Beyond that there is little if anything to recommend this book. The relationship between Tycho and Kepler is far better documented in the excellent book by Kitty Ferguson which is concerned with the facts and not the fiction. One star is more than this book merits.

Not buying the whole tale...
This book discusses the lives and relationship between two key figures in astronomy, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Brahe was a nobelman who shrugged off political life to pursue his love of science and the stars. Kepler was a commoner who also studied the heavens and developed the laws of planetary motion. Kepler is portrayed as an insecure man looking for acceptance. The book also gives me the impression that Kepler did not like Brahe, while Brahe seems to be constantly helping Kepler and his family. Kepler is given a job by Brahe and Brahe also pays Kepler out of his own pocket, while his financial situation is being resolved. However, Kepler seems to go out of his way to fight with Brahe and look for a way to get out from under Brahe's control. Regardless of the help being given by Brahe.

The main point of the book is to lay the foundation and grounds for why someone would want to murder Brahe. Namely Kepler. I am not an expert in either astronomers' life, but I find the book too one sided. I would have to do more research to come to a conclusion, but for now my verdict is out. I have read a little that brings into question some of the findings from the tests performed on Brahe's hair.

I do not think the issue is as clear cut as the book tends to conclude. The book also doesn't clearly discuss the questions with the test results. The book was still enjoyable to read, but I believe more research is required to come to any conclusions.

A Fraud
I'd have some respect for this book if it were marketed at a work of fiction because that's what it is. The authors have little familiarity with any aspect of their subject. It's particularly unlikely that Tycho would have spent the last day of his life tying up loose ends, such as taking care that his common law wife and children would be his heirs, if his death were unexpected. And no one who has studied Kepler closely and honestly could imagine him capable of murder.

A historical re-creation of the seventeenth-century collaboration between geniuses Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe
Heavenly Intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, And The Murder Behind One Of History's Greatest Scientific Discoveries is a historical re-creation of the seventeenth-century collaboration between geniuses Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe. Kepler's scientific brilliance laid the foundation for modern physics, and his mentor Brahe spent forty years mapping the heavens with more accuracy than any before him; yet Brahe refused to share his maps with Kepler. When Brahe died far too young in 1601, rumors circulated that he had been murdered, yet it took twentieth- century forensics to reveal the proof - poison in Brahe's remains. Authors Joshua Gilder and Anne-Lee Gilder apply detective work to point a reasoned accusation against the ambitious Kepler. Heavenly Intrigue is a simply stunning, thoroughly researched work that dares to question the personal character of great thinkers.
... Read more

Product Description
Though best known for his editing and posthumous publication of his friend Franz Kafka's writing, Max Brod was a major novelist in his own right. "Tycho Brahe's Path to God", widely considered his finest work and viewed by many as a small masterpiece, concerns the relationship between the great Danish astronomer and the younger, intellectually superior Johannes Kepler. Brod's representation of this complicated relation grew out of his acquaintance with the young Albert Einstein, reproduces his struggles with the Expressionist poet Franz Werfel, and strangely anticipates the most famous act Brod would ever perform: publishing Kafka's writings without his permission. As Brahe attempts to create a diplomatic compromise between the old Ptolemaic system of planetary motion and its modern, Copernican revision, Kepler discards the principle of compromise root and branch. Their conflict thus becomes an emblem of the struggle between a weakened tradition and a self-conscious modernity. The novel manages to convey the intimate, emotional reality of a seventeenth-century political conflict as well as the psychological, political, and artistic turmoil of Brod's own time.This revival of the richly allusive and deeply resonant "Tycho Brahe's Path to God" is a true literary event. ... Read more

Product Description
On his deathbed in 1601, the greatest naked-eye astronomer, Tycho Brahe, told his young colleague, Johannes Kepler, "Let me not have lived in vain." For more than thirty years, Tycho had made meticulous observations of planetary movements and the positions of the stars, from which he developed his Tychonic system of the universe-a highly original, if incorrect, scheme that attempted to reconcile the ancient belief in an unmoving Earth with Copernicus's revolutionary re-arrangement of the solar system. Tycho knew that Kepler, the brilliant young mathematician he had engaged to interpret his findings, believed in Copernicus's formation, in which all the planets circled the Sun; and he was afraid his system-the product of a lifetime of effort to explain how the universe worked-would be abandoned.

