Hawking, Stephen "A Brief History of Time"

Hawking, Stephen "A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes" - 1988

This was one of the most difficult books for me that I ever read. I've been meaning to read it for ages but never really was ready for it. I'm not sure whether I ever will be but I managed to read it. And I did even understand part of it. I'm not a scientist. I'm one of those people who could have been going through school happily without even a single science lesson. Instead, I lived in a country where you have to take biology, physics and chemistry all through middle school (grade 5 to 10) and high school (grade 11-13). Nowadays, you can opt for just one of them in high school but then take two foreign languages. Which both my boys did and I would have done had I had that chance.

It was interesting to read especially about black holes and all the planets. I might have been more interested in astronomy in school.

Anyway, I read somewhere that this book can make you feel more stupid and more educated at the same time. I was trying to find the person who said that but can't. If you know (or are) the one, please, let me know. Because - I agree wholeheartedly.

All in all, I'm happy to have finished the book even though it was a really hard one. And it taught me one thing. I'll never be a scientist.

From the back cover:

"Was there a beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? These are just some of the questions considered in the internationally acclaimed masterpiece by one of the world's greatest thinkers. It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time - from the Big Bang to black holes, via spiral galaxies and string theory. To this day A Brief History of Time remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and clear language continues to introduce millions to the universe and its wonders.

Since its first publication in 1988, and its last revision in 1996, there have been some remarkable new discoveries in physics. This new edition includes updates from Stephen Hawking with his latest thoughts about the No Boundary Proposal and offers new information about dark energy, the information paradox, eternal inflation, the microwave background radiation observations, and the discovery of gravitational waves."

Brecht, Bertolt "Life of Galileo"

Brecht, Bertolt "Life of Galileo" (German: Das Leben des Galilei) - 1938

An epic play about the life of Galileo Galilei, his discoveries, his conflicts with the Catholic Church, his conflicts with himself and the rest of the world. Brecht wrote this in exile in Denmark and later translated it into English himself.

I am not a big fan of reading plays, they should be played rather than read, in my opinion. However, I think this play is a lot more, Brecht doesn't' just write about the conflicts of Galileo, he writes about his own conflicts with his home country, with the evil that was going through it at the time, so it is a very interesting story and a very worthy book to read.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"Along with Mother Courage, the character of Galileo is one of Brecht's greatest creations, immensely live, human and complex. Unable to resist his appetite for scientific investigation, Galileo's heretical discoveries about the solar system bring him to the attention of the Inquisition. He is scared into publicly abjuring his theories but, despite his self-contempt, goes on working in private, eventually helping to smuggle his writings out of the country.

As an examination of the problems that face not only the scientist but also the whole spirit of free inquiry when brought into conflict with the requirements of government or official ideology, Life of Galileo has few equals.

Written in exile in 1937-9 and first performed in Zurich in 1943, Galileo was first staged in English in 1947 by Joseph Losey in a version jointly prepared by Brecht and Charles Laughton, who played the title role. "

Sobel, Dava "Galileo's Daughter"

Sobel, Dava "Galileo's Daughter: A Drama of Science, Faith and Love" - 2000

A very interesting book. Although, we thought the title is not entirely correct since this book is more about Galileo himself than about his daughter.

However, the life Galileo led is portrayed very well. He was a brilliant mind - and so was his daughter. The book describes the time and the difficulties scientists had to deal with as well as the different circumstances in which people lived at the time. The choice women had was not great, well, almost non-existent. They could either marry or enter a convent. They had to deal with a lot of illnesses, including the plague. The inhabitants of the Franciscan convent had to endure a hard life, they almost starved themselves to death because of their poverty. They showed tremendous courage.

I liked this book very much because I love reading about people in different times. We agreed that most of us would never have picked up this book if it wasn't for the book club.

