78 Scientific American, December 2019RECOMMENDED
By Andrea Gawrylewski STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION 1. Publication title: Scientific American. 2. Publication -
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On Trial for Reason: Science, Religion,
and Culture in the Galileo Affair
by Maurice A. Finocchiaro.
Oxford University Press, 2019 ($32.95)Italian scientist and inventor
Galileo Galilei was a pioneer
in the experimental investiga-
tion of motion, devising the
law of falling bodies and an
approximate law of inertia, among many other
hypotheses. In 1632 he published his book Dia-
logue on the Two Chief World Systems, in which
he supported Copernicus’s idea that Earth in fact
was not stationary but orbited the sun. The next
year he was summoned to Rome to stand trial
for “suspicion of heresy.” Philosophy professor
Finocchiaro presents a fascinating examination
of these events and the ways Galileo’s trial was
essential in turning the Copernican hypothesis
into accepted theory. It also birthed new strife
between science and faith. The trial established
how deeply skepticism of science was embed-
ded in society. Galileo was convicted and sen-
tenced to house arrest, where he continued
his groundbreaking work until his death. He
emerged from the affair as a cultural icon of
reason and scientific thinking.The first instants of the universe may seem like a
blip on the cosmic time line, but this was probably
the most important, formative era in history—and
the most inscrutable. Scientists know precious
little about what happened when the universe got
its start: many cosmologists think space and time
underwent an extremely rapid expansion called
inflation, yet this theory raises as many questions
as it answers. Learning more about this early
epoch is the key to many of the most pressing
conundrums in physics: What is dark matter?
What drives dark energy? And why is the cosmos
made of matter and not antimatter? Astrophysicist
Hooper takes readers on a mind-bending expedi-
tion through these questions and shows how
they all connect to the beginning. “Our universe’s
greatest mysteries,” he writes, “are firmly tied to
its first moments.” — Clara MoskowitzUnravelling the Double Helix:
The Lost Heroes of DNA
by Gareth Williams. Pegasus, 2019 ($35)The central code for all
life on Earth has captivat-
ed and confounded sci-
entists for nearly a centu-
ry. In this expansive tome,
writer Williams charts the first 100 years of
DNA research—Nobel Prizes won and lost,
intriguing discoveries, scientific betrayal
and colorful lesser-known characters. For
instance, at age 25 Lawrence Bragg, who
had been a child prodigy, and his father,
William, won the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics
for their work in crystallography. The son
later became the director of the lab where
Watson, Crick, Franklin and Wilkins made
their DNA discovery. Also featured are Flor-
ence Bell and William Astbury, who first
attempted to model the structure of DNA
in three dimensions (although their results
didn’t quite hit the mark). Through these
accounts Williams paints the story of one of
science’s greatest achievements—unraveling
the four-letter code that launched thousands
of discoveries. — Jennifer Leman
At the Edge
of Time:
Exploring the
Mysteries of
Our Universe’s
First Seconds
by Dan Hooper. Prince-
ton University Press,
2019 ($24.95)© 2019 Scientific American