In point of fact, it was. From his study of Tycho's observations came Kepler's stunning Three Laws of Planetary Motion-ever since the cornerstone of cosmology and our understanding of the heavens. Yet, as Kitty Ferguson reveals, neither of these giant figures would have his reputation today without the other; and the story of how their lives and talents were fatefully intertwined is one of the most memorable sagas in the long history of science.Set in a turbulent and colorful era in European history, at the turning point when medieval gave way to modern, Tycho & Kepler is both a highly original dual biography and a masterful recreation of how science advances. From Tycho's fabulous Uraniborg Observatory on an island off the Danish coast, to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolph II, to the religious conflict of the Thirty Years' War that rocked all of Europe, to Kepler's extraordinary leaps of understanding, Ferguson recounts a fascinating interplay of science and religion, politics and personality. Her insights recolor the established personalities of Tycho and Kepler, and her book opens a rich window onto our place in the universe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A very good double biography
I had read a couple of biographies of Tycho Brahe years ago, but never anything on Johannes Kepler except the bare-bones discoveries that made him famous. This book was a well-conceived and well-written biography of both men. Starting with Tycho and his observations and ending with Kepler and his discoveries based on Tycho's data, the book interleaves their lives in the middle where they were contemporaries. What a shame that Tycho died only a year or so after taking Kepler on board. It's interesting to speculate what might have happened if Tycho had lived. But he didn't, and Kepler's brilliant use of Tycho's data made them both famous and greatly advanced the science of astronomy. Thruout, you can see astronomy splitting away from astrology and leaving it in the dust.

A Good Book! Well worth your time!
Tycho and Kepler: The Unlikely Partnership That Forever Changed Our Understanding of the Heavens, by Kitty Ferguson, is a 402-page dedication to two astronomical greats of the early seventeenth century, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler.Beginning with an examination of the society into which Brahe was born, the book traces him throughout his childhood and adulthood, from the building of Uraniborg, Brahe's astronomical observatory on the island of Hven to his banishment from the kingdom of Denmark.Not until nearly the hundredth page is Kepler discussed, but from that point forward, tales from each man's life are alternated.It seems that more time is devoted to Brahe.The two stories come together when the men meet, and it follows them together from that point forward.When Brahe passes away, the focus immediately and entirely shifts to Kepler and follows him to the end of the book.The story comes to an abrupt finish with Kepler's death, though the volume also contains three appendices explaining and elaborating on complex astronomical terms discussed in the body of the book.
I think Ms. Ferguson decided to recount this story because she was interested in both astronomy and history.From reading the book, one can feel the interest the author has in the subject matter.While reading this book, I became interested in the topic as well, but sometimes felt a bit lost.Occasionally, it seemed that she went too much in depth on certain topics, such as the construction of Uraniborg, which she described in great detail.In general, however, Kitty Ferguson seems to like enjoy writing about this topic, and conveys her enthusiasm in her writing.
This is a good book.I read it for a school assignment, and was not especially interested in the topic at hand at first, though I rapidly became drawn into the story.I only grew bored of the book when it began to explain complex astronomical concepts.While all ideas were explained in full and in understandable language, accompanied by appropriate pictures and diagrams, it was still somewhat tedious for someone not especially knowledgeable about astronomy to wade through.The flow of the book is excellent.It never felt rushed, and the transitions between sections focusing on each scientist were smooth.The one thing that I really disliked about this book was its sudden ending.It ends at Kepler's death; it does not even mention the impacts of Brahe and Kepler's work on later scientists.Despite this inadequacy, I was left with a good impression of Ms. Ferguson's book, and with much more knowledge about astronomy, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler than I had when beginning to read this book.

