Newton: Ackroyd's Brief Lives

Ackroyd's Brief Lives #3

by Peter Ackroyd

When Newton was not yet twenty-five years old, he formulated calculus, hit upon the idea of gravity, and discovered that white light was made up of all the colors of the spectrum. By 1678, Newton designed a telescope to study the movement of the planets and published Principia, a milestone in the history of science, which set forth his famous laws of motion and universal gravitation. Newton’s long-time research on calculus, finally made public in 1704, triggered a heated controversy as European scientists accused him of plagiarizing the work of the German scientist Gottfried Leibniz. In this third volume in the acclaimed Ackroyd’s Brief Lives series, bestselling author Peter Ackroyd provides an engaging portrait of Isaac Newton, illuminating what we think we know about him and describing his seminal contributions to science and mathematics. A man of wide and eclectic interests, Newton blurred the borders between natural philosophy and he was as passionate about astrology as astronomy and dabbled in alchemy, while his religious faith was never undermined by his determination to interpret a modern universe as a mathematical universe. By brining vividly to life a somewhat puritanical man whose desire to experiment and explore bordered on the obsessive, Peter Ackroyd demonstrates the unique brilliance of Newton’s perceptions, which changed our understanding of the world.

Genres: Biography, Science, Nonfiction, History, Physics, Biography Memoir, History Of Science

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Peter Ackroyd CBE is an English novelist and biographer with a particular interest in the history and culture of London.

Peter Ackroyd's mother worked in the personnel department of an engineering firm, his father having left the family home when Ackroyd was a baby. He was reading newspapers by the age of 5 and, at 9, wrote a play about Guy Fawkes. Reputedly, he first realized he was gay at the age of 7.

Ackroyd was educated at St. Benedict's, Ealing and at Clare College, Cambridge, from which he graduated with a double first in English. In 1972, he was a Mellon Fellow at Yale University in the United States. The result of this fellowship was Ackroyd's Notes for a New Culture, written when he was only 22 and eventually published in 1976. The title, a playful echo of T. S. Eliot's Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1948), was an early indication of Ackroyd's penchant for creatively exploring and reexamining the works of other London-based writers.

Ackroyd's literary career began with poetry, including such works as London Lickpenny (1973) and The Diversions of Purley (1987). He later moved into fiction and has become an acclaimed author, winning the 1998 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the biography Thomas More and being shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1987.

Ackroyd worked at The Spectator magazine between 1973 and 1977 and became joint managing editor in 1978. In 1982 he published The Great Fire of London, his first novel. This novel deals with one of Ackroyd's great heroes, Charles Dickens, and is a reworking of Little Dorrit. The novel set the stage for the long sequence of novels Ackroyd has produced since, all of which deal in some way with the complex interaction of time and space, and what Ackroyd calls "the spirit of place". It is also the first in a sequence of novels of London, through which he traces the changing, but curiously consistent nature of the city. Often this theme is explored through the city's artists, and especially its writers.

Ackroyd has always shown a great interest in the city of London, and one of his best known works, London: The Biography, is an extensive and thorough discussion of London through the ages.

His fascination with London literary and artistic figures is also displayed in the sequence of biographies he has produced of Ezra Pound (1980), T. S. Eliot (1984), Charles Dickens (1990), William Blake (1995), Thomas More (1998), Chaucer (2004), William Shakespeare (2005), and J. M. W. Turner. The city itself stands astride all these works, as it does in the fiction.

From 2003 to 2005, Ackroyd wrote a six-book non-fiction series (Voyages Through Time), intended for readers as young as eight. This was his first work for children. The critically acclaimed series is an extensive narrative of key periods in world history.

Early in his career, Ackroyd was nominated a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1984 and, as well as producing fiction, biography and other literary works, is also a regular radio and television broadcaster and book critic.

In the New Year's honours list of 2003, Ackroyd was awarded the CBE.

Reviews

[Julian Worker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Ackroyd demonstrates the unique brilliance of Isaac Newton's perceptions, which changed the understanding of the world.

Having read this book, I'm startled by how much Isaac Newton was able to do during his life not only in science, but as an MP, as the Master of the Royal Mint overseeing the re-coinage of England, and as head of the Royal Society. And yet these activities account for less than half his time, because it seems that in his later years, his real interests lay in Alchemy and biblical prophesy and chronology.

Newton was also a devotee of Arianism i.e. a heretic.

Arianism is a heresy denying the divinity of Christ and originated with the Alexandrian priest Arius ( c. 250– c. 336). Arianism maintained that the Son of God was created by the Father and was therefore neither coeternal with the Father, nor consubstantial.

