Kevin's Weblog

Since I was already immersed in the period, it seemed like it would be interesting to read this biography, but after reading 2600 pages where Newton figures as a major character, at <200 pages this book turned out to be a bit of a lightweight. I imagine that for many people this is a good, quick introduction to Newton, but I found that I didn’t learn anything new about him.

I was really hoping that Gleick would spend at least a chapter on Newton’s alchemical ambitions, but instead he just alludes to it occasionally throughout the book, without actually spending any time talking about it. His religious philosophy gets a similar treatment. Perhaps eventually I’ll pick up one of the more substantial biographies of Newton, but it probably won’t happen any time soon.