Tycho & Kepler - a gooooood read
Tycho & Kepler - The Unlikely Friendship that Forever Changed Our Understanding of the Heavens is, for the most part, an excellent novel and easy read.Although it is a little confusing and dry at the times when complex astronomical concepts are being explained, they are outweighed by the wealth of historical accounts and gratuitous, but juicy tidbits.For instance, besides explaining the extensive instruments that Tycho built, Ferguson offers that he was also the first Dane to write a poem in Latin, that he had a twin that died at birth, and his aunt and uncle kidnapped him from his parents who wanted a girl and didn't much care.As for Kepler, not only did he develop the Harmonic theory, but had a miserable marriage, a mother accused and tried for witchcraft, and was the first author of a science fiction novel.Kitty Ferguson thus tells the life stories of the astronomers Tycho and Kepler in an informative, educational, yet narrative and interesting way.She effectively spans the 20-year gap between Tycho and Kepler by beginning the book describing Tycho's childhood and indeed his life exclusively up until the advent of a comet on December 27, 1571.Ferguson explains that, when Tycho saw the comet, he was out at one of his 60 manmade fish ponds on his estate at the Danish Isle of Hven, catching fish for dinner that evening.Meanwhile Kepler saw the same comet, but he was only five, and it was during a rare warm moment that he shared with his mother on a hilltop in Leonberg.Thus Kepler enters the story.For the rest of the book, Ferguson fluidly integrates the two men's lives, switching back and forth in an understandable, connected way.She eventually merges the two stories in a dynamic, functional manner, and shows how they used each other, and that many of their final results were synthesized versions of their combined efforts.Basically, Tycho provided excruciatingly accurate data that Kepler confirmed mathematically and extrapolated on.Kepler could have never figured out all that he did with out Tycho's data; he had bad eyesight and could not observe the sky he so dearly slaved for.It was because Tycho initially mistrusted Kepler that Kepler received only slight amounts of data that Kepler discovered that planetary orbits are elliptical - Tycho gave him only data on Mars, which happens to have the most extreme elliptical orbit, otherwise Kepler never would have noticed. Tycho also used Kepler to advance his own work and complete (among other things) the Rudolfine Tables, which are not merely the positions of planets, but guides to figure out what positions they are in at any time, (now, 586 years ago, or one thousand years into the future).The aptly-named chapters are elegantly punctuated with helpful pictures, like paintings of people discussed, illustrations of instruments, maps of the places mentioned, explanatory diagrams, and more.There are also obliging appendixes in the back, explaining astronomical terms (even though they are well-explained in the reading), and an index.
Just as the accomplishments of these men were great, so were their lives, which is probably why Kitty Ferguson felt compelled to tell the story of them.I would highly recommend it, even if you do not much care for astronomy.

The Odd Couple
Kitty Ferguson tells the tail of the unique and often humorous relationship between Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe that led to some of the greatest astronomical discoveries of our time. Going against the common belief of the geocentric universe, Kepler changes the world forever with the essential help of Brahe's observation on the heavens. Although the result of their relationship is extraordinarily beneficial to astronomy, the relationship is not as peaceful as one would think. Ferguson makes this evident throughout the story and gives numerous examples of their feuding and bickering over their work together. It reminded me of a 17th century spin off of the odd couple. Both informative and entertaining, this book covers everything from Brahe's golden nose to Kepler robbery of Brahe's information and is definitely worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

Tycho and Kepler
An amazing and inspirational account of one of the greatest stories in the history of science. Extremely well written and scholarly. I have average reading skills but at times found the book impossible to put down.In spots I had to stop reading it because emotions took over. The best book I ever read about the classical scientists. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents the life and work of the famous sixteenth-century Danish astronomer. ... Read more

Product Description
The Lord of Uraniborg is a comprehensive biography of Tycho Brahe, father of modern astronomy, famed alchemist and littérateur of the sixteenth-century Danish Renaissance. Written in a lively and engaging style, Victor Thoren's biography offers interesting perspectives on Tycho's life and presents alternative analyses of virtually every aspect of his scientific work. A range of readers interested in astronomy, history of astronomy and the history of science will find this book fascinating. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Dr. Thoren rocks!
OK, I'm biased because I used to work for the man at Indiana University.I typed much of the manuscript and enjoyed every word.He took a very dry topic and made it interesting for the non-historian-of-science.Tyco himself was quite the character, outside of his intellectual accomplishments.

