Book Review: Out of the Shadow of a Giant: Hooke, Halley and the Birth of Science by John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin

Book: Out of the Shadow of a Giant

Author: John and Mary Gribbin

Year published: 2017

Date finished: December 2017

Genre: History, science

Rating: 8/10

Review: Out of the Shadow of a Giant  shows that Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley played a much bigger role in the birth of science than they are usually given credit for and that Hooke, in particular, developed ideas which are now credited to Isaac Newton.  In some cases, Newton appears to have deliberately stolen the ideas, often aided by Henry Oldenburg, the first secretary of the Royal Society.

Isaac Newton was a genius. No one, and certainly not the Gribbins, disputes that.  What the Gribbins do dispute is that Newton bestrode the scientific world of the time as its sole colossus. They prove their point conclusively in this book, citing actual writing by both Hooke and Newton showing that Hooke often got there first but that Newton followed up by adding the mathematical details (Newton was a far better mathematician than Hooke).

Robert Hooke, in the usual history of science, gets far less credit than he deserves.  The Gribbins show this.  They seem on less firm ground with regard to Edmond Halley.

This book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of science in the 17th century.

About the Authors: John Gribben is an astrophysicist who writes extensively about science.  Mary Gribben is a writer who specializes in science, especially books for children.