Newton didn't like people who disagreed with him and cast them into outer darkness, eminent people such as Hooke, Flamsteed, and Leibniz were treated like this.

Despite his vituperative attitude towards anyone who didn't agree with him completely, it should be remembered that he aligned inductive reasoning with mathematics and rigourous experiment. He revolutionised the study of optics and established the principles of celestial mechanics. He explained the nature of the tides, he discovered the laws of gravity, he discovered the infinitesimal calculus, he invented his own telescope.

This book is easy to read and full of anecdotes and information about the genius who was Isaac Newton, although I wouldn't want to have been him despite all his magnificent intellect.

[Jorge Zuluaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una deliciosa y en efecto breve (pero relativamente exhaustiva) biografía de uno de mis héroes intelectuales de todos los tiempos. La leí como vía de escape a la horrible experiencia de volar (soy aerofóbico) y logró su cometido: me mantuvo bastante entretenido (al menos un par de horas) en dos vuelos intercontinentales recientes.

Recomiendo el librito a ojo cerrado para todos los amantes de la ciencia en particular y las biografías de grandes personajes de la historia en general.

Aunque había comenzado a leer la famosa (pero más exigente) biografía de Gale Christianson (que me animaré ahora a terminar o releer) , esta, mucho más concisa y fácil de leer, me permitió hacerme rápidamente a una idea de la persona y la obra de Newton.

Lo que más me sorprendió (pero de lo que ya tenía algunas pistas) es que, como diría John Maynard Keynes (uno de los primeros lectores de sus escritos inéditos sobre alquimia), Newton fue el último "gran mago babilonio y sumerio". Su simpatía con la alquimia y los estudios "cabalísticos" de la biblia, dominaron prácticamente sus días hasta la muerte. Igualmente su creencia ciega en la religión protestante y en particular en el Arrianismo (el rechazo a la doctrina de la trinidad) hasta el borde del fanatismo.

Aún después de leer esta biografía, seguirá siendo para mí un "misterio" si la personalidad de Newton era la de un despota autoritario, incapaz de soportar la más mínima crítica, que despreciaba a sus adversarios o la de una persona introvertida, afable aunque lejana y de una claridad intelectual extrema que lo acompaño hasta sus últimos días. Las evidencias a favor de una visión o de la otra son abundantes. Lamentablemente, la "verdad" (si es que en realidad no era una mezcla indistinta de ambos tipos de personalidad) quedará por siempre falseada por la increíble admiración y al mismo tiempo el odio profundo que sintieron por él quienes lo quisieron y odiaron.

Algunos datos curiosos para rescatar:
- Aprendió a leer muy tarde.
- Era prestamista en la universidad.
- Le aburría la academia y estuvo a punto de no pasar muchos de sus exámenes por estudiar a última hora.
- Sus principales "enemigos": Hooke, Flamsteed y Leibniz, todos importantes para su obra cumbre, los Principia, de los que borró sus nombres en ediciones posteriores.
- Los "Principios Matemáticos" tienen ese nombre en contraste con los "Principia Filosíficos" de Descartes en los que este último solo "especulaba" sobre la naturaleza sin mucho fundamento, algo que Newton consideraba erróneo.
- La historia de la manzana es de autoría del propio Newton que se la contó a uno de sus biógrafos. Personalmente después de leer esta biografía, consideró (sin mucha evidencia) que fue real.
- Hay muchos más retratos de Newton que de casi cualquier filósofo natural de su época y de epocas posteriores. Él mismo se los mandó a confeccionar lo que revela su personalidad un tanto ególatra.
- Fue el primero en llamar gravedad a este fenómeno, pero creía que tenía un origen y naturaleza "divinos", que dios había imprimido en todos los cuerpos la capacidad de atraer a otros (¡puf!)
- Fue secretario y después presidente de la casa de la moneda, donde persiguió falsificadores personalmente, al punto de recibir serias amenazas contra su vida.
- Murió de un cálculo en la vejiga con intensos dolores y aún en su lecho de muerte impidió que le trajeran a un sacerdote para evitar congeniar, ya al borde de la muerte, con la doctrina de la trinidad.

Todo un personaje de novela. ¡Habrá que leer a Christiansen!