Excavating the heavens
Victor Thoren has done a remarkable job with what looks like relatively scant material.He draws as detailed a picture as possible not only ofTycho the astronomer and nobleman, but also the man. And it is in thislatter department that his lack of material and references is sensed.Nevertheless, as far as the science and technology is concerned, he hasdone an excellent job in rebuilding for us all of Tycho's instruments andreconstructing the environment and atmosphere where these remarkablemeasurements were made.

This is not an "easy" read for the layperson, but will be rewarding eventually with a little determination.

"Uraniborg" Scholarly, Fascinating, and Comprehensive
"The Lord of Uraniborg" is a scholarly description of the life of Tycho Brahe, the eccentric and brilliant Danish astronomer whose work laid the foundation for the discovery of the motion of the planets byJohannes Kepler.Author Victor Thoren demolishes a number of myths aboutBrahe, while at the same time his exhaustive research into historicalrecords reveals a number of fascinating aspects of Tycho's life.

In thecase of Tycho Brahe, truth is both stranger and more entertaining than anyfiction that has been created about him.For example, he did not die of aburst bladder following a night of excessive drinking.But he did die ofuremia caused most likely by an enlarged prostate which preventedurination.His dying words to Kepler, "let me not seem to have livedin vain", could not have been scripted better for a man who soughtimmortality through science.

Readers should be aware that this book isnot written in a style intended for the general public.It is a work ofhistorical scholarship, and is packed with the kind of detail that some mayfind trivial.However, the sheer weight of these historical records(letters and official documents) helps to create a vivid and convincingportrait of this unique individual. ... Read more

Product Description
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description

Johannes Kepler changed forever our understanding of the universe. Through his efforts to chart the orbits of the planets—elliptical, not circular—Kepler became one of the most important astronomers of all time.His contributions continued as he laid the groundwork for the discovery of gravitation, setting physics on the course of revelation it follows to this day. Yet if it hadn't been for the now lesser known Tycho Brahe, the Royal Court Mathematician at Prague, the man for whom Kepler worked, Kepler would be a mere footnote in today's science books. Brahe was the foremost astronomer of his era and one of the first great systematic empirical thinkers and earliest founders of the modern scientific method.His forty years of planetary observations—an unparalleled treasure of empirical data—contained the key to Kepler's monumental revelation of elliptical orbit. These observations, essential to Kepler's breakthrough, became available to Kepler only after Brahe's death. This groundbreaking history portrays the stormy collaboration of these two astronomers at the turn of the seventeenth century and their shattering discoveries that would mark the transition from medieval to modern science.

Yet that is only half the story. Based on recent forensic evidence (analyzed here for the first time) and original research into the medieval/renaissance history of alchemy, and buttressed by in-depth interviews with leading historians, scientists, and medical specialists, the authors have put together shocking and compelling evidence that Tycho Brahe did not die of natural causes, as has been believed for four hundred years, but was systematically poisoned—most likely by his former assistant, Johannes Kepler.

An epic of scientific discovery, HEAVENLY INTRIGUE is a tale of protean modern astronomy, personal ambition, the search for truth and beauty amid power politics, court intrigue, superstition, and the ever present quest to reach farther into the universe.

Customer Reviews (19)

very intriguing indeed
An interesting view behind the scenes of two extremely important scientists of the 16th/17th century. With lots of interesting quotes, although with a slight bias in favour of Tycho, against Kepler. Some rather complicated theories of Kepler are very well explained.

Scientist Assassins
Heavenly Intrigue, by Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder, is a novel written with the assertion that scientist Johannes Kepler murdered scientist Tycho Brahe in the early seventeenth century.Before giving a myriad of forensic evidence to support this assertion, the authors offer a brief biography of each scientist that outlines both their personal and astronomical lives.Entwined in these facts are hints of Kepler's malevolent mental instability and his progressive hatred toward Brahe.Thus, the authors appear to have been motivated to write this novel as an attempt to reveal the true cause of Brahe's death and to label Kepler as not only a brilliant scientist, but a self-centered assassin.Aside from the darker, more hypothetical aspect of the novel, the authors describe each scientist's effect on posterity.Namely, Brahe instigated the methodology of science that develops theories after repeatedly gathering empirical data, while Kepler developed three planetary laws that redefined the structure of the solar system.Most importantly, both scientists opened avenues of ideas and questions that prompted Isaac Newton to discover the force of gravity.This novel is an ideal novel to read for a different perspective on two of history's most influential scientists.By intertwining their scientific achievements with historical background, it becomes easier to comprehend their lifestyles, motivations, and ambitions.

Intriguing scientific history
The Gilders have combined short biographies of both Brahe and Kepler to tell a story about early modern science, centered on their startling theory that Brahe was murdered by Kepler.

I haven't personally researched these individuals outside this book, so I don't feel fully qualified to comment on the rather sensational accusation which other reviewers here have dismissed so emphatically.But even from this one book, it's clear that Brahe, although a nobleman, didn't own land or substantial wealth which he could leave to his survivors.His income depended entirely on his professional skills and high reputation, which his children didn't share.So his death was an utter disaster for his family, rendering his wife an implausible suspect, notwithstanding the theories of some reviewers here.Kepler, who by winding up with control of Brahe's unique and immensely valuable body of astronomical observations was the greatest beneficiary of the scientist's death, is at least a plausible suspect.

Some writers have suggested that Brahe's death was an acidental overdose. (Alchemists of the period, and Brahe was one, did employ mercury in various elixirs.)But the Gilders' argument that Brahe owuldn't have accidentally administered the very large does of mercury that killed him I found quite persuasive.

It's unfortunate that the discussion of this book has centered so strongly on the controversy of whether Kepler was the killer, because there's a lot of other interesting material here, all of it skillfully told.The importance of Brahe's contribution to science, the remarkable ingenuity with which Brahe compiled observations actually more accurate than were possible with early telescopes, the analysis of why both Brahe and Kepler still took astrology quite seriously, and the remarkable methods which made it possible to demonstrate beyond serious dispute, 400 years after the fact, that Brahe died of mercury poisoning and not the traditionally supposed bladder or kidney failure, are all clearly described and make the book worth reading even if you can't accept the authors' murder theory.

Annoyingly Slanted.Not Science, But Speculation
When I borrowed a copy of this from the university library (thank God I didn't buy it), I was misled since it was the hardbound edition without the jacket, so all I saw was "Heavenly Intrigue."If I had seen the complete title, I wouldn't have bothered.The authors are truly of this generation, the CSI/forensic-wannabes (every cable channel has them now, very dismaying) who portray the facts from a mystery caper point of view, instead of looking at all the possible factors surrounding Brahe's death.Having read the other reviews, I find it just as compelling that it could have been Mrs. Brahe who had to euthanize him.And Brahe, although popular, had his own share of enemies, from religious extremists to possible other rivals.Maybe even kindergarten enemies, who knows? -- he did have a disfigured nose, a testament to his pugnacious nature.That should have been an obvious clue to the authors.As much as they try to give Kepler his due, they also paint him as a villain, on account of his mental troubles, his moods, etc.Well, I have news for the authors... most scientists have had their psychotic episodes:Newton suffered from depression (and by some accounts, a form of dementia) in his later years; Leibniz was worse off.Boltzmann wound up committing suicide.But the point of all this?Everyone, especially in those times, weren't quite right in the head.Hey, if you were living in war-ridden, plague-infested times, would you really be morally sound and civilized, the way we like to think of ourselves now??I don't think so!!!!!And what is the whole point of this forensic crap??Just to prove Brahe was murdered?To find a culprit, at any costs??To make Kepler the Fall Guy???The same has been said about some who have made important contributions in culture, science, and history, like Caravaggio or George Washington (both suspected and/or accused of murder in their lifetimes).The man lived miserably, and may not have been a saint.Despite Kepler's being obsessive a scientist (or philosopher, depending on your point of view) as he was... which scientist isn't?... he never quite expected to see the same kind of glory as Brahe did.Scientists then didn't enjoy the same prestige that we do now.