My favourite quote: "The Bible is about how one goes to Heaven - not how Heaven goes." (page 65)

We discussed this in our international book club in September 2006.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover:

"Galileo Galilei is famous for many things: for his science (Einstein called him the 'father of modern physics'); for his flamboyant style (he wrote in Italian not Latin, enlivened texts with rough humour, argued loudly in staged debates) and for his harsh treatment by the Catholic Church. What's less well known are the details of his private life - a life that, as Dava Sobel points out in Galileo's Daughter, was just as complex as the scientist's public life. Galileo had three illegitimate children; the book's title refers to the oldest, Virginia, later Suor Maria Celeste (she took the name in acknowledgement of her father's fascination with the stars). Unable to marry because of her illegitimate status, Virginia entered a convent at 13 and maintained a lifelong correspondence with her father. Sobel has translated Virginia's surviving letters for the first time and, combining those letters, commentary, and gorgeous illustrations, she sets out in Galileo's Daughter to illuminate a different side of Galileo, the father deeply committed to his daughter and to her faith."

Mulisch, Harry "The Discovery of Heaven"

Mulisch, Harry "The Discovery of Heaven" (Dutch: De ontdekking van de hemel) - 1992

An extraordinary book that touches many different subjects. Science, technology, war, religion, philosophy, social values, politics, intelligence, adolescence, family life.

The story of two men and a woman, a child, a quest for the meaning of life.

An almost epic tale. Not exactly an easy read but well worth it.

Some quotes I really liked (my translations will probably not be the same as in the book, therefore I add the original Dutch text in brackets):

When the extraordinary becomes the everyday norm, a revolution is going on. (Wanneer het onmogelijke het dagelijkse wordt, is er een revolutie aan de gang.)

On political parties
In Cuba, you could learn the meaning of radicalism. In the United States, the left wing of the Democratic Party was still more right than a right-wing party in the Netherlands, and a party as right as the Republican Party, let alone its right wing, didn't exist here in a serious way, but in Cuba the regime was considerably more left-wing than even the Communist Party in the Netherlands. (Op Cuba kon je de betekenis van het woord radicaliteit leren. In de Verenigde Staten was de linkervleugel van de Democratische Partij altijd nog rechtser dan een rechtse partij in Nederland, en een partij zo rechts als de Republikeinse Partij, laat staan haar rechtervleugel, bestond hier helemaal niet op een serieuze manier; maar op Cuba was het bewind nog aanzienlijk linkser dan in Nederland zelfs de communistische partij.)

On people in different seasons
The people looked sullen and unhappy ... Can you think of Chopin or Stravinsky in such a climate? They would not have existed in any case, and further, there was never anything important imagined or invented ... (De mensen keken nors en ontevreden … Waren Chopin of Strawinsky denkbaar in zo'n klimaat?  Ze waren er in elk geval niet verschenen, en ook verder was er nooit iets belangrijks bedacht of uitgevonden … )

On the meaning of life
Why was there actually something rather than nothing? If everything still came to an end, what sense did it make that there had ever been anything? Had there actually been anything? If one day there would be no more people, no one who could remember anything, could you say that anything ever had happened? ... (Waarom was er eigenlijk iets, en niet niets? Als alles toch voorbij ging, wat had het dan voor zin dat her er ooit was geweest?  Was het er dan eigenlijk wel geweest? Als er op een dag geen mensen meer zouden zijn, niemand meer die zich nog iets kon herinneren, kon je dan zeggen dat er ooit iets was gebeurd? …)

From the back cover:

"This magnificent epic has been compared to works by Umberto Eco, Thomas Mann, and Dostoyevsky. Harry Mulisch's magnum opus is a rich mosaic of twentieth-century trauma in which many themes -- friendship, loyalty, family, art, technology, religion, fate, good, and evil -- suffuse a suspenseful and resplendent narrative.

The story begins with the meeting of Onno and Max, two complicated individuals whom fate has mysteriously and magically brought together. They share responsibility for the birth of a remarkable and radiant boy who embarks on a mandated quest that takes the reader all over Europe and to the land where all such quests begin and end. Abounding in philosophical, psychological and theological inquiries, yet laced with humor that is as infectious as it is willful, The Discovery of Heaven lingers in the mind long after it has been read. It not only tells an accessible story, but also convinces one that it just might be possible to bring order into the chaos of the world through a story."

This novel was voted best Dutch book ever.

We discussed this in our international book club in February 2004.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.