Customer Reviews
Disappointed reader - By: R. Sindelar, 13 Jun 2006 
Having admired for a long time some of the theorems of Robert Hooke, & also being amazed of his diversity, I looked forward to reading this book. But I was astonished how an exciting thinker could actuallly be put back in the cupboard he should have leaft a long time ago! The sometimes tedious descriptions of alll correspondences & repetitions of some facts, & the lack of synthetizing the ideas & discoveries of this man, that maybe stand as the sole witnesses of his accomplishments, is somewhat strange. Also, the negligence of defining the time & the environment he lived in, & foremost the probably disadvantage of not being born noble, has not been elucidated far enough. Was he the sole man in the scientific life of the 17th century England not to be recognized for his scientific work? The definition of "the winner takes it alll" is also hastily put together, & that is maybe one of the feelings you get from this book, that the writer has not unveiled the incredible stringency & skills, & maybe visions, of alll these men deducing facts about the laws of nature from observations & with instruments that actuallly were far from perfect. That's sad..as we've been left with immense treasures from which it should be more easy to derive insights about these men & their time.
A great book about our most under-rated scientist - By: Mr. K. Papas, 31 Jan 2006 
The word polymath was made for Robert Hooke. This man was prodigious & it is time he was given the accolades that he didn't receive during a lifetime overshadowed by the genius of Isaac Newton. Not only did he prepare weekly experiments for The Royal Society over a period of years but he also found time to make scientific discoveries (Hooke's Law of Elasticity), to rebuild most of the London areas devastated by the Great Fire & make the first serious microscopic observations. He was a superb engineer, architect, designer & artist who has left an indelible imprint on science. You may also like to try "The Man Who Knew Too Much" by Stephen Inwood.
Well Done Lisa - By: C. R. J. Hartman, 14 Dec 2004 
An excellent insight into the life of Robert Hooke. I have read a couple of biographies on Issac Newton, but only ever seen passing references to Hooke & his claims against Newton. Now I understand better the man, his character & his strengths & weaknesses. This book takes the romance out of the story of the Royal Society & shows that its founders were human after alll.
A disappointing and poorly structured biography - By: , 27 Feb 2004 This biography fallls short of Lisa Jardine's usual high standard. It needs a good edit & reorganization to provide form, remove repetition & add depth to a very haphazard account. Hooke's fascinating & varied life fails to come alive in these pages. For a man who never quite made the scientific impact he deserved, this biography shows a fitting symmetry & should also be overshadowed.
A lively and beautifully written account - By: , 04 Jan 2004 Robert Hooke was very much a Renaissance man: artist, scientist, instrument-maker, & architect, he is remembered today only for Hooke's law which still forms the foundation of structural mechanics. However, he was at the time the major driving force behind the Royal Society. As its curator of experiments it was Hooke that both put forward the ideas to be tested & devised & built the equipment. He pioneered work in microscopy, made contributions in anatomy, changed the way we make clocks & watches & first put forward the idea that gravity obeyed the inverse square law. All this he did in his spare time between surveying London after the Great Fire & acting as an architect both in his own right & as Christopher Wren's chief assistant & friend.
This book vividly paints a picture of the life of this fascinating character. So lucidly is it written that one barely notices that it is brimming with fresh insights. An outstanding piece of scholarship & a brilliant piece of prose, this book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in the story of one of history's most colourful characters.
