Product Description
Robert Hooke is best known for his studies of light, sound, and microscopic beings. Sometimes called Englands Leonardo da Vinci, Hookes works included detailed drawings and descriptions of his observations of nature, and he was a creative genius and inventor. Although Hooke had enemies who felt that he did not deserve credit for his experiments, he never stopped working and studying. Robert Hooke devoted his life to learning more about the modern world, and many of his findings are used today. ... Read more

Product Description
Robert Hooke stood out as an inventive, versatile, and prolific scientist and architect in an age of brilliant minds. But for three hundred years his reputation has been overshadowed by those of his two great contemporaries, his friend Sir Christopher Wren and his rival Sir Isaac Newton. He was an inventor, astronomer, and anatomist, as well as a candid diarist, braggart, hoarder of money and secrets, and an implacable rival.
In Stephen Inwood’s biography of this forgotten genius, Hooke and his world are vividly recreated with all their contradictions, successes, and failures. The Forgotten Genius is an absorbing and compelling study of this unduly overlooked man.
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Customer Reviews (4)

Robert Hooke Biography
I found this review of the life of Robert Hooke to be quite fascinating.His breadth of interest and commitment to science was far greater than that of anybody else in that period.He laid out the pattern for our modern understanding of the universe.Interestingly, most scientists have never heard of him, or are only aware of his work in passing. The book is an eye-opener.

Evocative History of Science
A thoroughly readable and enjoyable book about the intellectual colleague and contemporary of Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton in 17th century London.The writing is witty and engaging and provides a vivid look at the social, scientific and physical structure of London after the Great Fire.I especially enjoyed the author's humorous descriptions of the machinations behind the scenes of the Royal Society and the often dangerous and bizarre experiments that Hooke and others would perform for the Society.A great peep into the development of many engineering, physics, astronomical chemistry and architectural discoveries.

A biography well worth your time
This book provides a great deal of information about Robert Hooke not only as a contributor to modern science, but as a person during his lifetime. The issue of Newton being an antagonistic force in Hooke's life is emphasized greatly, and helps the reader understand how much power Hooke had to exert in order to make his ideas and discoveries known.

The book is enjoyable due to the fact that it does not solely focus on the science related aspect of Hooke's career. Having known little about him before I opened the book, I was surprised to find that he had a great deal of influence on structural architecture during the seventeenth century. The book provided me with a substantial amount of knowledge regarding Hooke's inventions and discoveries, as well as his personal feelings and reactions to certain people or occurrences, through the many quotations of his present throughout the reading.

This book is a fantastic source for one who is interested in learning about every aspect of Hooke's life, from the contributions to science as a general subject to his contributions to architecture and his involvement in technology during his time period. Not only was I able to gain a better understanding of the scientist and inventor within Hooke, but I was also able to understand him as a person and his life as well.

The Man Who Knew Too Much
As a physics teacher, I had been well aware of Robert Hooke.Every year I teach Hooke's Law of elasticity to my students.Additionally, I had been aware of the importance of his book Micrographia and, since I consider myself a bit of a student on Isaac Newton, I had known something of his conflict with Newton over the Principia.However, I admit my knowledge of Hooke was sketchy.As a student of scientific history, I wanted that rectified so I turned to this book.It was certainly a rewarding experience.

Without a doubt, I learned much more than I ever knew about Robert Hooke and I gained a new respect for the man.Hooke's areas of interest were wide and his curiosity unbounded.I was completely unaware of his work with Christopher Wren and his own contributions to architecture and the reconstruction of London after the Great Fire.Additionally, I came to admire his willingness to stand behind the virtues of science (as in his prescient speculations on evolution) in the face of religious prejudice.And, apart from learning about Hooke, this book gives a deeper understanding of what it was like to be a working scientist in the early years of scientific exploration.It is certainly an excellent example of scientific biography.

There are a couple weaknesses with the book that kept coming back to me as I read, however.The first has to do with style; particularly, the style that I've noticed most often in British histories of science.Namely, the overabundance of information.This book is packed with detail.Much more detail than is really necessary in telling Hooke's story.Inwood often used Hooke's diary to make excellent points about the man often with respect to his day-to-day life, relationships and personalities but he also used it to excess in describing the myriad details of Hooke's work and investigations.Fortunately, I'm used to this style of writing and even enjoy it to an extent but even I found some of the lists of Hooke's doings and travels tedious going.

