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Nonfiction Books » Science » Lives of Scientists

The best books on isaac newton, recommended by william newman.

Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire" by William Newman

John Maynard Keynes famously cast Isaac Newton not as the first scientist of the age of reason, but the last of the magicians. How should we interpret the million words he wrote, in secret, on alchemy? What should we make of Newton's heretical religious views? William Newman talks us through the best books for a better understanding of the complex man who was one of the greatest physicists of all time.

Interview by Benedict King

Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton by Richard S. Westfall

A Portrait of Isaac Newton by Frank E. Manuel

Newton and the Origins of Civilization by Jed Z. Buchwald & Mordechai Feingold

Priest of Nature: The Religious Worlds of Isaac Newton by Rob Iliffe

Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy by Niccolò Guicciardini

1 Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton by Richard S. Westfall

2 a portrait of isaac newton by frank e. manuel, 3 newton and the origins of civilization by jed z. buchwald & mordechai feingold, 4 priest of nature: the religious worlds of isaac newton by rob iliffe, 5 isaac newton and natural philosophy by niccolò guicciardini.

B efore we talk about the books, it might be helpful if you could briefly put Isaac Newton into the context of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century.  What was Newton’s contribution?

The first of the books about Isaac Newton you’ve chosen is a biography, Never at Rest by Richard Westfall. Is this the  biography of Newton to read?

It’s a magisterial book. It’s the only treatment of Newton that really tries to give a detailed study of the totality of his science alongside his religion and his work on alchemy, which covered more than 30 years. It is a magnificent product. It’s somewhat dated now, because it appeared in 1980 and Newton scholarship has recently experienced a remarkable change. Some of the other books that I recommended represent attempts to come to terms with sections of Newton’s work in a deeper way than Westfall was able to do in 1980.

Part of the reason for that is because we now have digital sites like the Newton Project in the UK, which has been editing Newton’s theological and religious writings—his prophetic writings more generally—and then the Chymistry of Isaac Newton site that I am the general editor of at Indiana University, that’s been editing the alchemical papers, Newton’s work on chemistry. Westfall didn’t have access to all of that in 1980. So there’s a lot of material that Westfall wasn’t able to take account of, yet all the same, his work is a magnificent synthesis.

You mentioned Newton’s alchemical papers. His work on alchemy is your area of expertise and the subject of your latest book: Newton the Alchemist. Can his alchemical work be seen as foundational for modern science or was it a dead end?

There is currently a widespread ‘master narrative’ of Newton’s alchemy, though one with which I disagree. The major scholars of the subject at that time, especially Westfall, argued that the impact of alchemy on Newton’s more mainstream science lay in his emphasis on invisible forces that could act over a considerable space, such as gravitational attraction. The reason why a lodestone attracted iron at a distance was because of a hidden sympathy between the two, like the occult sympathies governing magical phenomena. Couldn’t this sort of explanation have stimulated Newton to think of gravity in terms of an immaterial attraction? And wasn’t alchemy based on the idea that some materials react with others because of a similar principle of affinity? Thus the idea that Newton’s involvement with alchemy was part of a quest to understand gravitational attraction was born. Contemporary sources ranging from popular outlets such as Wikipedia to serious scholarly monographs echo this theme.

The next book is A Portrait of Isaac Newton by Frank Manuel, which is also a biography. It starts with his childhood in Lincolnshire and has chapters on his time at Cambridge and then in public life in London. What does it add to the story that Westfall doesn’t?

Manuel’s book was published in 1968, so it’s considerably earlier than Westfall’s. Manuel was a brilliant historian and perhaps an even more brilliant writer. I personally think that, of all the books written on Newton, his is stylistically the most engaging. It’s just a terrific read.

The book attempts to provide a kind of Freudian psychoanalytic study of Newton’s character. He tries to explain Newton’s psychology in terms of his childhood lack of a father. One thing that’s interesting about Manuel—and for that matter Westfall and almost everybody else who has come later—is that all these folks were influenced to some degree, perhaps without even realizing it, by John Maynard Keynes .

There was a famous Sotheby’s auction of Newton manuscripts by his heirs in 1936 and Keynes managed to acquire about half of them. Most of them he subsequently gave to King’s College Cambridge, where they remain, but he wrote an extraordinary article called “ Newton the Man” which was published posthumously in 1947. In it, he argues famously that Newton was not the first scientist of the age of reason, but rather the last of the magicians. He tries to debunk the 18th-century view of Newton as a supreme rationalist and even possibly a deist. [Deists, in the 18th century, were people who believed in a supreme benevolent being who had set the universe in motion, but rejected the notion of an interventionist Christian God]

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This focus on Newton’s non-scientific side leads us neatly to the next of the books you’ve selected, Newton and the Origins of Civilization by Buchwald and Feingold. This is the latest word on Newton’s biblical-chronological studies.

Jed Buchwald and Mordechai Feingold point out that in the 17th century there was a widespread view among alchemists that the totality of ancient mythology was just encoded alchemy. There are many examples one could give, but I’ll stick with one that comes up in Newton’s “Index Chemicus”, a very long concordance of the alchemical writings that he read. He talks about Osiris, the Egyptian god, as being a sort of salt. He’s relying there on a 17th-century alchemist named Michael Maier, who interpreted Egyptian mythology as encoded alchemy. Maier argued that these stories about the Egyptian gods and goddesses and so forth were actually recipes that were dressed up as though the Egyptians were talking about actual divinities. That was the view of Maier and Newton interprets Maier in his own work on alchemy.

