BiblioVault - Books about Newton

An Equation That Changed the World

Newton, Einstein, and the Theory of Relativity

Harald Fritzsch

University of Chicago Press, 1994

Fritzsch offers readers the opportunity to listen in on a meeting of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and a present-day physicist. While he introduces the theory of relativity, Fritzsch teaches its sources, its workings, and the ways it has revolutionized our view of the physical world. An Equation That Changed the World dramatizes the importance of relativity, for the human race, and the survival of our planet.

"Fritzsch could not give the modern reader a more memorable introduction to the personalities and science of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein unless somehow he could find the keys to H. G. Wells' time machine. . . . Many readers will applaud Fritzsch for this lively but profoundly insightful book." —Booklist, starred review

"[Fritzsch] has dreamed up a dialogue between the two great physicists, helped along by a fictional modern physicist. . . . The conversation builds up to an explanation of E=mc2, and on the way illuminates the important points where Newtonian and Einsteinian theory diverge." —David Lindley, New York Times Book Review

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Newton and Russia

The Early Influence, 1698-1796

Valentin Boss

Harvard University Press, 1972

Newton

Kosmos - Bios - Logos

Irena Stepánová

Karolinum Press, 2014

In 1936, following the sale of Newton’s unpublished manuscripts at auction, the scientific world was shocked: it turned out that Newton’s writings in physics and mathematics, often considered the foundations of modern science, were only a fragment of his writings, most of which were focused on theology and alchemy. In this study of Newton’s work and thought, Irena Štepánová argues for a Newton who was not the man of cold reason we know, but a “priest-scientist” with the life-long intention of carrying out an examination of God himself, as he revealed himself in both the world and in scriptural writings.

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Oeconomies in the Age of Newton

2003 Supplement, Volume 35

Margaret Schabas and Neil De Marchi

Duke University Press

While the history of early modern science is well-charted terrain, less has been recorded on the economic thinking of the same period and less still on the intersection of these fields. Addressing this gap in scholarship, Oeconomies in the Age of Newton offers a detailed account of economic concepts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The volume focuses on “oeconomics”—as “economics” was spelled at that time—which implies a view of economics as shaped by the Greek concept of the household. Examining a range of “oeconomic” curiosities, Oeconomies in the Age of Newton provides intriguing insights into a historical conceptualization of economic relations that differs markedly from the more narrowly defined economics of today.

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Run School Run

Roland Barth

Harvard University Press, 1980

Roland Barth believes that there is a way to create a school which, instead of insisting upon uniformity, builds upon diversity among students, teachers, and teaching styles. Unlike many educational theorists, Barth has had ample opportunity to test his beliefs during his many years as an elementary school principal. Run School Run is the chronicle of his theory in action, a nuts-and-bolts study of one school’s rocky but ultimately quite successful transition toward pluralist education.

For Barth, the case against an elementary education that is uniform in content and method is clear-cut: teacher abilities differ radically, and so do student needs. In the pluralist school, the problem is to find ways to put this variety to good use. Barth shows that the solution is essentially a matter of organization; he sets up a principal’s blueprint that offers teachers more control over curriculum content, teaching materials and methods, and composition of classes, in a way that ensures an educational coherence for each student.

Run School Run is a rich, readable account, a how-to book as well as a personal reminiscence on the initiation and administration of an environment in which teaching and learning are allowed to take on shapes of their own design.

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The Schoolhome

Rethinking Schools for Changing Families

Jane Martin

Harvard University Press, 1995

Drawing selectively from reform movements of the past and relating them to the unique needs of today’s parents and children, Jane Martin presents a philosophy of education that is responsive to America’s changed and changing realities. As more and more parents enter the workforce, the historic role of the domestic sphere in the education and development of children is drastically reduced. Consequently, Martin advocates removing the barriers between the school and the home.

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