In closing, I will say that this book completely annoyed me, because it sought to reduce two of the most important scientific figures down to a scientific rivalry that went astray and resulted into yet another murder story.As storied and tumultuous their relationship was, there is no denying that both Brahe and Kepler's contributions helped usher in the modern era of science.Without them, Newton would not have had his Laws of Motion, Einstein would never have even thought of Relativity, and quantum mechanics may have never existed.Brahe and Kepler's story is so much more than that.Perhaps these so-called science writers (as well as those other investigative writers) should stop speculating -- like what the Da Vinci Code crowd likes to do -- and start thinking, really thinking about stuff that really matters, like the nature of everyday things and the universe.Life is not an endless cycle of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel but really a testament to the first seven days of Creation, and beyond, and how it works.And that is what scientists are primarily concerned about -- not about who's right or wrong.Ultimately, both Brahe and Kepler would have agreed as much.

Wrong Conclusion
I've researched this duo as well, extensively, from a scientific viewpoint, as one who works in a scientific field. The relationship between these two investigators is unique and well worth studying independently, away from the 'whodunnit' scenarios that this book creates.

The duo of Brahe/Kepler is an 'odd-couple'. For a few examples, of which there are countless dozens: Brahe was a showboat, he loved to party, cleanliness was his forte, kept up on his scientific discipline, whereas Kepler hated to bathe, seemed overly introverted, and was prone to reach out to spiritual/astrological notions about atronomical events.

The person most likely to kill Brahe was his devoted wife, whom he virtually ignored. She was the one who administered his medicine on his deathbed. Tycho suffered for days, the pain never went away. And so it was his wife who euthanised him.The author Joshua Gilder ignored the family's role in Tycho's death, as Tycho ignored his family during his life. With many children, all to maintain the observatory, we hear of not one child who was interested in the data he collected, or even suspicious of malfeasance. It's too bad, because in ignoring the role of Tycho Brahe's family, Gilder poorly scandalised a great scientific contributor, Johannes Kepler.

If you are interested in this topic, please conduct your own research, it will be worth it. Because the book is awful. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1871. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), the premier patron-practitioner of science insixteenth-century Europe, established a new role of scientist as administrator, active reformer, and natural philosopher. This book explores his wide range of activities, which encompass much more than his reputed role of astronomer. Christianson broadens this singular perspective by portraying him as Platonic philosopher, Paracelsian chemist, Ovidian poet, and devoted family man. From his private island in Denmark, Tycho Brahe used patronage, printing, friendship, and marriage to incorporate men and women skilled in science, technology, and the fine arts into his program of cosmic reform. This pioneering study includes capsule biographies of two dozen individuals, including Johannes Kepler, Willebrord Snel, Willem Blaeu, several artists, two bishops, a rabbi, and various technical specialists, all of whom helped shape the culture of the Scientific Revolution. Under Tycho's leadership, their teamwork achieved breakthroughs in astronomy, scientific method, and research organization that were essential to the birth of modern science.John Robert Christianson is research professor of history at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he taught history for thirty years. In 1985, Christianson was awarded the Bronze Medal of the League of Finnish-American Societies and received the Alf Mjoen Prize in 1989. In 1995, he was dubbed Knight of the Royal Norweigian Order of Merit by King Harald II. Christianson is a former fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and has held grants from the American Philosophical Society and the National Endowment of the Humanities, among others. He has traveled throughout Scandanavia and has written, edited, or translated several books about Scandanavia and Scandanavian-American topics, as well as articles in Scientific American, Isis, and other journals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An excellent resource
This book is a great resource for those who seek to understand the social background of Denmark on the sixteeenth century. It's not exactly a biography of Tycho, those interested in the astronomer life highlights perhaps would be dissapointed, but if you try to understand the origin and facts of Uraniborg, this book is for you.