But in other writings on chronology Newton interprets Osiris literally as a god, though in a certain, restricted sense. Newton in his chronological writings worked with Euhemerus’s interpretation of mythology, in which the gods and goddesses of the ancients were originally human beings who were then treated as heroes and catasterised, so to speak, into the heavens as divinities. In other words, his chronological theory based on Egyptian mythology runs directly at odds with the alchemical theory of ancient mythology that he’s taking from Michael Maier. These are very distinct ways of looking at mythology. They are in fact contradictory and mutually exclusive.

I would argue that Newton did not himself believe that the ancients were encoding alchemy in their mythology. Instead, I suspect he thought people like Michael Maier were using mythology as a way of writing alchemical riddles that then had to be decoded if one was going to carry their alchemy into practice.

Part of the book is about the attacks on Newton in England and France and the demise of the science of chronology. Could you tell us a bit about that?

Newton was trying to build his chronology of the ancient world through studying the Bible and using what he knew about mythology. He really thought that you could extract actual dates out of biblical and mythological literature, with the help of astronomy and other scientific tools that he had at his disposal. For example, he tries to date Jason and the Argonauts’ adventures according to what he knew about the precession of the equinoxes. There’s a precession of one degree every 72 years, so he was able to work backwards from what he knew about the position of the equinoctial colures in the 1680s and 1690s and later.

So he’s incorporating astronomical material as a way of pinpointing the dates that he gets from ancient literature. That fell out of style after Newton’s death and by the 19th century it was considered rather ridiculous.

Another key feature of the book is the fact that Feingold and Buchwald have a very different view of Newton’s anti-trinitarianism than the one you get in other writers like Westfall.

So Newton didn’t believe in the Trinity, which was a highly controversial and dangerous position at at that time. In what way do Feingold and Buchwald offer a different view?

Again we need to go back to Keynes. Keynes thought that Newton was a heretic, that he is an anti-trinitarian from the early 1670s, if not earlier. That position has been picked up by other people, for example Westfall. The evidence for it is primarily the fact that Newton refused to take holy orders in 1675. Entering holy orders was a condition of his fellowship at Trinity College. He managed to get a special dispensation and, according to Westfall, Keynes, and various others, the reason why he refused to take holy orders was because he was effectively a crypto-heretic and would not agree to swear that the Trinity—in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of the same ‘substance’—was a legitimate way of interpreting Christianity.

How does that fit with the next book, Rob Iliffe’s Priest of Nature, because he talks at some length about Newton’s heterodox anti-trinitarianism?

Iliffe takes a noncommittal position in Priest of Nature . There’s no question, of course, that Newton was a heretic. The problem is when did he commit to that idea? Most of his papers on his theological views date from, at the earliest, the 1680s. So there really isn’t much evidence from the 1670s. Iliffe spends a lot of time in his book arguing that Newton came out of a Puritan background and that he was intensely religious from day one. He argues that Newton was heavily influenced by an apothecary named Clark with whom he lived in Grantham when he was a student there at the King’s School, and that the origins of his later heretical views are an outgrowth of this early and intense religiosity.

Newton then entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1661. Among his papers is a list of his sins that he wrote out in 1662, some of which seem quite trivial, like stealing cherry cobs from a friend in Grantham. He also repents of having wanted to burn down the house of his mother and his stepfather, a guy named Barnabas Smith. To Iliffe these admissions provide evidence of a highly Puritanical young Newton, whereas Feingold and Buchwald regard them as aberrations and point to the relative absence of religious themes in Newton’s surviving student notebooks.

In terms of sins, threatening to burn down his stepfather’s house sounds like quite a serious one.

What happened was that Newton’s father died directly before  he was born in 1642. His mother remarried the rector of a nearby town named Barnabas Smith, but Barnabas Smith was not interested in having the infant Newton in his house. So, although the house was only a couple of miles away, Newton was raised by his grandmother rather than his mother. She lived with Barnabas Smith for seven years and then he died too. Newton was eleven when Barnabas Smith died and his mother came back to live with him.

This is the basis for Manuel’s psychoanalysis. He claims that Newton was essentially angry throughout his entire life because his mother had been snatched away from him by Barnabas Smith.

Can you tell us about his broader heresy: he wasn’t just anti-trinitarian, was he? He thought the church fathers were fraudulent as well. And he was a strong believer that religious pluralism was a good thing. Is that a fair characterization?

Yes, but it’s more complicated. On the one hand, Newton wanted to claim that in order to be a good Christian all you had to do was profess that Jesus was the Son of God, the Father, and that love was the guiding principle, so basic tenets of Christianity. On the other hand, he was vehemently anti-Catholic and this comes out very clearly in his manuscripts. He claims the Nicene Creed, where the Trinity becomes an official part of Christianity, was a “great Apostasy,” and that behind it was a diabolical influence that converted Christianity essentially into a kind of paganism.

So he was vehemently opposed to the Trinity and to the early upholders of the Trinity like the Church father, Athanasius. And he writes that monks are perverts and goes on like this time and time again throughout his manuscripts. So on the one hand he’s very open to a simple view of Christianity, on the other he thinks Catholicism is evil.

And is his objection to the Trinity that it has no biblical warrant?

The final book you’ve chosen is by Niccolo Guicciardini and it’s called Isaac Newton and Natural Philosophy . It’s a much more recent publication. What does this book add to the picture?

Guicciardini’s is the first synthetic book that really tries to incorporate what you could call the new Newton scholarship. He has read and analysed Newton and the Origin of Civilization , Buchwald and  Feingold’s work. He’s also quite familiar with Iliffe’s work. He knows some of my work on Newton’s alchemy and he really does try to come to a new synthesis. You get a picture of Newton not so much as a kind of psychopath—that you get in Manuel and to some degree Westfall—but rather Newton as a kind of ‘Caltech geek,’ as Mordechai Feingold has put it. He is somebody who’s on the spectrum, but is not outright crazy.

To what extent did Newton’s achievements in natural philosophy lead him or others to dismiss the views he held on biblical literalism and chronology?

I would say that Newton’s influence in natural philosophy ultimately led away from the very things that he was trying to push not just in chronology, but also in religion more generally. For example, the second edition of the Principia , his major work on gravitation and so forth, includes something called the “General Scholium”, which is an attempt to argue for the necessity of God as the being that orders the universe. That’s absent from the first edition of the Principia . Newton was clearly worried that his natural philosophical work was going to lead, if not directly to atheism, then to a kind of disregard for religion. So you see him inserting these attempts to link his natural philosophical ideas to the necessity of religion in various different works of his.

Another example would be in the 1717 edition of the Optics . The Optics contains so-called “queries” that are hypothetical and Newton frames them in the form of questions. The last query makes a strong argument against Descartes’s idea that there is a fixed amount of motion in the universe, that motion is just getting transferred from one microscopic corpuscle to another, and so that motion could go on forever. Newton argues directly against that and for the necessity of what he calls “active principles”, which ultimately clearly go back to God. He thinks there’s an active principle behind gravity, that there’s an active principle behind magnetism and that there’s an active principle behind electricity. Clearly he’s trying to link these natural phenomena back to the necessity for the existence of a divinity.

So he was very worried about this and he was right to be so. Ultimately the Newtonian world picture did make it unnecessary to invoke direct divine causation. This is one of the reasons why Newton doesn’t like Descartes, because he felt that Cartesianism would lead to atheism. But ultimately the same thing could be said of his own natural philosophy.

Did he address that directly?

In the “General Scholium” he argues very clearly not only that there is a God, but that God is the Lord, the ruler of all. He has a very Old Testament view of God, which is obviously related to his unitarianism. He thinks that Jesus was the son of God, but Jesus nonetheless is not part of God in the way that the trinitarians believe.

There’s another issue that is worth mentioning and that is the issue of compartmentalization of Newton’s thought, a topic that Iliffe discusses. Newton was essentially brilliant at everything that he undertook seriously. Obviously, he was particularly successful in the realm of natural philosophy, what we would call physics, but the same can be said of his religious writings. They really are highly original and extremely ingenious, even if you don’t believe them. The same can be said of his alchemical writing. He was making compounds that people may or may not have discovered even today.

This leads to a different question, which is, how did all of these different pursuits integrate or did they? I hinted at this earlier with the issue of chronology and alchemy and the interpretation of mythology, and how it seems that Isaac Newton was keeping the alchemical and the historical interpretations of mythology quite distinct.

The issue of compartmentalization has really come to the fore as a result of more and more rigorous scholarship on these different aspects of Newton’s thought. These works that I’ve recommended to you, in particular Buchwald and Feingold and Iliffe, are carrying out research on particular aspects of Isaac Newton’s thought in more and more detail. And so the question of how to deal with all of these different sides of Newton has become really very problematic. Guicciardini deals with this I think rather successfully, but nonetheless questions remain as to how you approach this extreme compartmentalization. Is there a relationship between Newton’s ideas on physics and his ideas on alchemy, for example, and if so, what is its precise character?

Even if Newton hadn’t found the unifying factor amongst all these things, Newton must have thought there must be some coherence between them.

I’m not sure that’s right. I don’t know. The problem is you have this guy who is clearly an out-of-control genius. Isaac Newton gets interested in something and he pursues it to the nth degree. He almost can’t control himself. It’s like he can’t turn his brain off. So he just happens to be incredibly good at almost anything he does. Let me give you a parallel example from personal experience. I had a colleague years ago, at Indiana University, who was a brilliant philosopher of science. He was also an Epicurean cook and he also was so good at playing the French horn that he was able to play it in an orchestra in a major city. Did he think all those things were connected? I’m not so sure.

If someone believes in a God who’s the author of the universe, then it implies there must be a coherence between all areas of knowledge. I suppose that’s why I thought he must he must have felt there was some sort of coherence between all these things—some underlying laws.