Still, it is the second flaw I find to be much more serious.One of Inwood's main goals seems to be to rehabilitate Hooke and give him his rightful place among history's great scientists.In this, I feel Inwood failed.In England this book was published as The Man Who Knew Too Much and this seems to me to be about right.But in America we say "a jack of all trades and a master of none."Hooke never comes across to me as a genius.Extraordinarily energetic and technically brilliant, he didn't seem to me to have the kind of mind that Newton and Huygens had.Perhaps if he had focused his abilities more he would have had their kind of triumphs but I doubt it.

And Inwood did nothing to dispel the image of Hooke as a bitter man who tried to claim the better work of others as his own.The repetition of Hooke's own claims to priority in his diary, letters and in the Royal Society records are probably only a fraction of the claims he made in his life and these alone are tedious.Inwood tries to make the point that the bitter man history describes could not have maintained the kind of friendships Hooke did in his life but I find that to be an argument without merit.Even the worst men have friends and Hooke was by no means a bad man.Inwood's book gives a picture of a lower class man trying throughout his life to gain the respect of the upper class and basically failing.We can sympathize with Hooke's struggles but that does not change the fact that, though often unfairly treated, many of his problems were of his own making.

In the final analysis, however, this is a very worthwhile book for anyone interested in the history of science.Hooke was, in his own way, an amazing man and it is fascinating to see this revolutionary time in science through the eyes of one of its most important supporters.In Hooke we see the forerunner of every man and woman who puts their all into science and tries tirelessly to make great discoveries.He may not be at the pinnacle but he deserves his place in scientific history. ... Read more

Product Description
Micrographia - Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries Thereupon is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Robert Hooke is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Robert Hooke then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beware - No Illustrations
Just a quick note to potential buyers - this copy has none of Hooke's brillant illustration. I would think twice before buying this version. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1665, Micrographia is the most famous and influential work of English scholar ROBERT HOOKE (1635-1703), a notable member of the Royal Society and the scientist for whom Hooke's Law of elasticity is named. Here, Hooke describes his observations of various household and biological specimens, such as the eye of a fly and the structure of plants, and became the first person to use the term cell in biology, as the cells in plants reminded him of monk's living quarters. In addition to his studies using a microscope, Hooke also discusses the heavenly bodies as visible through a telescope. Students of science and the history of science will find Hooke's early forays into biology and optics a good primer for further learning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Illustrations
I was relieved to find this book contained Hooke's beautiful illustrations, but their quality is poor-- like bad photocopies.

The Most Famous Work of Robert Hooke and a Historical Primer for the Microscopic Study of Minute Bodies
Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703) was a contemporary of Sir Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, and others. Robert Hooke is best known from Hook's Law of Elasticity for studying springs, however, he did more than just study displacement of bodies via forces. Here in "Micrographia" (1665) you get a better mix of the stuff he studied. He can be considered to be one of the fathers of biology because he was the first to coin the term "cell" for minute bodies. His studies on insects and plants in his studies of minute bodies with a microscope are essentially biological descriptions of these minute bodies.Here he studies and gives multiple descriptions from insects to the moon.Alchemy, studies of the air, nature of light and colors, and discourse on stars are just a few things you will find in "Micrographia". Also, it should be noted that Robert Hooke contributed to Newton's studies in light with observations found here in "Micrographia".

Side Note:As was usual of scientists of the time, scientists before his time, and later up to the scientists of the twentieth century, references to God can be found throughout the text as the "Creator" and other titles.

This edition of the book is an early edition of "Micrographia" and contains the full text and also the respective illustrations to further assess Robert Hooke's descriptions of minute bodies. On my copy, only Schemes (illustrations) 29, 34, and 35 were missing. The whole text, on the other hand, was there. On my comments I give more information on where to find a free complete copy of "Micrographia" with all of the Schemes (illustrations).