In my opinion this is an excellent companion to The Lord of Uraniborg by Victor E. Thoren (Author) and John Robert Christianson (Contributor), also author himself of On Tycho's Island.

To Informative
I had to read this book for an assignment and I found that the book was a little to into detail. The last half of the book is a glossary of people that Tycho was aquainted with. The writing is good, but this book is only for people writing their dissertation on Tycho's life. ... Read more

Product Description
The Solar System: From the renaissance to the Nineteenth Century presents major chapters on Tycho Brahe and the Tychonic world systems, Johannes Kepler, Galileo and the early telescope astronomy of the solar system, Cartesian vortex theory, magnetic philosophy and astronomy, and the Newtonian achievement.There is a glossary of technical terms, as well as an extensive bibliography and thorough index.Published under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union and the International Union for the History and philosophy of Science, this work of great distinction and scholarship will be the standard reference on the historical development of solar system astronomy. ... Read more

Product Description
A ground-breaking study of the astronomical culture of sixteenth-century Europe. It examines, in particular, the ways in which members of the nascent international astronomical community shared information, attracted patronage and respect for their work, and conducted their disputes. Particular attention is paid to the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), known for his observatory Uraniborg on the island of Hven, his operation of a printing press, and his development of a third world-system to rival those of Ptolemy and Copernicus. Adam Mosley examines the ways in which Tycho interacted with a Europe-wide network of scholars, looking not only at how he constructed his reputation through print, but also his use of correspondence and the role that instruments played as vehicles for data and theories. The book will be of interest to historians of science, historians of the book, and historians of early modern culture in general. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume looks at the way in which the development of a viable instrument technology has lain at the heart of astronomical research since the late-16th century. In particular, the concern with precise measurement has largely transcended the concern for purely philosophical considerations in establishing characteristics of the solar system. These articles, therefore, demonstrate how scientists like Tycho, Flamstead, Herschel, Lassell and Aimy recognised the importance of hypothesis, whilst acknowledging that hypothesis needed physical substantiation to produce inductive science. ... Read more

Product Description
A Platonic philosopher, Paracelsian chemist, Ovidian poet, and devoted family man, Tycho Brahe was the last Renaissance man and the first great organizer of modern science. This book provides the fullest portrait available of the research and cultural interests of the man who became the premier patron-practitioner of science in sixteenth-century Europe.Starting from Brahe's well reputed role of astronomer, author Christianson adds lesser known details of the man who was both a geodetic surveyor as well as a garden designer, and ultimately established a new role of scientist as administrator, active reformer, and natural philosopher. Coverage reveals how from his private island in Denmark, Brahe used patronage, printing, friendship, and marriage to incorporate men and women skilled in science, technology, and the fine arts into his program of cosmic reform. Through their teamwork, they achieved breakthroughs in astronomy, scientific method, and research organization that were essential to the birth of modern science.Also included are over 100 capsule biographies of Tycho's clients, coworkers, and friends, including Johannes Kepler, Willebrord Snel, Willem Blaeu, several bishops, and numerous technical specialists all of whom helped shape the culture of the Scientific Revolution. This pioneering exposition will appeal to science history buffs, especially those with an interest in the late Renaissance and will inspire anyone who has a passion for science and a penchant for the world of ideas.John Robert Christianson received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.He was dubbed Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit by King Harald II in 1995. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Fine Social History & Biography
As it needs to be, On Tycho's Island is as much a history of 16th Century Danish society as it is a biography of one of the most dashing characters in the history of science. Tycho's observations, from his "research center" on the remote island of Hven, were made with the naked eye; the goal of such meticulous work was primarily to measure exactly the orbital periods of the planets. These observations were not displaced and supplanted by the next generation of astronomers, who had Galileo's telescope to use. Though Tycho didn't live to see it, his labors were soon consummated by the discoveries of Johannes Kepler.