I think that’s true, but at such an abstract and general level that it might not even touch Isaac Newton’s actual work. For instance, Newton’s view of Christianity ultimately boiled down to very general precepts such as ‘Love thy neighbour,’ ‘Profess the reality of Jesus Christ as the Son of the Father,’ and that kind of thing. So all of the incredibly detailed work that he did in interpreting prophecy, for example, or in writing against the Trinity, may not really have interacted with those very general precepts in any significant way. Isaac Newton was a virtuoso at practically everything he undertook, and virtuosity in multiple areas of endeavour need not imply their interconnectedness.

The problem of assuming an underlying unity to Isaac Newton’s thought also emerges from an examination of his alchemy. The issue with alchemy is problematic because alchemical writings are often filled with references to God. And the reason for that I think is because alchemists themselves were constantly under threat of being accused of counterfeiting and so forth. So they tried to build up the picture of themselves as extremely religious people. I really think that’s the case. When [the Newton historian] Betty Jo Dobbs interpreted that material in his manuscripts she came to the conclusion that, ‘Yes, of course, this is really all about Isaac Newton’s religion.’ Yet there’s actually very little evidence to support Dobbs’s view, because if you look at the work Isaac Newton wrote on theology, there are practically no references to alchemy. In reality it appears that he kept these topics in fairly watertight compartments. So as historians we have to be very, very careful not to make assumptions. Typically we want to say all of these things are related, but maybe not. They may simply reflect virtuoso performances in a variety of unrelated or only loosely related areas rather than manifestations of a single underlying quest for unity.

August 5, 2019

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William Newman is Distinguished Professor and Ruth N. Halls Professor in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine at Indiana University, Bloomington.

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9 Best Isaac Newton Books and Biographies

Isaac Newton’s name is synonymous with the scientific revolution of the 17th century. Newton contributed significantly to the fields of mathematics , physics, and astronomy, and his discoveries continue to influence modern scientific research. If you’re interested in learning more about Newton’s life and work, there are many excellent books to choose from. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best Isaac Newton books to read.

Understanding Isaac Newton’s Contributions to Science and Mathematics

Isaac Newton is widely considered one of the most influential scientists in history. His contributions to science and mathematics have had a profound impact on our understanding of the world around us. In this article, we will explore some of Newton’s most significant contributions and their practical applications.

Newton’s Laws of Motion

One of Newton’s most significant contributions to science is his three laws of motion. These laws explain the relationship between an object’s motion and the forces acting on it. The first law states that an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force. The second law states that the force acting on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration. The third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Newton’s laws of motion have practical applications in many fields, from engineering to sports. For example, engineers use these laws to design cars, airplanes, and bridges that are safe and efficient. Athletes use them to improve their performance in sports such as gymnastics, diving, and figure skating.

If you want to learn more about Newton’s laws of motion, we recommend reading “Newton’s Laws of Motion” by Subodh Mahanti. This book offers a thorough, accessible explanation of Newton’s work and features many helpful illustrations and diagrams.

The Universal Law of Gravitation

Another of Newton’s most famous contributions is the universal law of gravitation. This law states that every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force proportional to their masses and the distance between them. In other words, the greater the mass of an object, the greater its gravitational pull, and the farther apart two objects are, the weaker their gravitational attraction.

The universal law of gravitation has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. It has helped us explain phenomena such as the orbits of planets around the sun, the tides, and the behavior of black holes.

If you want to learn more about Newton’s work in gravity, we recommend reading “ Newton and the Counterfeiter ” by Thomas Levenson. This book delves into the story of Newton’s quest to root out counterfeiters while exploring his groundbreaking work in gravity. It is a fast-paced, engaging read that weaves together intellectual history and true crime .

Calculus and its Applications

Calculus is another area in which Newton made crucial contributions. He invented calculus simultaneously with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and the two are generally credited with its creation. Calculus is a branch of mathematics that deals with rates of change and slopes of curves.

Calculus has practical applications in many fields, from physics to economics. For example, physicists use calculus to study the motion of objects, while economists use it to study the behavior of markets and economies.

If you want to learn more about calculus, we recommend reading “ Calculus Made Easy ” by Silvanus P. Thompson. This book teaches the basics of calculus without getting bogged down in excessive mathematical jargon. It is written in accessible language and features many helpful examples and exercises.

In conclusion, Isaac Newton’s contributions to science and mathematics have had a profound impact on our understanding of the world around us. His laws of motion, universal law of gravitation, and work in calculus continue to be studied and applied today.

Isaac Newton’s Most Influential Works

Isaac Newton is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists in history. His contributions to the fields of physics and mathematics are still studied and admired today. In this article, we will take a closer look at three of his most significant works.

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

“ Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ,” often referred to simply as the “Principia,” is Newton’s masterpiece and one of the most significant works in the history of science. In it, he lays out his laws of motion and theory of gravity. For readers interested in engaging directly with Newton’s work, the “Principia” is an obvious choice. In “ The Principia: The Authoritative Translation and Guide ” by I. Bernard Cohen and Anne Whitman, readers can explore the “Principia” with the help of a modern translation and extensive annotations.

The “Principia” is not only a scientific work but also a philosophical one. Newton’s ideas about the nature of the universe and the role of mathematics in understanding it were groundbreaking. His laws of motion and theory of gravity revolutionized the way scientists understood the physical world and laid the foundation for modern physics.

Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light

Newton’s work on optics also made significant contributions to the field of physics. In “ Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light ,” Newton explores the properties of light and offers a scientific explanation for many optical phenomena. The book is fascinating both for its historical significance and for the beauty of its prose.

One of the most interesting aspects of “Opticks” is Newton’s experiments with prisms. He discovered that white light is actually made up of different colors and that each color has a different wavelength. This discovery led to the development of the modern theory of color and the understanding of how light interacts with matter.

The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended

Although less well-known than his work in math and physics, Newton also made contributions to the field of history. In “ The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended ,” Newton argues that the timeline of ancient history needs to be revised based on new astronomical observations. The book is a fascinating glimpse into a lesser-known area of Newton’s intellectual pursuits.

Newton’s approach to history was heavily influenced by his scientific background. He believed that historical events could be understood and explained through careful observation and analysis, just like scientific phenomena. His work on the chronology of ancient kingdoms challenged traditional views of history and paved the way for a more scientific approach to the study of the past.

Overall, Isaac Newton’s contributions to science and mathematics are immeasurable. His work laid the foundation for modern physics and helped shape our understanding of the universe. His legacy continues to inspire scientists and scholars today.

Biographies and Histories about Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists in history. His groundbreaking work in mathematics, physics, and astronomy laid the foundation for modern science. His discoveries and theories revolutionized the way we understand the natural world. Given his immense impact, it’s no surprise that many biographies and histories have been written about his life and work. Here are a few notable examples:

The Life of Isaac Newton by Richard S. Westfall

For readers looking for a comprehensive biography of Newton’s life and work, “ The Life of Isaac Newton ” by Richard S. Westfall is an excellent choice. Westfall draws on extensive archival research to offer a detailed and nuanced portrait of Newton. The book covers Newton’s early life, his education, his scientific discoveries, and his later years. Westfall’s writing can be a bit dense at times, but it’s an essential read for anyone looking to understand Newton’s life and legacy in full.

One interesting aspect of Westfall’s biography is his focus on Newton’s religious beliefs. Newton was a deeply religious man, and his faith played a significant role in his scientific work. Westfall explores this aspect of Newton’s life in detail, shedding light on how his religious convictions influenced his scientific theories.

Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer by Michael White

For a more accessible biography, “ Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer ” by Michael White offers a lively and engaging look at Newton’s life and times. White’s writing style is more conversational than Westfall’s, making the book an excellent choice for readers looking for a more casual read. Despite its accessibility, the book doesn’t skimp on detail. White covers all the major events in Newton’s life and provides plenty of context for his scientific discoveries.

One of the strengths of White’s biography is his focus on Newton’s personality. He humanizes Newton, bringing the historical figure to life. White explores Newton’s relationships with his family, his colleagues, and his rivals, painting a vivid picture of the man behind the science.

Newton: A Life of Discovery by Peter Ackroyd

Another option for a biography is “Newton: A Life of Discovery” by Peter Ackroyd. This book, like White’s, offers a more accessible and engaging portrait of Newton. Ackroyd takes a slightly more literary approach, emphasizing the drama and conflict inherent in Newton’s story. The result is a compelling and accessible read.

Ackroyd’s biography covers all the major events in Newton’s life, but he also spends time exploring the broader historical context. He examines the political and social upheaval of the time, showing how Newton’s work was influenced by the larger world around him.

Overall, these biographies offer a fascinating look at one of history’s most brilliant minds. Whether you’re a casual reader or a serious scholar, there’s something here for everyone.

Books Exploring Newton’s Lesser-Known Interests

Newton’s alchemical pursuits.

Newton was deeply interested in alchemy and spent many years pursuing it. In “ Newton and the Origin of Civilization ” by Jed Z. Buchwald and Mordechai Feingold, readers can explore Newton’s alchemical pursuits and their broader implications for his work in science and theology. The book is a dense, scholarly work, but it offers a unique and fascinating look at a lesser-known aspect of Newton’s life.

Newton’s Theological Writings

Newton was also deeply interested in theology and spent many years studying and writing about religious texts. In “The Religion of Isaac Newton” by Frank E. Manuel and Fritzie P. Manuel, readers can learn about Newton’s views on religious matters and their relationship to his scientific work. The book is an accessible and engaging read that sheds light on an often-overlooked aspect of Newton’s life.

Newton’s Work on the Prophecies

Finally, in “ Newton’s Philosophy of Nature: Selections from His Writings ,” readers can explore Newton’s unpublished work on biblical prophecies. The book offers a unique look at Newton’s views on religion and theology and their intersection with his work in science. It’s a dense but rewarding read for those interested in exploring Newton’s intellectual pursuits beyond his better-known work in math and physics.

Whether you’re a serious student of science, a casual reader, or just interested in learning more about Newton’s life and legacy, there’s an Isaac Newton book out there for you. The selections above are some of the best and most accessible options out there, offering a wealth of insight into one of the most important figures in the history of science.

Who is Isaac Newton?

Isaac Newton was one of the most important and influential scientists of all time. He lived during the 17th and 18th centuries and developed some of the core scientific values we use today. He is most famous for discovering gravity by watching an apple fall from a tree.

What are the best books written by Isaac Newton?

