The story of Galileo is at once inspiring and troubling. The brilliant astronomer was a celebrated scientist who was showered with honors and patronage until his greatest discovery--that the earth circled the sun rather than the other way around--proved to be too much of a threat to prevailing orthodoxy. Peter Sis, author of the wonderful children's book Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus, tells Galileo's tale for children ages 8 and older. A brilliant and sophisticated illustrator and a sensitive storyteller, he traces Galileo's life from childhood to his final days as a prisoner of the church. (Click to see a sample spread. © 1996 by Peter Sis. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.) (Ages 8 and older)

A short biography of one of the most infamous people of the past century Galileo Galilei - A Short Biography for Kids who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution.

A short biography of one of the most infamous people of the past century Galileo Galilei - A Short Biography for Kids who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution.

Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico e copernicano di Galileo Galilei

Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico e copernicano di Galileo Galilei

The scientific innovations of Galileo Galilei are pivotal to our understanding of the laws of the natural world. Drawing on his diverse studies in philosophy, mathematics, mechanics, music, astronomy, and engineering, Galileo developed revolutionary theories that thoroughly changed the disciplines of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and technology. Galileo Galilei traces the great scientist's education, describes his maverick experiments in Padua and Pisa, and recreates the ingenious pathway of his famous discoveries. Often censored and imprisoned for his radical ideas that clashed with fundamental Church doctrines, Galileo persisted in his pursuit of scientific truths to bestow upon future generations the inspiration to challenge conventional views. His theories about the motions of falling bodies, his study of pendulums, and his major discoveries in astronomy made with a self-built telescope are all clearly explained in this volume. Heavily illustrated with photographs, graphics, and technical schemes, Galileo Galilei also features a number of sidebars elucidating important details of the great mans contributions.

Oxford Portraits in Science is a collection of scientific biographies for young adults. Written by top scholars and writers, each biography examines the personality of its subject as well as the thought process leading to his or her discoveries. These illustrated biographies combine accessible technical information with compelling personal stories to portray the scientists whose work has shaped our understanding of the natural world.

His biography of Galileo won the Brage Award for best Norwegian non-fiction book in 2001

The Norwegian edition has sold nearly 6000 copies

Biographies as a genre are very popular

From dust jacket notes: "In every age there are courageous people who break with tradition to explore new ideas and challenge accepted truths. Galileo Galilei was just such a man - a genius - and the first to turn the telescope to the skies to map the heavens. In doing so, he offered objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun....In his amazing new book, Peter Sis employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. Sis tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, an in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth."

A drama about the confrontation between two great men who changed history. The focus of the book centers around the epic struggle between the great Tuscan Galileo and his arch-opponent and one-time-friend, Pope Urban VIII--now prince of a church threatened by Galileo's new science. In this surprising, original, and thought-provoking work, we see the forces that doomed Galileo and vindicated the Pope's authority, but weakened it in the end.