Here is generally what you will find in the "Micrographia":

He looks at the following under the microscope, and/or, describes: pin heads; razor's edges as rough ends; design if the linen cloth; silk and discusses the differences in coloring; glass canes; discourse on the nature of solids and fluids; discourse on heat as a property of vibrating and agitating bodies (12) ; congruity and incongruity in bodies (10-32); details on how to make a "thermometer"; glass working; studies sparks from flint striking steelwhere the "spark" ends up being a piece of flint or steel; discourse on color, light, optics, and the eye; creatures in sand; frozen bodies and creatures; snow; Kettering stone and inanimate porous substances; charcoal - characteristics and combustion residues; discourse on combustion; "alkali" (104); discourse on flames;

He looks at the following under the microscope, and/or, describes: petrified bodies; the "Plastic Virtue" - "nature does nothing in vain"; Corks; the term "cell" is first used (113); discourse on the physical organization of al vegetables; anatomy of plants; microscopic details of pants; "putrefaction" and the process of creation of species of plants and animals (123-125); first principles of vegetation arising from "putrefaction" (125-131); all physical bodies may be resolved to Air-Water-Earth (133); sponges and fibrous bodies;Aristotle is mentioned (138); sea weed; Rosemary and other leaves; needles of venomous plants; seeds; types of hair and skin; scales of fishes; bee stings; feathers; feet of flies and other insects; nature is viewed to work mechanically (171-172); discourse on structure and motion of fly and bee wings; eyes and head of a fly, dragon-fly, ant, and others; snail teeth; silk work eggs; Gnat (a water insect); moths; spiders; ants; mites; worms; fleas; eels;discourse on the sun and moon's characteristics via a telescope; experiments of air and it's effects on rays of light such as refraction; the Torricellian experiment mentioned (222); experiments on the expansion of air with mercury; discourse on the atmosphere and clouds and how they affect the rays of light; stars discovered by telescope; description of the moon as having "pits" how light comes from the sun to the moon (243); the moon is affected by gravity, but it's motion is not dependent on the motion of the earth (246)

Overall, this is a historical work that should be read by anyone interested in early microscopic studies of minute bodies and also to read the words of the giant named Robert Hooke. He definitely placed some foundations for the field that would eventually be called Biology by writing about what he saw under his light microscope.
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Product Description
All physicists are familiar with Hooke's law of springs, but few will know of his theory of combustion, that his Micrographia was the first book on microscopy, that his astronomical observations were some of the best seen at the time, that he contributed to the knowledge of respiration, insect flight and the properties of gases, that his work on gravitation preceded that of Newton's, that he invented the universal joint, and that he was an architect of distinction and a surveyor for the City of London after the Great Fire.

England's Leonardo is a biography of Hooke covering all aspects of his work, from his early life on the Isle of Wight through his time at Oxford University, where he became part of a group who would form the original Fellowship of the Royal Society. The author adopts a novel approach at this stage, dividing the book by chapter according to the fields of research-Physiology, Engineering, Microscopy, Astronomy, Geology, and Optics-in which Hooke applied himself. The book concludes with a chapter considering the legacy of Hooke and his impact on science. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of a brilliant, largely forgotten, maverick - a major figure in the 17th - century cultural and scientific revolutions. Robert Hooke was an engineer, surveyor and scientist who was appointed London's Chief Surveyor after the Great Fire. He worked tirelessly with his great friend Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild London throughout the 1670s, personally creating some notable public and private buildings. Like his friends, Wren and Boyle, he was also a prominent experimentalist; he became the first Curator of Experiments at the Royal Society in London; he was the propounder of Hooke's Law of elasticity, co-discoverer of Boyle's Law for gases, designer of an early balance-spring watch, and a virtuoso performer of gruesome public anatomical dissections of animals. As his intimate and confessional diary records, Hooke's life was rich with melodrama. He came to London, fatherless, aged 13 to seek his fortune. He never married but formed a long-running illicit relationship with his niece (his housekeeper).A dandy and a man of restless energy, a workaholic and an inveterate socialiser, he was a well-known man-about-town, an enthusiastic daily imbiber of the designer drugs of the time: coffee, tea, chocolate and tobacco; he took cannabis for his headaches, and worked late into the night fuelled by "poppy water" (opium). In later life he became unkempt and bedridden by illness, but maintained his social and intellectual activities. He argued with most of his peers, but his closest friendship, with Wren, remained unscathed. After violent rows with Sir Isaac Newton his name was wiped from the records of the Royal Society and his portrait destroyed after his death.Amazon.com Review
History hasn't been particularly kind to Robert Hooke. Inescapably linked to Sir Isaac Newton, with whom he famously feuded, Hooke was also a notable associate of surveyor Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Boyle, the father of modern chemistry. Gifted in everything from architecture to anatomical dissection, he perhaps spread his knowledge too thin to have had a towering impact on any one field. His versatility combined with an impolitic personality damaged Hooke's standing in his lifetime and, author Lisa Jardine convincingly contends, in the centuries since his death. Jardine, the author of On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Life and Tumultuous Times of Christopher Wren , once again delves deep into the 17th century to resurrect the reputation of "a founding figure in the European scientific revolution." A London-based professor of renaissance studies, Jardine brings great enthusiasm to her task, even embarking on some detective work to discover what she convincingly contends is a long-lost painting of Hooke, whose appearance had heretofore been limited to unflattering descriptions by his contemporaries. As readable as it is thoroughly researched, The Curious Life of Robert Hooke will stand for some time as the definitive account of one of history's great dabblers. --Steven Stolder ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Interesting, but unsatisfying...
I was looking for a good introduction to Hooke and his contributions, and got part of that. Lisa Jardine shows us a man of great energy, great diversity, great precision and artistry. Yet as she tells the story she writes out of a background of knowledge of Hooke which she doesn't detail for us. For example: apparently Hooke had a long-standing interest in a universal language - but we only notice this at the end of the book; apparently he had a pattern of contesting prior discoveries, but she doesn't exhibit this pattern for us; the zenith telescope seems to be very important for Hooke - it's not shown why here.
Coupled with the fact that her plan is not chronologically structured, the timeline is not all that clear to me as a reader, but rather I have a cloudy impression of Hooke's life read out of the largely inimical view of Newton and the self-obsessed Royal Society with their treatment of Hooke as a rather difficult servant, toally at their beck and call.
I'm glad to have read the book - but I'm keen to read a better one.