Opticks, Method of Fluxions, The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended, and A Compleat System of General Geography are just a handful of the books he has written.

What can I learn from Isaac Newton?

Isaac Newton was making major scientific discoveries with almost no equipment or existing scientific principles to work with. He is a marker of patience, tactfulness, and determination.

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Vishy’s Blog

On books, reading and other delightful things, book review – isaac newton by james gleick.

March 26, 2019 by Vishy

When I was wondering which book to read next, James Gleick’s biography of Isaac Newton leapt at me. At less than 200 pages, it wasn’t too long, and so I read it in a couple of days.

This book covers all the important events in Isaac Newton’s life, starting from his birth in a farm, when his father was no more, how he ended up in school, how he went to Cambridge University, how his career progressed from there, how he discovered the law of gravitation and the three laws of motion, how he invented Calculus, his spats with famous scientists of his time including Robert Hooke and Gottfried Leibniz, how he became the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics and later became a member of the Royal Society, how he later got the King’s patronage and headed the Mint, and what happened after that.

James Gleick’s style is natural and breezy and the book moves at an easy pace. It is very accessible to readers who find books on science challenging or who avoid such books. If I remember right, there is not a single equation in the book. I loved the depiction of the intellectual fights that Isaac Newton had with Robert Hooke and Gottfried Leibniz. My teenage self hated Robert Hooke and backed Newton in the first fight. But my teenage self also backed Leibniz against Newton in the second fight 😁 (Mostly because Leibniz’ system of Calculus is what we use now, because it is far superior to Newton’s system, which is cumbersome.) After reading this book now, I find my older and more mature self backing Newton in both the disputes. I don’t know whether it is because Newton was the aggrieved party in both the disputes, or whether it is because the book is biased and leans towards Newton. I need to read more on this. The book also doesn’t shy away from some of the darker sides of Newton, like when he becomes the head of the Royal Society, and he runs it like an autocrat.

An interesting thing in the book which I couldn’t stop thinking about was Newton’s relationship with his mother. When Newton was born his father was no more and his mother was a widow. When he was three years old, his mother married a rich man. This rich man wanted a wife, but didn’t want an add-on kid. So according to the arrangements made, Newton was left with his grandmother who brought him up, while his mother went to live with her new husband. Years later, when Newton was ten years old, the rich man died, and Newton’s mother returned back. She was wealthy now as she had inherited her husband’s money. The first thing she did after coming back was send Newton to school which was in a nearby town. Newton ended up boarding with the apothecary in that town and worked part-time there, while in school. When Newton was sixteen, his mother summoned him back home, and asked him to get started on his work as a farmer. Newton hated farm-related work and did badly. Then his mother’s brother stepped in and helped Newton get into Cambridge. Even there, Newton’s mother refused to sponsor Newton’s education properly – he joined as a student in the lowest category. The students in this category “ earned their keep by menial service to other students, running errands, waiting on them at meals, and eating their leftovers” . Later, it appears that Newton and his mother kept up a correspondence which was polite and familial, and when his mother suffered from a serious illness, Newton left his work and came back home, and stayed with her till the end. It is a very interesting story of a family. Newton’s mother doesn’t come through with flying colours at all, in that story, because she avoided taking care of him when he was a child, but tried to make him take up responsibility and become a farmer when he became a teenager. This probably led to Newton being introverted, solitary and reclusive all his life – he was never attracted to women, he never married, and he never had close friends, except maybe one or two people in his later life. But his mother also sent him to school and later sent him to Cambridge. If she hadn’t done that, Newton would have stayed in the farm and would have been a careless, below-average farmer. One of the greatest scientists of all time would have been lost in the depths of an English farm. So was Newton’s mother a good parent or a bad parent? What do you think?

One of the amazing things that we discover through the book is that Isaac Newton was an ordinary person with respect to socio-economic circumstances. His father was an illiterate farmer. He was expected to become a farmer too. He didn’t have access to books the way we do. Even when he joined Cambridge, he had one notebook. In those days, paper was valuable, because it was probably handmade, and it was a luxury, if you had one notebook. This was the world that the young Isaac Newton lived in. Living in this world, Newton discovered gravity and invented the beautiful, complex field of Calculus. Calculus was so far ahead of its time that most people didn’t understand it. It is a challenging subject even today, nearly 350 years later – I struggled with Calculus when I first encountered it. As James Gleick describes at the beginning of the book – “I don’t know what I may seem to the world, ” Newton said before he died, “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.” An evocative simile, much quoted in the centuries that followed, but Newton never played in the seashore, boy or man. Born in a remote country village, the son of an illiterate farmer, he lived in an island nation and explained how the moon and the sun tug at the seas to create tides, but he probably never set eyes on the ocean. He understood the sea by abstraction and computation.” It is amazing how someone who had so little could accomplish so much. It is so inspiring. It offers hope for the rest of us – that we don’t need so much. We need just one or two fresh notebooks, some pens and pencils, some textbooks, some solitude and quiet, lots of intellectual curiosity and passion, and an inclination to work hard. If we have this, we can accomplish one or two things. I get goosebumps just thinking about this.

I loved James Gleick’s biography of Isaac Newton. It is written in spare and breezy prose, the technical content is not too challenging, and the book is very accessible for a general reader.

