Galileo: A Life by James Reston, Jr.; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Jeff Riggenbach

For the last four hundred years, Galileo has fascinated and inspired writers, theologians, playwrights, historians, and scientists. As the founder of modern science and the embodiment of the conflict between science and faith, Galileo remains the most fascinating figure of his age. Here James Reston, Jr., presents a lively, dramatic portrait of Galileo, one that not only takes us to the heart of this passionate, embattled, prickly, vain, arrogant, and brilliant man but also paints a vivid picture of Renaissance Italy, of its unparalleled cultural richness and political and religious intrigues. At the center of the story, of course, is Galileo’s discovery of the telescope, which revolutionized astronomy but put Galileo into conflict with the Catholic Church until 1633, when the Inquisition denounced him, banishing him for the last nine years of his life.

“[Reston] re-creates the era with immediacy by mining Galileo’s journals and letters for dialogue. The use of present tense gives the characters a magnified, flesh-and-blood presence that neatly balances with the Galileo legend.”—Publishers Weekly

James Reston, Jr., is the author of several books, including Warriors of God, Dogs of God, and The Conviction of Richard Nixon. He is a winner of the Prix Italia and the Dupont-Columbia Award for his 1983 documentary, Father Cares: The Last of Jonestown, and his books have been translated into thirteen languages.