[James Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sir Isaac Newton died on this day in 1727. He was born on Christmas day 1642, the posthumous child of an illiterate yeoman farmer. His mother remarried and left him to be raised by his grandmother. At a local school, he distinguished himself by his inventiveness at creating toys and gadgets; it quickly became apparent he had no aptitude for farming. At his teacher’s urging, he was sent to Cambridge, where he so excelled in math that he was appointed a professor at the age of 26. His full genius bloomed during an involuntary vacation forced by the Great Plague of 1665. He experimented with prisms to uncover the nature of light; he worked up the essentials of calculus; and he laid the foundations for a theory of gravitation. Upon his return to the academic world, he began to publish some of what he had learned. Ackroyd points out that Newton took his time to make his mark; indeed, he maintained a secretiveness regarding his work for much of his life. He researched and speculated on alchemy and theology, which thoughts he was probably just as wise not to commit to publication. (In fact, had his religious convictions become known, he would undoubtedly have had to resign his academic post.) He was contentious regarding his scientific opinions resulting in a number of professional feuds, with Robert Hooke, John Flamsteed and Gottfried Leibnitz in particular, that are perhaps the most regrettable blemish on his reputation. Peter Ackroyd provides the historical context to clearly delineate Newton’s salient character traits and make his greatest accomplishments clear to the modern reader. This is a good introduction to Newton in a compact biography of the great English scientist, the third in Ackroyd’s Brief Lives series.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted a biography of Newton that didn't require me to wade through five hundred pages of doorstop, so I opted to try this one. I'm no huge fan of Ackroyd's fiction, but I think he did an exemplary job here -- to the extent that, by the end, it seemed to me that I'd read a better piece of biography than if I'd been reading one of those doorstops. Ackroyd touches all the necessary bases while getting as close to the elusive, secretive, twisted personality of Newton -- who was as much flaw as genius -- as I think anyone could. I wouldn't say this is as entertaining as Edward Dolnick's The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World, which I also read recently (and made notes about here), but it's very readable and surprisingly comprehensive.

[Pavel Annenkov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Отлично написанная биография человека, которого называли "последним из мудрецов". Для меня было интересно узнать, что Ньютон был не только ученым, математиком и астрономом, но еще и десятилетиями руководил английским «Монетным двором» и был председателем «Королевского научного общества», то есть профессиональным менеджером) Действительно, системный и одарённый человек может разобраться практически в чем угодно. Глубокая сосредоточенность на задаче приносит результаты в любой деятельности, что в науке, что в управлении, что в алхимии, которой Ньютон тоже занимался всю свою жизнь. Из книги хорошо видно, какой нужен характер и распорядок жизни, чтобы добиться того, что удалось Ньютону

[Todd Kruse · Rating 4 out of 5]

At just under 200 pages I applaud Ackroyd's able to "write tightly" - a theme I try to instill with my college students. This was a comprehensive and informative biography that flowed like a novel. I very much enjoyed the descriptions of Newton's personality, quirks, and flaws. We all have our quirks and flaws but will any biographer write about them one day? Or perhaps that is something we want to avoid?

As a part-time colleage instructor I was most intrigued by the faculty life Newton lived at Cambridge University. Despite its downsides it is clear that there is value in a nation's ability to be ability to pay academics to experiment, explore, and record their theories and discoveries which hopefully will benefit the world. The downside of course was this same financial stability and academic freedom allowed Newton to become a rather devout alchemist. Instead of studying math all the time Newton and his fellow alchemists should have studied some economics where they would have learned that had then been successful in producing gold from base metals they would have caused a reduced value of gold - a knowledge of the laws of supply and demand is what these mis-guided scientists/hobbyists needed.

[Laura Walin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life of Sir Isaac Newton was an unknown to me, so it felt good to patch this hole in my knowledge. Never really gave it a thought what kind of a man Newton was and how he came to make the great discoveries that he did. The latter remains a bit unclear still after reading this book. Ackroyd clearly does not attempt to popularise science here, and I am left with the impression that somehow Newton just came up of all that he did. Of this I would have liked to read in more depth.

Newton's personality, on the other hand, is well covered. We are lucky that those time allowed for writing of letters and diaries, and that many of these have been preserved to date. They paint a picture of not a very nice man. Newton appears to have been a self-indulgent autocrat who knew his superiority in natural philosophy and wanted to extend that to autocracy in other areas of his life as well.

It was also a surprise for me that Newton's worldview remained very religious despite his discoveries, and his quest for understanding alchemy was also news. So in the end the book made interesting reading despite the somewhat cumbersome style of Ackroyd's, which was not at all helped by the literal transcripts of old letters.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Newton was a complicated and brilliant figure. Because he, perhaps more than any other individual, helped to create the modern scientific age, it is natural that he was not wholly a part of it. His alchemy needs to be understood not in terms of the world he created, but the world from which he came. This biography succinctly describes that world, its impositions on Newton, and his own curious responses to it.