Have you read this book? What do you think about it?

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Posted in Book Review | Tagged Isaac Newton , James Gleick | 9 Comments

9 Responses

I’ve read a couple of biographies of Newton but without checking I wouldn’t be able to say which ones. Gleick’s book looks like a good book to read for the curious reader.

Newton was definitely an interesting man though mostly unlikeable. Have you read ‘Newton and the Counterfeitor’?

So nice to know that, Jonathan! If you do remember the writer’s names, please do let me know. I would love to read more on Newton. I haven’t read ‘Newton and the Counterfeiter’. Is it about Newton and Leibniz?

Hi Vishy. Newton and the Counterfeiter was about Newton’s period working in the Royal Mint at the end of his life and his attempts to prevent counterfeiting, especially by William Chaloner. It’s a non-fiction book but it read like a novel.

So wonderful to know that, Jonathan! There is a chapter in this book about Newton’s time in the Royal Mint. I would love to read ‘Newton and the Counterfeiter’ sometime. Thank you for telling me about it.

I like the sound of this… that background about his mother is fascinating. I cannot imagine how the child felt about being cast out like that. I’m not surprised if he grew into a prickly and abrasive person!

It is a nice, very accessible biography, Lisa. Hope you like it, if you decide to read it. Yes, it is sad that Newton’s mother didn’t really shower him with love but kept him away. It definitely seems to have impacted his life because he didn’t really have any close friends or relationships.

Reblogged this on The Logical Place .

Thank you, Tim ☺️

Eventually, Robert Hook proved to be a friend rather than a foe; the continuous criticism from Hook pushed Newton to improve the mathematical aspects of his theories

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Newton's Riddle

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Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Newton's Riddle: The Mystery of Daniel’s 70th Week Revealed is a work of fiction in the theological, political, and suspense subgenres. It is best suited to adult readers owing to the complexity of its conceptual basis and was penned by Neill G Russell. The premise of the story follows a prophetic script left behind in the journal of Sir Isaac Newton before his death in 1727, which eventually comes to light and directly relates the resurrection and second coming of Jesus Christ to the modern-day crisis affecting Israel and the United States. Our protagonist is Dr. Ezra Schroeder, a codebreaker who reveals the secrets of the riddle and must bring it to the attention of the most powerful people in the world to prevent further destruction. Combining modern-day political criticism with theology and historical reference is no mean feat, but Neill G Russell has crafted a compelling narrative that seamlessly balances them, and will certainly appeal to fans of works like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. The adventure aspects of this epic work are interspersed with a slow-burning, code-cracking conspiracy plot that also reflects a lot of harsh home truths about the state of the world today. It is certainly a thinking piece as every chapter reveals new considerations, both within the story and to take away with us. Newton's Riddle will appeal to fans of critical assessment of current events just as much as any thriller and theological-based fiction fans who are seeking an intelligent new adventure to explore.

Vincent Dublado

Newton's Riddle by Neill G. Russell is a page-turning thriller anchored in religion and history. At the Digital Research Lab in Cambridge, England, a rather ordinary box is placed among a stack of similar packages. Its contents have never left the constant vigil of Ariel, who is said to be the former guardian angel of Sir Isaac Newton. After centuries of being untouched, its contents are about to become the center of rare excitement seldom experienced within the annals of the academic institution. Dr. Ezra Schroeder has done research into the theological papers found in the second edition of Newton’s Principia and is an expert in decoding some of Newton’s alchemy journals. He has been invited to decode the renowned physicist’s prophetic script in an alchemy journal. What is about to be revealed is Newton’s final message before his death on March 31st, 1727 concerning God’s prophetic plan for the Jewish people and all mankind. Newton’s Riddle has a Da Vinci Code feel to it when it comes to the storyline’s intensity. The difference is that it does not contain any malicious accusations against the Catholic Church, and Neil G. Russell hinges his plot with a more compelling spiritual element. As the story opens with an epilogue with the angel Ariel narrating about his new task on Earth, you are left to wonder if the supernatural plays a part in this story. What you get is the more compelling element of magical realism that reinforces Newton’s prophecy. Throw in the varied settings and the intriguing cast of characters and what you get is a novel worthy of a film adaptation with a mass appeal. What this novel expresses that will draw your attention is the statement about Israel and how its relations with the United States can tip the scale of global politics. Newton’s Riddle is a must-read for anyone who loves fast-paced thrillers.

Pikasho Deka

Newton's Riddle is a supernatural geo-political mystery thriller by Neill G. Russell. When two British Cambridge University researchers, Professor Harrison Andrews and Sara Newman, stumble upon a long-forgotten manuscript left by Sir Isaac Newton on his deathbed, they seek help from American codebreaker Dr. Ezra Schroeder to decipher its contents. After painstaking efforts and due diligence, Dr. Schroeder discovers that Newton's manuscript confirms the Biblical prophecy of an upcoming war that could spell the end of the state of Israel. With the current American President ignoring Israel and demon-backed Middle Eastern states hell-bent on its destruction, Dr. Schroeder must find a way to protect the land of God's chosen people. Meanwhile, a slew of natural disasters descends upon America. Can Israel be saved? Will her staunchest ally America come to her rescue? Grab a copy to find out. Using Biblical lore and real-historical personalities, author Neill G. Russell incorporates current world geo-political standoffs in this fascinating thriller that merges fantastical and mystery elements to perfection. Newton's Riddle has a muti-POV narrative with a sprawling cast of characters and places that truly make you feel the stakes involved in the story. The characters have well-developed and distinct personalities alongside believable motives for their actions, and it makes them very easy to get attached to. The author seems inspired by a section of Right-wing online conspiracy theories, and it brings a sense of familiarity to the tale while still keeping readers hooked by the unexpected twists and turns. If a geo-political thriller infused with Biblical allegory sounds appealing to you, Newton's Riddle is just the book.

