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Best remembered today for the comet that bears his name, Edmond Halley was one of the great scientists of all time. He discovered the proper motion of stars, made important studies of the moon's motion, and his investigations of the Earth's magnetic field and of tides were unrivalled for centuries. Now, in this superb full-length biography, Alan Cook paints an unsurpassed portrait of this preeminent figure.

Halley played a crucial role in the Newtonian revolution in the natural sciences. Indeed, Cook reveals that it was Halley who set the question that led Newton to write the Principia, and who edited, paid for, and reviewed it. The author also describes how Halley's prediction of the transit of Venus led to Captain Cook's voyage to Tahiti and to an accurate calculation of the distance between the Earth and Sun. Perhaps as important, the book examines Halley's personal life, revealing a man who was far from a lab-bound thinker. As ayoung man, he sailed to St. Helena to chart the unmapped stars of the Southern Hemisphere. Moreover, Halley knew the leading artists of his age--Wren, Pepys, Handel, Purcell, and Dryden--and he travelled widely throughout Europe, meeting numerous fellow scientists and serving on a variety of diplomatic missions. He even spent a number of adventurous years as commander of a Royal Naval warship.

Much material about Halley's career has only come to light in recent years.Alan Cook has used this new material to write an illuminating account of the life and times of one of the key scientists of the Enlightenment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Edmond Halley Edmond Halley Edmond Halley
I don't know of any more repetitious dissonance than this effort.I looked forward to an examination of Halley's life, understanding that he left little in the way of personal documentation.That's why I looked to a research scholar.But here we get a smattering of details restated endlessly and a complete dismissal if any attempt at characterization of Halley in the flesh. Halley was, in fact, an intellect, scientist, spy, a cursing seaman, and vigorous modern man in the awakening era of 17th Century England.He wove an interesting path among high political power, great scientists, publishers, shipmates, and London society with almost defiant, irreligious self-assurance. He was married, raised children, and developed Newton's new mathematics into practical results others could understand. We see none of this in Cook's account. The text is dry enough that by midway through I had developed a cough complete with clouds of dust.The author is judiciously reluctant to draw any conclusions or added insight from the details commingled throughout. And the repetition is unbearable.Some statements are made a dozen or more times.It's a cacophony that make one almost dizzy and then, at last, the noise simply ends.If you want more, simply extract any 40 paragraphs at random and string them on at the end.Like the comet, it would just keep going round and round.

A well-deserved work on a fascinating scientist...
An outstandingly thorough and meticulously researched biography of one of history's most outstanding scientists. Matters related to events in Halley's life are notoriously difficult to reconstruct. He was not a pack-rat like Newton or Kepler, and failed to keep thorough diaries like Hooke. Biographers have to rely on the notes of others, public records, and published papers. Cook rises to the occasion and has produced a biographic work that will rival those of of other important scientists of the era.

Though remembered chiefly for the comet that bears his name, Halley was a scientist of extraordinary breadth and depth. Cook reconstructs all the major categories of Halley's productivity. Chapters are devoted to his youth, the year spent at St. Helena mapping the southern stars, his key role in prying the Principia out of Newton, his role in the quest for longitude at sea, his years as the Astronomer Royal, as well as his career on the high seas, both as a ship's captain (civilian) and scientist/explorer. A scientist like Halley demands a biography of considerable scope, and Cook delivers.

As much as any biography I've read, Cook's "Halley" spends considerable space delving into the contemporary zeitgeist. The 30 page opening chapter "Halley's World," is a splendid essay on the culture and spiritual/political/popular world of the late 17th and early 18th century in Great Britain and Europe.

This book is not an easy read, but it is absolutely essential for any student of the golden age of science. Halley lived in Newton's shadow, but was never eclipsed. Cook has done the literary world a great service in this book.

This well researched book gives a rich view of Halley

Edmond Halley is famous for his comet - or more specifically for showing that the comet returned by calculating its orbit. We also know of his relationship with Isaac Newton, and Halley's crucial role in the publishing of Newton's Principia from Westfall's major biography of Netwon.

Alan Cook has produced a well researched and sympathetic biography of Halley. Here we find details of Halley's upbringing, his voyage to St Helena to survey the southern skies and observe a transit of Venus, and his appraisal of Hevelius's observations by naked eye compared with telescopically aided observations. There is a basic account of his marriage (Mary Halley has left little trace behind her) and a good account of Halley's finances. The circimstances of the murder of his father are explored, and once again we are reminded of the autocratic and mercantile flavour of those times.

There is a full account of Halley's sea voyages, undertaken as they were in tiny unstable wooden ships. His mapping of the magnetic deviation of the compass, and of the tides and depth of the sea in the Channel mark Halley as perhaps one of the first government scientists.

Halley's time as the Royal Astronomer is documented, together with his fractious time at the Chester Mint during the recoinage overseen by Newton. Cook provides a mildly critical account of Halley's involvement with the publication of Flamsteed's star catalogue.

Halley is shown as a man of action, a shaper, and a man prepared to trust his judgement in difficult circumstances. This is a sharp contrast to the Newton revealed by Westfall's book, the obsessive and semi-reclusive thinker concerned mainly with his own thoughts.

Halley's world is described, and his interactions with Wren, Hooke, Pepys and the royal households of the time are well documented. The myth of Halley's poverty after his father's murder is laid to rest with some detailed examination of estates, wills and chancery court proceedings.