The Curious Life of Robert Hooke
Definitely not for the casual reader or the faint-hearted but an excellent read all the same. You will need to be pretty curious about Mr. Hooke and his cantankerous personality to navigate this book. The extensive use of quotes from original texts and letters provides the story with authenticity that is admirable but sometimes, makes it a little laborious read. I suspect it is important to understand how Hooke was hooked on patent medicines and opiates, not to say the odd heavy metal, but constantly reading about his vomiting habits is not for the squeamish, particularly at the breakfast table. However this is a great read and I came out of it feeling more sympathetic about Hooke who accomplished more in each month of his life than most of us do in a lifetime. Certainly Lisa Jardine made a comprehensive effort to capture the whole man and succeeded perhaps a little too much.

The Curious Life of Robert Hook

This book is an interesting read, though it is sort of dry.My interest did not really get aroused by the book until the Great Fire and the rebuilding.Maybe I know too much about Robert Hook and the first part of the book was only a rehash of what I was already familiar with.I have always known about the Great Fire and the damage to the city, but had no idea of what went on in the effort to rebuild.Of course Sir Christopher Wren has always been "the man who built London after the fire" and this book does give a little more realistic description of how the interests of the various groups (the Royals, the Corporation of London, the Royal Society and the average citizen) were accomodated in the rebuilding.

REVIEW OF LISA JARDINE'SROBERT HOOKE BY JOHN CHUCKMAN
Robert Hooke's life was curious, a neglected topic that makes good reading, although a full, living sense of this man is missing from the book.

He was an ingenious, creative man, abounding with energy and interests in his younger years, whose acquaintances and friends included Boyle, Pepys, and Wren. He was widely recognized as a physics and general science experimenter of exceptional ability - a designer of both accurate instruments and experiments in which to employ them - almost certainly the greatest of his day. He might be viewed from today's perspective as something of the Ernest Lawrence of his day versus the great theorists.

Hooke's interests included astronomical measurements, microscopy, fossils, watches, the behavior of gases, and more. He was also interested in theoretical concepts although his mathematical abilities fell far short of people like Newton or Leibniz. Still, he came up with the hypothesis of the inverse-square law for gravity which he sent to Newton, asking him to prove mathematically whether it was valid. Newton never gave Hooke appropriate credit for Hooke's early insight, and it is not clear whether this was owing to Hooke's annoying carping or Newton's own very unpleasant temperament.

Hooke's early musings on the layers of fossils found on his native Isle of Wight demonstrate a remarkable analytical and creative mind at work. He got the process of their formation pretty close to right lifetimes before the meaning of fossils was widely recognized in science.

Ms. Jardine made the happy discovery of what is likely Hooke's portrait (no known one survives), a picture that had long been identified as being of John Ray. The circumstances of her discovery make a wonderful little tale early in the book.

What comes through so strongly from some of Jardine's anecdotes is how the basic philosophy of science had advanced by the second half of the 17th century, Hooke's time. This was, after all, only a few decades after Francis Bacon, yet the main points of modern science seem to be assumed by Europe's leading tinkerers and scientists.

Hooke's story is not a happy one, but I will leave that for readers to discover. Ms. Jardine is at times a slightly awkward writer, but she has an interesting story to tell and, on the whole, she tells it well. Ms. Jardine also wrote On a Grander Scale, a biography of the wonderful Christopher Wren. The book on Hooke she regards as a companion volume to the one on Wren. Do read both.

An Introduction
I think I would have liked this book much better if I had read it before Stephen Inwood's The Forgotten Genius which, like this book, deals with the life of Robert Hooke.The differences between the two books, however, are striking.This is not to say that one is necessarily better than the other but, rather, that each has its strengths and weaknesses.

The first thing of note in Ms. Jardine's book is that she has a case to make--that a portrait previously identified as botanist John Ray is, in fact, a portrait of Hooke.This may not seem important to the casual reader but it has been one of the commonalities of Hooke research that no image of him remains.(Whether through accident or the machinations of bitter scientists like Newton, no one knows.)In fact, it is her argument over the authenticity of this portrait (which has some merit) that seems her real incentive for writing this book.In some sense, the rest of the book is an afterthought.

This is not to say that the rest of the book is not worthwhile.It most certainly is.Ms. Jardine tells her story well.Ms. Jardine's book has one major advantage over Mr. Inwood's: it is much more readable.Her style is much lighter and engaging.She is telling the story for a general audience whereas Mr. Inwood's main audience seems to be scientists and historians.She vividly recreates his youth on the Isle of Wight and his flight to London.She is excellent with outlining Hooke's tendencies towards hypochondria and the many tonics he took to keep himself going at a hectic pace.I am also very impressed with her telling of Hooke's conflict with the Huygens family which often gets short shrift in Hooke's story due to the much better known conflict with Newton.

Still, overall, Inwood's book gives a much better sense of the man.There is a real depth missing in this book.Ms. Jardine talks of Hooke's conflict with Newton near the very start of the book and then hardly mentions it again, though this is probably the defining time of Hooke's life.Her ability to discuss Hooke's scientific discoveries seems rather limited and even her discussion of his architectural work seems rather superficial.She is also rather gentle with Hooke, the man, glossing over evidence of his many affairs with housekeepers and what almost certainly became an incestuous relationship with his niece as well as taking it easy on his notoriously bad temper, though she does acknowledge it.

At least Ms. Jardine recognizes Hooke's weaknesses as a scientist and doesn't try to convince us he is a disrespected genius.She sees that he often overcommitted himself--though often with good reason--and that he didn't have the innate abilities of Newton, Huygens and Wren.He was a workman--the best of workmen and he deserved respect for that--but no genius.

A five-star book would be a collaboration between Ms. Jardine and Mr. Inwood.Combining her writing skills with his research and scientific knowledge would do Hooke the best justice.As it is, I would suggest reading this book first for a good introduction and then Mr. Inwood's book for a deeper look at this great experimentalist, Robert Hooke. ... Read more

Product Description
The strange and eventful story of one of the great unsung heroes of modern science.Robert Hooke was a scientist and architect and during the late 17th century there was hardly a scientific advance or discovery that he did not have something to do with, or lay claim to. He payed his part in the invention of the barometer, the thermometer, the spring-driven watch, the air pump, the diving bell, the telescope and the calculator. He was also Christopher Wren's assistant in rebuilding London after the Great Fire of 1666. However, he died a pauper and his story is little known.Why was it that Hooke never won the reputation of his famous contemporaries, Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Edmund Halley and Christopher Wren? Stephen Inwood goes in search of the man and uncovers this troubled and troublesome chatracter and a story full of incident.Dr Stephen Inwood was born in London in 1947, and was educated at Dulwich College and at Balliol and St Antony's College, Oxford. For twenty-six years he was a college and university history lecturer, but he became a professional writer in 1999. He lives in Richmond, west London, with his wife and three sons. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Even reading about his busy life makes you tired
Towards the end of his life, Robert Hooke was worried that many of his inventions would be claimed by others, as had already started to happen. This volume gives much credit to the man who is often overshadowed and almost forgotten - because he was born in an era of many extremely talented individuals.

Stephen Inwood has drawn extensively on material from Hooke's era and more recently to build up a picture of a very busy man, who is now remembered if at all for his work on springs ("Hooke's Law") and his arguments with Isaac Newton. Probably Newton's most famous words ("standing on the shoulders of giants") were written in a letter to Hooke. The weight of history sees the deified Newton crushing to oblivion some of those he stood upon. This was orchestrated more by his ardent admirers than Newton himself, although the father of gravity does not emerge from his debates with Hooke totally exonerated.

There are good insights into the Coffee House culture that was present in the last half of the 17th Century, and the workings of the newly formed Royal Society. Hooke was a pivotal individual in the early years of this august body, and his regular papers and experimental demonstrations were extremely prominent in their weekly meetings for 30 years. Hooke had a grand dream about the usefulness of science, and the expectation that everything would be explainable in the fullness of time, even if not in his lifetime. In short, he had a limitless confidence in the problem solving ability of science, turning his back on superstition that was so prevalent around him.

History has dealt with Robert Hooke too severely, and Inwood helps to address the balance. I am left a little breathless at the speed and scope of the tasks undertaken by Mr Hooke. Hindsight is a treacherous teacher, and can make the obvious trivial, whilst inappropriately assigning connections. Even allowing for the these tendencies, it seems that the legacy of Hooke is far reaching. He was ahead of his time, and could rightly claim to have done the founding work in many important areas [stellar parallax, watches, windmill, barometers, respiratory investigation, vivisection, celestial motion, telescopes, microscopes, navigation, light .......]. In some areas, his pioneering work was lost, and the advances not made again for 150 years.

The book would have benefited from some diagrams of the matters discussed; the mechanisms for watches, or the differences between reflecting and refracting telescopes, for example. This aside, the author does not hide Hooke's flaws, but dispels his reputation of being a bad tempered complainer. Hooke did have several major disagreements with learned gentlemen (Newton, Huygens, Hevelius). However Isaac Newton had similar disputes. What is important is that Hooke also had a large circle of friends, and several individuals with whom he worked successfully for many years (Sir Christopher Wren, Halley, Tompion and Harry Hunt).

Hooke is destined to be forever the bridesmaid, and never the bride. He was TOO busy, and if he started a train of thought, it was as if he had completed it in his own eyes. Many items of investigation were left unfinished, and only restarted when a rival had almost come upon a new or similar solution. This was the cause of many of his difficulties over establishing precedence in scientific matters. Not given the necessary credit, Hooke's work played the part of a catalyst to those in the wider community that was based around the Royal Society.

The final irony is that Hooke accused many at of the time of blatant plagiarism. He did not foresee that a significant number of buildings that he designed (and in many instances, oversaw the construction of) would be attributed others. There is much talk of "Wren churches" rebuilt after the disastrous fire of 1666. Hooke worked on not a few of these. Inwood details his working relationship with Wren, and rightly acknowledges his large contribution to both building design and the `project management' of getting a building completed. For most people, the contribution of Hooke to building would have been more than enough for a lifetime.

Peter Morgan, Bath, UK (...) ... Read more

Product Description
Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703) was a genius whose wide-ranging achievements are at last receiving the recognition that they deserve. Long overshadowed by such eminent contemporaries as Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Christopher Wren, Hooke's own seminal contributions to science, architecture and technology are now being acclaimed in their own right. Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society when it was chartered in 1662, and author of the famous "Micrographia" (1665), Hooke also showed unparalleled ingenuity in designing machines and instruments, and played a crucial role as Surveyor to the City of London after the Great Fire. This volume represents a benchmark in the study of Hooke, bringing together a comprehensive set of studies of different aspects of his life, thought and artistry. Its sections deal with Hooke's life and reputation; his contributions to celestial mechanics and astronomy, and to speculative natural philosophy; the instruments that he designed; and his work in architecture and construction. The introduction places the studies in the context of our current understanding of Hooke and his milieu, while the book also contains a comprehensive bibliography.In all, it will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in a figure whose complexity and importance are becoming clear after centuries of neglect. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Combustion, Theory of; Microscope and microscopy; Nature / General; Body, Mind ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

micrographia
Hooke's greatest work documents a superbly curious mind at the height of its powers. The official experimenter of the Royal Society had his hand in most of the significant projects of the early sci. rev. but it is in microscopy that he made his biggest mark with these drawings made from his own observations. There is something exhilerating for all of those who prefer the small and exquisite over the cosmic and grandiose in Hooke's advertisement for the beauty of the fly.
His other observations ranging from the nature of sparks to gravity catch his lively intellect on the wing. It is a pity that Dover did not make this book either prettier to look at or quite a lot cheaper. The cover is appalling and the reproductions of the text and plates below scratch. A general introduction might have been welcome too; a treatment of Hooke the eternal puzzler and artist rather than the controversial crank who squabbled famously with Newton and Huygens over priority issues( the latter tediously covered in the new Jardine book which should be avoided). Still, it is nice to have this great book in print. ... Read more