Grant Leishman

Newton’s Riddle by Neill G Russell is a fascinating concept that challenges our thinking about world events and their significance to our future. Sir Isaac Newton is most famously known for his scientific works and his contribution to our understanding of the universe. What is perhaps less known is his fascination with the idea that there are hidden codes concealed within the Bible that can unlock prophecies and illuminate current-day events. When an ancient Isaac Newton notebook is uncovered in a peat bog in Ireland, world-renowned retired cryptologist Dr. Ezra Schroeder is asked to decipher Newton’s secret code that he used to record his findings on prophetic events. What Schroeder discovers is the power of the unbreakable covenant between God and his chosen people; the Jews and the land of Palestine that is now modern-day Israel. The world and specifically the new U.S. President prepare to celebrate a historic peace agreement between the Arabs and the Israelis that will see the formation of an independent nation of Palestine and the clawing back of much Israeli territory on the West Bank and the Golan Heights. However, no one except Ezra Schroeder sees the catastrophic nature of such an agreement on the United States and the world. Played against a background of Angels and Demons, Schroeder attempts to convince the U.S. President that this peace agreement is a disaster for the world. Newton’s Riddle was a thoroughly fascinating read. As someone who is captivated by historical events and their often unintended consequences, I was enthralled by the links drawn between catastrophic events, especially in America, and Middle Eastern affairs. Author Neill G Russell has created a world in which demons and angels co-exist amongst humanity, unknown to humans, and attempt to influence and change their behaviors to suit either God’s ends or Satan’s. One couldn’t help but get the feeling that the author was truly invested in this story and perhaps even believed the reality of it. This made the concepts and story come alive, so it was excellent work by the author to provoke that sort of response. I was particularly enthralled by the idea of the Jewish people being God’s chosen people and although this is a phrase I’d often heard bandied about in the past, this book did a wonderful job of clarifying what that could mean, in reality. You don’t have to be a believer to enjoy this story. It is fiction after all but one has the feeling the faithful will find this story full of warmth and contentment. The characters are realistic and believable and the narrative flows seamlessly as Schroeder and his cohorts seek to understand the implications of Newton’s prophetic writings. This is a fun book that can be taken seriously or treated as a fictional fantasy. Either way, it is an exceptional read. I can highly recommend it.

Newton & Polly Book Review

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A mopey, defensive novel about brother/sister incest--narrated, years after the fact, by out-of-work screenwriter Gregg...

READ REVIEW

BEAUTIFUL KATE

by Newton Thornburg ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 17, 1982

A mopey, defensive novel about brother/sister incest--narrated, years after the fact, by out-of-work screenwriter Gregg Kendall, 43. On the run because he's wanted as a material witness in a drug-smuggling case, Gregg--with tough, young, foul girlfriend Toni--has taken refuge at the run-down family home outside of Chicago. The inhabitants: bitter old father Jason; repressed spinster-sister Sarah; and younger brother Junior, who turns out to be a homosexual with a taste for young blacks (of whom the neighborhood has many) and a greed for the family's small nest-egg. Gregg's mind, however, turns constantly to his two other siblings, both long-dead in a mysterious car-crash: twin sister Kate and slightly older brother Cliff. He recalls their idyllic prepubescent bliss--""a troika yoked by spirit and empathy. . ."" He remembers the tension that came with teen-dom, Cliff turning puritanical while beautiful Kate rebelled against the loss-of-childhood with non-conformism, tomboy-ism, and increasingly seductive behavior toward Gregg. And: ""Whatever her reasons, I went along with her, went along in precisely the sense that a dog accedes to the wishes of a bone."" But Gregg also remembers his post-incest guilt; his attempt to run away into drink and degradation (even ""falling asleep drunk on my hammock bed, Kate remained the empress of my mind""); and then Kate's sudden shift of interest to upright brother Cliff--an attempted seduction (unsuccessful, it seems) that led to the Kate/Cliff doubledeath on the night of a big charity ball. (Gregg's secret: Cliff didn't die with Kate in the crash; he committed suicide.) So now, alone in the old, crumbling house with his dying father--Toni and Junior run off to California together--Gregg wonders ""if it wasn't I rather than Kate who was the sick one, in that I denied my own nature, chose pale convention over the urgent bidding of my heart. . . . And I ache for her, even now, after all this time."" Sluggishly written, unpleasantly populated, and hardly enhanced by Gregg's casual racism: a psychosexual case history with little storytelling appeal.

Pub Date: May 17, 1982

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1982

Categories: FICTION

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