Isaac Newton by James Gleick, Fourth Estate/Pantheon, £15/$ 22.95, ISBN 0007163177/0375422331 Reviewed by Graham Farmelo
ISAAC Newton cuts a unique figure in history – a pre-eminent scientific genius and, to modern sensibilities, a pre-eminent embarrassment. It is not easy for us to understand what led him to write his million words of alchemical hokum, nor is it easy to forgive the sheer nastiness of his treatment of anyone who crossed his path.
This terrific short biography gives us an unsentimental account of Newton’s life, drawing on James Gleick’s close studies of original documents and on the abundant work of recent scholars…
