Kepler: (Dover Books on Astronomy)

A towering figure in intellectual history and one of the fathers of modern astronomy, the great mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) is best known for his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion, which paved the way for a dynamic explanation of the heavenly phenomena. At a time when the Ptolemaic view still prevailed in official circles, Kepler undertook to prove the truth of the Copernican world view and through exceptional perseverance and force of intellect achieved that goal. His epochal intellectual feats are completely and thoroughly described in this splendid work, considered the definitive biography of Kepler. Drawing on a wealth of primary sources, the author presents a fascinating and erudite picture of Kepler's scientific accomplishments, his public life (work with Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer; mathematical appointments at Graz, Prague, and Linz; pioneering work with calculus and optics, and more) and his personal life: childhood and youth, financial situation, his mother's trial as a witch, his own lifelong fear of religious persecution, his difficulties in choosing one of eleven possible young women as his second wife, and more, through his last years in Ulm and death in Regensburg.Until his death in 1956, Professor Max Caspar was the world's foremost Kepler scholar. He had spent over two-thirds of his life assembling, cataloging, describing, analysing, and editing Kepler's works. To this biography he brought tremendous learning and passionate enthusiasm for his subject, creating an unsurpassed resource on the life and work of one of history's greatest scientific minds. Originally published in German and superbly translated into English by C. Doris Hellman, Kepler will fascinate scholars and general readers alike.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION TO THE DOVER EDITION EDITOR'S FOREWORD PREFACE INTRODUCTION 1. Philosophic and scientific thought in the Renaissance 2. Revival of astronomical research; Copernicus 3. Religious conflict in the sixteenth century I. CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 1571-1594 1. Birth and ancestry 2. Weil der Stadt 3. Kepler's family 4. First schooling 5. The seminary 6. The Stift in Tubingen 7. Studies and teachers at the university 8. Summons to Graz II. DISTRICT MATHEMATICS AND TEACHER IN GRAZ 1594-1600 1. Church politics in Graz 2. The Stiftsschule 3. The district mathematician's first calendars 4. Mysterium Cosmographicum 5. Marriage 6. The beginning of the Counter Reformation 7. "Further scholarly work; studies connected with the notion of "world harmony" 8. Kepler's oppressing situation and his visit to Tycho Brahe 9. Plans and work after Kepler's return 10. Sharpened Counter Reformation measures and exile from Graz III. IMPERIAL MATHEMATICIAN IN PRAGUE 1600-1612 1. The first months 2. Tycho Brahe's death and Kepler's appointment as imperial mathematician 3. Astronomia Nova; and the second and first planet laws 4. Astronomia Parts Optica 5. The religious situation in Prague 6. Emperor Rudolph II and Kepler 7. The New Star of 1604 8. Financial worries 9. Kepler's patrons and friends 10. Home life 11. Tabulae Rudolphinae; Ephemerides; Antwort auf Roslini Discurs; Tertius Interveniens 12. Political disorders; Kepler on the watch for a new place to work 13. Galileo's first discoveries with the telescope 14. Dissertatio cum Nuncio Sidereo 15. Dioptrice 16. "The unfortunate year, 1611" 17. Rejected by the Wurttemberg theologians; successful negotiations with Linz; death of Frau Kepler; departure from Prague IV. DISTRICT MATHEMATICIAN IN LINZ 1612-1626 1. Kepler in a new intellectual situation and official position 2. Exclusion from communion 3. Second marriage and household 4. The year of Christ's birth; the Gregorian calendar 5. Stereometria Doliorum and other scholarly work 6. Kepler's mother's witch trial 7. Last unavailing attempt in Tubingen to obtain admission to communion 8. Harmonice Mundi; and the third planet law 9. Controversy with Robert Fludd 10. Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae 11. Calendars and comets 12. Wartime in Linz; the Counter Reformation 13. Tabulae Rudolphinae 14. Siege of Linz and Kepler's departure V. LAST YEARS IN ULM AND SAGAN AND DEATH IN REGENSBURG 1626-1630 1. Ulm and the Tabulae Rudolphinae 2. "In search of a new dwelling place: Landgrave Philip of Hesse, Emperor Ferdinand" 3. Disagreement with the Jesuits 4. Kepler and Wallenstein 5. Sagan 6. Somnium 7. Jakob Bartsch 8. Regensburg and Kepler's death 9. The fate of Kepler's family and manuscripts REVIEW AND EVALUATION 1. Kepler's physical constitution and his character 2. Kepler's view of the world and his doctrine of knowledge 3. Kepler's cosmography THE PORTRAITS BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHICAL CITATIONS INDEX OF NAMES INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES