Uncentering the Earth: Copernicus and The Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres - Couverture rigide

Vollmann, William T.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0393059693 ISBN 13 : 9780393059694

Editeur : WW Norton & Co, 2006

Synopsis

The man and the idea that created modern science, as seen by one of today's most celebrated writers.

In 1543, the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus lay on his deathbed, his just-published masterpiece On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in his hands. At that time, religious doctrine and common sense dictated that the earth ruled the universe, with the sun, moon, planets, and stars all rotating around it. By putting the sun at the center of that cosmology, his book fomented another kind of revolutiona scientific onethat would lead to a completely new view of the universe, and humanity's place in it.

As contemporary cosmologists explore the universe's vastness and the nearly insignificant role we play in it, the repercussions from Copernicus's radical step continue to resound. With the energetic prose and powerful intelligence for which he is known, William T. Vollmann provides an enlightening and readable explication not only of Copernicus's book but also of Copernicus's epoch, and the momentous clash between the two. 20 diagrams.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

William T. Vollmann is the author of The Atlas (winner of the 1997 PEN Center West Award), Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes, and Europe Central. His nonfiction includes Rising Up and Rising Down which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2003, and his novel Europe Central won the National Book Award in 2005.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: WW Norton & Co
• Date d'édition: 2006
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0393059693
• ISBN 13: 9780393059694
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 304
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible