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Dava Sobel
Galileos Daughter
This is a most unusual biography about Galileos daughter. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was regarded by Albert Einstein not only as the father of modern physics but as the father of all modern science. His eldest child, Virginia, mirrored Galileos own brilliance, industry and sensibility, and by virtue of these qualities became his confidante. Their correspondence, reproduced throughout the book, reveals their intense relationship, based on tender attachment and intellectual stimulation. The little-known life of Maria Celeste gives a human dimension to one of the major seventeenth-century scientists. His struggle with the Church is a lasting symbol of the conflict between science and religion. Galileos Daughter offers a powerful account of papal Rome and of Florentine intellectual life during the time of the Medicis. Dava Sobel is a writer who lives in New York
Maxime Schwartz
How the Cows Became Mad
Fear of the condition popularly known as mad cow disease has created a state of collective hysteria: some consumers are so afraid of contracting the disease that they have stopped eating beef; others havent stopped eating beef simply because they believe it is too late to do anything to prevent catching the illness. This book examines the outbreak of this disease and concludes with the reply to the question that is on everyones lips: Should we be afraid? Maxime Schwartz teaches at the Institut Pasteur, in Paris.