There are technical details of the Venus transit measurements, and a very welcome analysis of Newton's lunar theory, together with a statistical comparison of the Moon positions of Halley and Flamsteed.

Alan Cook is a scientist and a busy academic administrator. The book is composed in 15 chapters each divided into many sections. One has the image of a busy man typing the odd page or two when possible, and the text does not 'flow' as a narrative. You get the facts with sound judgements backed up by references. ... Read more

Product Description
Today Edmond Halley is known as the scientist whose comet returns every 75 years or so. But he was a man of many talents who did much more than make a prediction about a comet that happen to appear during his time. Probably Halley's biggest impact on history was from an idea for finding the distance to the sun. After viewing a transit of Mercury across the sun's face during a starmapping trip to the southern hemisphere, Halley hit on the idea of timing a transit of Venus in different parts of the world as a way of discovering the distance to the sun. Halley's scheme would eventually send Captain James Cook on his first voyage into the South Pacific aboard Endeavour years after Halley's death.Halley himself made several scientific trips to southern waters. His aim was to investigate the earth's magnetic field, but he was also charged with attempting to discover new lands in the South Atlantic. Beyond a scrap of land many miles off the coast of Brazil, he found nothing new in the way of land. But measurements of the earth's magnetism gave support for his ingenious theory of how the earth is put together.Adventurer Halley also gained fame as an early underwater explorer. He developed a diving bell and a diving helmet and used them under the waters of the English Channel, intending eventually to hunt for sunken treasure.Halley was surely the 17th century's most active promoter of science, serving for years as editor for publications of the influential Royal Society. He is acclaimed for encouraging the reluctant Isaac Newton to publish his ideas about motion and gravity. Altogether, Halley gave the world much more than a name for a speedy comet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A book about a genius.
This book mainly describes the life of Edmond Halley and the accomplishments that he has made throughout his life.It told less about the comet than I anticipated and more about the rest of the life which Iliked.It kept me attracted to the book while I was amazed at the manythings that he had done throughout his life.

This book also told of thetragic side of his life.However, it never expressed what feelings EdmondHalley showed when these things occurred.I would say that it is okay whenyou are dealing with a person of that far in the past.

This book ratesfairly well.Its a little off books like "To Kill A Mockingbird"and is a biography so it shouldn't be like that.Overall, the book wasalso well written, however could get boring at times.It may seldomlytended to explore one area too much leaving the reader bored.I understoodthe book very well and rate it good. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents the life of the seventeenth-century scientist who made predictions about the comet which bears his name and discusses many other important scientific contributions he made. ... 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

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

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Describes the life and varied scientific work of the first man to track a comet's path and accurately predict its return. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1686 Edmond Halley received the manuscript of the Principia from Isaac Newton and several years later predicted the return of the comet that now bears his name using Newton's law of universal gravitation. In 1986 Halley's comet made its fourth appearance since its prediction. These landmark events marking the spectacular achievements of Newton and Halley provide the framework for a reexamination of the circumstances surrounding them. In this volume, eighteen distinguished scholars, including astronomers, physicists, philosophers, and historians of science from several countries, present both new material and fresh interpretations of familiar topics, all considered from humanistic and philosophical vantage points.For decades scholars have been puzzled by Halley's publication at his own expense of Newton's Principia, and by Newton's subsequent relationship with his younger contemporary.The distinguished contributors to this volume not only grapple with these questions but examine such matters as patronage and institutions as well as some of the scientific advances in astronomy, surveying, mechanics, and mathematics that were made possible by Newton and Halley's professional association. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.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

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

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

Product Description
Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text, possible missing pages, missing text and other issues beyond our control. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.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

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

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... 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

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

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Chapters: Edmond Halley, John Flamsteed, Johann Elert Bode, Nevil Maskelyne, Jean Sylvain Bailly, James Bradley, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Roger Joseph Boscovich, Maximilian Hell, Maria Margarethe Kirch, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, Louis Feuillée, Jérôme Lalande, Jean-Baptiste Chappe D'auteroche, Antonio de Ulloa, Barnaba Oriani, Nathaniel Pigott, Johann Karl Burckhardt, Anders Johan Lexell, Edward Pigott, Francesco Bianchini, Michel Ferdinand D'albert D'ailly, Nathaniel Bliss, John Goldingham, César-François Cassini de Thury, Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, Louis Receveur, Nathanael Matthaeus Von Wolf, Dominique, Comte de Cassini, Jacques Cassini, Louis Godin, Joseph Bernard de Chabert, Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux, John Bird, Anthony Shepherd, Honoré Flaugergues, Henry Andrews, Jagannatha Samrat, Jonathan Ben Joseph, Chester Moore Hall, Giovanni Domenico Maraldi, Jacques D'allonville, Edwin Holmes. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 180. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (23 March 1749 5 March 1827) was a French mathematician and astronomer whose work was pivotal to the development of mathematical astronomy and statistics. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five volume Mécanique Céleste (Celestial Mechanics) (17991825). This work translated the geometric study of classical mechanics to one based on calculus, opening up a broader range of problems. In statistics, the so-called Bayesian interpretation of probability was mainly developed by Laplace. He formulated Laplace's equation, and pioneered the Laplace transform which appears in many branches of mathematical physics, a field that he took a leading role in forming. The Laplacian differential operator, widely used in applied mathematics, is also named after...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=344783 ... Read more