Book Review {Isaac Newton}

 A long, long time ago- almost a year and a half ago- I was selected to be part of Thomas Nelson’s “Book Sneeze” book review program. Then I found out I was expecting number three, started homeschooling, had number three, continued homeschooling, and needless to say, the book reviewing got pushed to the very back of my mind. When we redid our bedroom this summer, the book Thomas Nelson had sent me was discovered amongst the chaos. I decided to buckle down and read it- I can get another free book as soon as I review this one!

Honestly, one reason it has taken me so very long to read this book- it’s part of the Christian Encounters series, entitled Isaac Newton– is that is a pretty slow-moving book. I was excited to read the biography of such an influential man, whom I honestly didn’t realize wrote so much of his faith. In fact, the back of the book reads, “… surprisingly, he wrote more about his faith and religion than on all these subjects (mathematics, optics, and alchemy).” However, the book generally speaks more of his scientific findings than his spiritual life.

There were interesting facts that honestly made me pity Newton. His life started of tragically- his father died before he was born and his mother left him with his grandmother when he was only three years old to remarry. That he was such an isolationist should be no surprise as he was alone quite a bit for the first ten-twelve years of his life. It was the hours alone, though, that allowed him to ample time to think and discover all that he did for the scientific world.

I also found it notable that Isaac was ranked at the very bottom of his class at the age of twelve, until he had a fist fight with a fellow classmate. Apparently, winning this fight spurred his motivation to take his studies more seriously.

If you are interested in chemistry and physics, I am quite sure that you would enjoy this book. As they are not enjoyable topics for me, I probably should have not chosen this book. It would also be very helpful for homeschooling.

***I did receive a free book in exchange for this review; however, all opinions are mine.