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The Newton Papers
- The Strange and True Odyssey of Isaac Newton's Manuscripts
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
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The Newton Papers
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Summary
When Isaac Newton died in 1727 without a will, he left behind a wealth of papers that, when examined, gave his followers and his family a deep sense of unease. Some of what they contained was wildly heretical and alchemically obsessed, hinting at a Newton altogether stranger and less palatable than the one enshrined in Westminster Abbey as the paragon of English rationality. These manuscripts had the potential to undermine not merely Newton's reputation, but that of the scientific method he embodied. They were immediately suppressed as "unfit to be printed", and, aside from brief, troubling glimpses spread across centuries, the papers would remain hidden from sight for more than seven generations.
In The Newton Papers, Sarah Dry illuminates the tangled history of these private writings over the course of nearly 300 years, from the long span of Newton's own life into the present day. The writings, on subjects ranging from secret alchemical formulas to impassioned rejections of the Holy Trinity, would eventually come to light as they moved through the hands of relatives, collectors, and scholars. The story of their disappearance, dispersal, and rediscovery is populated by a diverse cast of characters who pursued and possessed the papers, from economist John Maynard Keynes to controversial Jewish Biblical scholar Abraham Yahuda.
Dry's captivating narrative moves between these varied personalities, depicting how, as they chased the image of Newton through the thickets of his various obsessions, these men became obsessed themselves with the allure of defining the "true" Newton. Dry skillfully accounts for the ways with which Newton's pursuers have approached his papers over centuries.
Ultimately, The Newton Papers shows how Newton has been made and re-made throughout history by those seeking to reconcile the cosmic contradictions of an extraordinarily complex man.
What listeners say about The Newton Papers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Frank 9
- 27-01-24
Brilliantly imaginative & entertaining
This book is a brilliant piece of work, scholarly but light on its feet, witty but serious and perceptive. It isn't a straightforward treatment of the biography of Newton - it's what the title says it is: an exploration of the nature and history of the unpublished papers Newton left at his death.
In the process of looking at them and following the convoluted course of their history we gain fascinating insights into the way succeeding generations perceived Newton and tried to make him into the icon that would suit their own purposes - purposes which changed over time of course, and were constantly in danger of being scuppered by the curious contents of the papers which hinted at a less saintly and conventional man than many of them would have wished.
We also learn about the academic culture of Cambridge university, which tried to make Newton an inspirational model for its pedagogy - there are some fascinating cameos of great and eccentric scientists here, who struggled for years to untangle the intricate chaos of Newton's papers - we dip into the strange bibliomania of the British aristocracy which developed a compulsive fascination for collecting old books and manuscripts, a brief but illuminating consideration of the great changes in British society that forced the later sale of the great libraries these aristocrats built up, and the shady business practices of the ring of booksellers who fixed the auctions where the contents of these libraries were sold. Then there's the wonderfully eccentric American tycoon whose wife assembled the greatest collection of Newton's papers and who himself dedicated his vast wealth to exploring the possibilities of harnessing gravity as a source of limitless clean energy.
What's not to like?
It's a tour de force of imaginative and impressive scholarship presented with entertaining dry humour. Each excursion down a byway of history reveals more of Newton the man, or Newton the academic icon or Newton the lucrative industry.
I am baffled by the frankly hostile reviews some people have put up here (the reviews of the book itself on Amazon are much more positive.) In the reading there are the kind of errors of pronunciation we get used to with audiobooks, but much more importantly the reader communicates a sense of understanding the text and mercifully avoids the kind of bravura 'performance' which dials up the emotional colour to 12.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Zumbujani
- 03-12-18
Mostly about tedious details surrounding auction
This book fooled me into thinking there will be a discussion on the content of the Newton papers and will engage with those ideas. Instead what I got was mostly a long drawn description of how one collector bought it from another, how one library lost it and then found it, and how several auctions were conducted. There is miniscule engagement with the man that was Isaac Newton and his ideas. I was genuinely disappointed with this book's content.
With regards to the 'performance', well that was another strange affair. The reader kept on pronouncing the Principia in several different ways, from 'pinsipia' to 'princhipia'. I just found it awfully irksome.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Adrian Le Monnier
- 28-03-17
Nothing about Newton
Easily the worst book I've had the displeasure to listen to and mentions nothing about Newton.
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1 person found this helpful