Prior to reading this biography, I did not have an appreciation for his early childhood and its ramifications on his later career. He was basically abandoned, and Ackroyd explores this with more that an cursory overview because, while we will never know, we can assume that the death of his father and the removal of his mother during his formative years created the independence of spirit and the solitary nature so observed by others during his life. He abandoned himself to his studies.

Also curious was to find he was basically a bad student. Brilliant as he was, he studied what we wanted instead of the curriculum, and barely scraped by. In this way, there are more similarities to Einstein than I would have imagined. Finally, Ackroyd ably describes that the brilliant man’s publications were in large part reactionary – correcting or responding to others that he struggled with in the scientific community, mainly Hooke.

This biography is succinctly written, ably researched, and highly recommended. The story of Newton is much more colorful than I would have imagined.

[Joy Weese Moll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isaac Newton is presented in all his brilliance and fiery temper. A small book, the brief life of Newton still manages to tell the tale from birth to death with enough detail to keep it interesting. Newton, in the series Ackroyd’s Brief Lives, is short enough to appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in the life of the man who brought us the notion of forces operating at a distance, like gravity, and defined the way we see along with the tools we use to see things differently.

See the book review on my blog for more thoughts: Newton by Peter Ackroyd

[Nujood AlMulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Rating rounded from 3.5*

Sir Isaac Newton was an incredible man, not doubt about that. I have always been an admirer of his ingenuity, baffled by his mind and immense contributions. I remember choosing mechanical engineering as an undergraduate degree right after the first lesson I had in Physics class on Newton’s mechanics of motion. The utter simplicity, yet profoundness of his three almost intuitive laws made me view the world of science in a completely different way. The day I learned that he was also responsible for inventing calculus, or discovering it [Much to Leibniz’s disagreement], I was just baffled, my appreciation grew stronger. It is unfortunate though that it took me this long to read his biography. I picked up this book in the most wonderful bookstore or book-boat where the owner of an old but beautiful boat has converted it to a bookstore with meticulous selections [Irrelevant, I know but how often can you tell book lovers that there’s a boat out there with loads of good books to buy and a parrot that will greet you inside].

I think Ackroyd did a wonderful job with this biography. It really was short and sweet. He captured Newton the human, rather than Newton the scientist with immense thoroughness in a concise, and yet entertaining manner. He was able to communicate many dry facts with embellishment and witty commentary. He starts from the moment Newton was born, describing that birth as a blessed birth for coinciding with Jesus’s day of birth and describing all the ‘good omens’ that signified greatness early on. He presents Newton’s resounding passion and dedication to his work and his pursuits throughout his life. He explains how his theory of optics emerged after a trip to a market where Newton picked the prism that will lead to his first revelation and ignite his fire further for experimental exploration [PUN INTENDED: he’s acquired his fair share of combustion through his alchemy]. He draws an image of his temperament, of his insecurities, of his core human faults. He follows the progression of self esteem and the evolution of his psyche from his early days in Cambridge to his post knighthood, post prestige days until he reaches his deathbed. He details Newton’s journey through England, from which I was able to design a Newton London Walking Tour which I will hopefully explore soon. I genuinely feel like I not only was able to understand the man behind the myth, but also learn about the Royal Society, the state of scientific query in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, and the nature of elevated, though often unexpectedly ‘catty’ debate, correspondence and expression within that period. The quarrels between Newton and his several enemies: Hooke, Flamsteed and Leibniz, were particularly entertaining. Well that, and the hilarious bonus chapter on his niece’s speculated inappropriate relations with Newton’s employer. The book generally did a wonderful job of deciphering the background workings of a man who carried the burden of the universe on his shoulder. Newton not only translated nature in mathematical form, he created the scientific method, he was obsessed with alchemy and theology, with light and vision, with mechanics, the moon, the forces at work, the unified theory of the universe and Crimson apparently. Newton was unarguably one of the most influential men that ever walked this earth, his contributions, most of them, are cornerstones of the world we live in now.

The only curiosity of mine that Ackroyd did not fulfil, however did address, in very few words, was how Einstein’s contributions reshifted the Newtonian model of the world. It could easily be argued though that this discussion does not belong in a short biography of Newton. It just would’ve been a nice addition given the highly acute temperament of Newton when it comes to being corrected that Ackroyd so vividly described in many incidents.