Product Description
A widespread sympathy for a neglected figure of seventeenth-century science is being displaced by something more positive--a mixture of astonishment at the extraordinary range and diversity of his talents, esteem for the originality and acumen of his science, admiration for his administrative capability and civic integrity, and fascination at the energy, emotion, and frailty evident in a life fully engaged with the world of Restoration London. Comparisons with his enemy Newton are giving way to an appreciation of Hooke on his own terms, passionately occupied with experiment, invention, argument, writing, teaching, and earning a living as a scientist in a competitive world. The diversity of Hooke's activities has presented a serious obstacle to previous attempts to deal with his life and work. As Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society, Gresham Professor of Geometry, Surveyor to the City of London, author and inventor, Hooke challenges the boundaries of modern expertise. This book takes a different approach, by juxtaposing four accounts of the man from different but intersecting viewpoints. Unlike the aloof and distant demeanor adopted by Newton, concealing his views and speaking through surrogates, Hooke was a public man, bustling though the London streets, talking and arguing in coffee houses, lecturing to whatever audience might attend at Gresham College, performing (the theatrical connotation is appropriate) experiments at the assembly of the Royal Society, being lampooned in a London playhouse. Each of the authors has a record of specialist research on aspects of Hooke and they have come together to provide a significant revaluation of the most important facets of his life and work: his career as a public man, his instrument designing and making, his scientific thought, and the private world of his personal life, his illnesses and his medications.The year 2003 is the tercentenary of Hooke's death. ... Read more

Product Description
I could also presently judge of any small filament of glass whether it were hollow or not which would have been exceeding tedious to examine by looking on the end. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Images impossibly small
I was very excited to receive a copy of Hooke's Micrographia. Hooke was one of the most brilliant 17th century scientists, and would be better known were it not for being overshadowed by Newton (with whom he constantly feuded). His Micrographia describes his observations through the microscope and telescope.

However in this Bibliobazaar edition, the plates are reproduced in such small size that they are impossible to see. For example, Schematic VI has 10 geometrical figures on it - it is reproduced in an image 1 1/2inch by 2 1/4 inch!

Do not buy this book. ... Read more

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Robert Hooke's hypotheses concerning the origin of terrestrial features were of major importance to the development of geology. This book interprets Hooke's Lectures and Discourses of Earthquakes, and Subterraneous Eruptions (1667-1694). The volume consists of the original text of the Discourses transposed into modern type and paired with explanatory annotations; a brief up-to-date biography of Hooke, with emphasis on his geological contributions; and a comparison of selected passages from James Hutton, to show the transmission of ideas and Hooke's influence on later geologists. It will attract Earth scientists and science historians, along with general readers interested in the history of geology. ... Read more

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Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text. ... Read more

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`Individually excellent and scholarly essays... most illuminating and thought-provoking. A conspicuous feature of the collection is the heterogeneity of the scientific topics discussed.' ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW `Essential reading for all students of Hooke and of the context of Restoration science.' Stephen Pumfrey BRITISH JNL FOR HISTORY OF SCIENCERobert Hooke (1635-1703) is best known for his Micrographia, which combined an exposition of the findings of the microscopewith speculations on a variety of scientific topics. He also made major contributions to an astonishing range of subjects, from pneumatics to geology. Equally important was his ingenuity and skill in inventing and refining scientific instruments, clocks and other technological devices. ... Read more

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A contemporary of Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton, and close friend of all but Newton, Robert Hooke (1635-1703), one of the founders of the early scientific revolution, faded into almost complete obscurity after his death and remained there for nearly three centuries. The result has been that his role in the scientific revolution has been almost totally ignored. He was the first professional scientist worthy of the name, working for the young Royal Society of London as its curator of experiments for four decades. He became the Society’s intellectual center, and for a while its Secretary, roles which led to confrontation with Newton. He made important contributions to pneumatics, mechanics, microscopy, astronomy, and geology, and was partner to Wren in rebuilding London after the Fire.

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more