Book Review

The large thin book of paintings evokes an old volume in color, form, and tone. It opens with the night sky over Florence and closes with a similar scene over a darkened New York, …In between we read a brief text, recounting with feeling the life of Galileo viewed through the lenses of this artist often supported by Galileo’s own words (after the translation of the late Stillman Drake)…The illustrations are splendid. A grand map shows the states of Italy at the time and we see little theater pieces, parades, and heroic statues…The golden moon drawings do justice to Galileo’s and yet seem more fit for a Medici prince than Galileo’s own spare wash drawings in sepia…The trial painting is a stunner…A work of art from cover to cover, this is a book of rare quality, less of a literal account than a chance for anyone to read in a great library of dreams.

~ Philip and Phylis Morrison, Scientific American excerpt

Starry Messenger is an attractive presentation of Galileo’s life blending art and the history of science. The illustrations vary from whimsical to somber and give the reader a feel for the political setting that determined how Galileo’s work was viewed in his own time.

~ Linda Oliver, Reference Librarian, Curtis Memorial Library