Overall, I would say this book is a wonderful and short introduction to this great man’s life that does not fail to provide the reader with all the relevant details and anecdotes that would allow them to connect with Newton on a deeper human level.

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Ackroyd is exceptionally skilled at telling stories, and has an excellent grasp of both historical characters and classic literature. This is the third book of Ackroyd's I'm reading, and it is just as smooth and wonderful to read as the previous ones.
Ackroyd tells Newton's life story in some 150 pages, starting from his birth as a lowly yeoman, describing his education, university experiences and participation in the Royal Society, all the way to him becoming and remaining chair of the society until his death.
Newton's life was roughly divided in two - the young Newton was the scientist and genius we are all familiar with, with his research on gravity and optics, while the older Newton revamped the Royal Mint, hunted down counterfeiters, and modernized the chemical processes behind the minting of the currency.
While he was a strongly religious man who could not cope with any sort of criticism, he was also admired for his gentlemanly manners, ability to entertain guests, and ongoing charity towards anyone who wrote him asking for alms.

[Dharmendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

By the age of 25, Isaac Newton had already formulated calculus, conceived the idea of gravity, and discovered that white light is composed of the full spectrum of colors.

Later, with the publication of Principia Mathematica, he established the laws of motion and universal gravitation—scientific achievements for which he is most widely known today.

However, there is a lesser-known side to Newton’s personality. Beyond his groundbreaking scientific work, he served as a Member of Parliament and Master of the Mint. In his later years, much of his focus shifted to alchemy, biblical prophecy, and theology.

Newton often found himself in fierce disputes with contemporaries, including the notable conflict with Leibniz over the invention of calculus. As an administrator, he wielded near-autocratic authority.

Paradox remains, this enigmatic figure—alchemist, theologian, and 'the last of the magicians' —has come to symbolize the ideals of rationality and the scientific method.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Born on Christmas Day in 1642, he saw farther, stood on the shoulders of giants. Saved from a life of managing his Lincolnshire estate, Isaac Newton went to a Grantham grammar school then Trinity College and never looked back. Calculus, telescopes with reflecting lenses, splitting light optics with prisms and of course pondering the wider forces of gravity beyond that tree and that apple. For good measure he goes on to run the Royal Mint and The Royal Society. Even an interest in alchemy helped inform his more grounded pursuits.

“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

[Gary Knapton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing anthropological study of Newton that steers clear of the all-too-easy fawning over a genius. Instead, we get a rather grumpy and pompous bloke whose need of accreditation and love of reputation probably conquer his scientific feats. A petty little clever man. Cambridge gets told as a bit of a slapstick uni where rules of a learning discipline are yet to be established. It's a cool read. It removes the shine and the glory that all too often attach to tales of genius and says - hey - these guys had human faults and were much more like you than the fairytales have had you believe. No maths or science here. A really accessible book. Brings the big guys off the pedestals and right down to earth. The opposite of intimidating.

[Henk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short overview of the life and work of Isaac Newton. The author writes in a unique style which is sometimes bombastic but suits the era he describes. Although the description of Newton’s character is prominent in the book, it also contains a lot of descriptions which are sometimes superfluous. The life of this extaordinary scientist was well known to me but I still got a few facts I did not kwow. I particularly liked the that the author clearly indicates if certain facts are unkown or uncertain. He gives to the reader a list of options and tells you which are, according to him, most likely.

[Matthew Devereux ∞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, a brief biography of Isaac Newton. It was easy to read (you don't have to be an expert in the fields Newton explored to understand what it is about) and painted a portrait of such a complex but brilliant man who achieved so much in his life. I didn't know that he was Master of the Mint or head of the Royal Society so made major advancements in his station in life (and became very wealthy) as I just knew about his tenacity for research. It made me wonder how much else Newton would have worked out if he hadn't wasted his time with alchemy or the Bible. A very readable work that I really enjoyed right from start to finish.

[Namlex · Rating 5 out of 5]

nunca pensé que compartiría ciertos gustos y traumas con el fundador de la matemática jwjsj ya hablando enserio yo pensé que no habría sufrido nada mas que las enfermedades que azotaron en su época, lo tenia casi como un hombre que nació con talento y le cayó todo a su favor.

su" trauma " por el abandono de su madre (en eso ambos pasamos lo mismo TT TT) la ansiedad de tener todo bajo control, no tolerar las críticas, ser prácticamente un ermitaño durante su época estudiantil y tener una obsesión con la alquimia que era tan rechazada fue tan real(? no se como escribir lo que me hizo sentir pero me sentí tan atrapada por su historia.