There's a much larger theme, however, in this book: the funding of Tycho's research. Some antagonists of proactive government these days are fond of claiming that great science in the past was achieved without grants and subsidies from government. Yes, perhaps on some occasions, but Tycho's work was massively funded by the Danish monarchy and its bureaucracy, and later by other princely German governments. Tycho spent as much time and energy supplicating government funds as any modern scientist spends on grant applications. Big science can be expensive. In Tycho's case, no capitalist would have had the slightest interest; nothing from which money could be made could possibly have been expected from the tables of observations from Hven, published on government funds. No explicit argument is thrust upon the reader, suggesting that investment of tax money in basic science is a proper function of any government that can afford it, but that is the obvious implicit conclusion.

Tycho died in Germany, after an all-night "banquet" with his princely patron. The cause of death at the time was considered to be the painful holding of his urine due to the protocol of not mincturating before your liege lord. One can only wonder... Was he suffering from kidney problems, or perhaps in the later stages of prostate cancer? In any case, Tycho has long been one of my personal heroes. In the winter of 1966, I rode a motorcycle all the way from Rome to Denmark just to visit Hven. The ruins of Tycho's observatory turned out to be little more than a few foundation stones. Hven, by the way, is owned by Sweden, a point of huge irritation to the Danes.

A fascinating and scholarly study of Tycho Brahe.
16th century scientist Tycho Brahe receives relatively little mention in modern times: this explores his entire range of scientific activities which go beyond his better-known astronomical explorations. A well-roundedportrait of Brahe the man as well as his many scientific interests and hisworks on his private island is presented in a study which includesintriguing facts on his contemporaries.

Diane C. Donovan

An excellent book about the birth of big science
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Christianson's book about Tycho and the birth of Big Science on the Danish Renaissance island of Hven. The writing is fresh and interesting, the details of daily life are lively, the discussions of patronage and scientific method offer new insight into thepre-telescopic world of astronomy.The illustrations are excellent.Thediscussions of alchemy and astrology are facinating.I especially likedthe story of Tycho's sister's sad romance and his daughter's failedengagement.The biographies of Tycho's "students" and theirlives after Hven show the influences of his scientific method and theinternational character of the scientific world in the 16th and early 17thcentury. Highly reccommended.

A great combination of science and history
I found this book to be readable and informative.As a scientist and a history buff, I enjoyed Christianson's ability to combine the story of the birth of big science with the interesting details of Northern EuropeanRennaisance life. Tycho's Island includes a cast of interesting characters,some who became the stars of the next generation of scientists andastronomers, some who were mapmakers, instrument makers, even printers andpapermakers.The book also includes a picture of Rennaisance life thatmakes Tycho and his familia come alive to the modern reader.The detailsof marriage negotiations, castle building, entertaining and poetry makesthe book a real page-turner.The short capsule biographies at the end ofthe book show the widespread influences of Tycho's brilliant work.Keplermay be the best-known member of this group of assistants, but he is justone of a number of interesting and important characters.

On Tycho's Island is still on the island...
While the author has obviously gathered TONS and TONS of tidbits and certainly has an indepth knowledge of this subject, the communication broke down somewhere in the process of gluing it all together into a book.The first half of the book is interesting if you can get past all of theredundant statements and amazing overuse of the word familia (in annoyingitalics) to describe Tycho's operating principles on his island.If youare totally unfamiliar with how life was during this time, it may be eyeopening, however, if you have read anything about it, it may be eyeclosing. Each chapter in part 1 seemed to loop around itself, just presentingenough new material to prevent me from putting it down for good.Perhapsthe best of this book is part 2 where the author gives thumbnail sketchesof the people he was associated with and worked with on his island of Hven. I felt that it was much more connected and definitely less repetitive. However, I wasn't really looking for a collection of micro-biographies whenI purchased this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more