[Ian Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a good overview of the character and life of Issac Newton, a prickly character who made enemies far more easily than he made friends. Where this book falls down is his description of his scientific discoveries, which is optics, the 3 laws of motion, and, of course, gravity. It is difficult to describe his achievements in a manner that will be understandable to laymen (like myself), but in a book about Newton, it needs to be done, and this is where Ackroyd falls short. Apart from that, it is short and readable and by the end of the book I felt I knew Isaac Newton the man.

[Dhana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise biography of Sir Isaac Newton that celebrates his brilliance and provides insight into his life beyond his scientific achievements. The book highlights his famous contributions to science - gravity, mechanics, calculus, optics, and many more - while also discussing his fringe pursuits in alchemy and theology.

Newton is presented as a self-made prodigy despite having a difficult upbringing - he was born premature, had a sickly infancy, his father died 4 months before he was born and his mother lived away from him for much of his youth. As an adult, he comes across as a flawed genius with an authoritarian streak, a fiery temper, and an inability to accept criticism. These traits caused several professional feuds throughout his life, many of which seemed to have been triggered by rather petty circumstances.

While adoring the adulation he received, Newton was guarded about publishing his work and a perfectionist when he did so. This is evident with his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, considered one of the most important works in the history of science, which was first published in 1687 but continued to be revised and perfected by Newton resulting in a second edition in 1713 and a final edition almost 4 decades later in 1726.

As the preeminent natural philosopher of his time, Newton became the President of the Royal Society in his later years. He also held other lesser-known public positions including a member of Parliament for Cambridge University and head of the Royal Mint, which included responsibilities for developing a new coinage system for Great Britain as well as the pursuit of counterfeiters.

The book relies mainly on correspondence and journals of Newton and his counterparts, quite frequently quoting verbatim from them in archaic English that does disrupt the narrative flow at times. Despite this, it is a recommended quick read that is easily accessible and neatly signposts the key facts, both well-known and obscure, in the life of Sir Isaac Newton.

[Daniel Caballero López · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una biografía del gran Isaac Newton, nos habla de la persona dando explicación a todos los aspectos de su vida, donde vivió en Londres, a que sitios frecuentaba y porque de su aislamiento social en algunos tramos de su vida.

Me ha gustado este libro para conocer mas sobre el gran genio, alquimia, estudio de la biblia ocupaban su vida, pero siempre separó estos 2 temas de su trabajo como científico, sus estudios cambiaron el mundo.

Recomiendo este libro para aprender mas sobre Newton.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise yet complete biography of Sir Isaac Newton. I have huge gaps in my education in mathematics and I have never studied his life. This was a most informative book about a man born approximately three hundred years before me. It was not the first book written by Peter Ackroyd which I have read and enjoyed.

[James Bulman-May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isaac Newton foresaw Einstein's final unified theory of the connections betwen the basic forces of the universe. To make his mark in a world unprepared for his discoveries, he developed a personality that did not suffer fools. Peter Ackroyd offers interesting psychological insights into a complex personality whose contributions to science made history.

[Brice Fuqua · Rating 5 out of 5]

British historian’s biography of the famous scientist. Not comprehensive, but a good introduction to the life of a man who spent as much time on alchemy and religion as he did on scientific discovery.

[Wiebke Kuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and to the point, this biography covers the main accomplishments while hinting at some of the oddities and secrets surrounding Newton's life. It does not speculate, rather, it points out where others have speculated. Good introduction to Newton's work.

[Rohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I don't know what I may seem to the world but, as to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

[Richard Marney · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Peter’s usual style, a highly readable but shallow history of arguably the most brilliant man of the last thousand years. As a first read, a worthwhile book. For more advanced students on the man and his achievements, skip it.

[Raymond Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of Newton's achievements, which (apart from gravity) surprised me: the colours of the spectrum; calculus; the telescope; basic principles for scientists; reform of the Royal Mint! To top it off he was an Alchemist and believer, searching for the mystical principle behind it all.

[Tim Newey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Excellent" - Account of "Sir Isaac Newton" - "Enjoyable" - "Awesome!"..

[DeaFlourishment · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una manera ágil e interesante para introducirse a la vida de este revolucionario autor que modificó la concepción de la física.

[Babak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author was more interested in where he stayed and visited in London (or UK) than his actual personal life.
The book is a emotionless compilation of event, letters and Newton's writting.