With 60 footnotes to a chapter, confining the text to a mere 14 lines on one
page, reading Edward Grant’s Planets, Stars & Orbs: The Medieval Cosmos,
1200-1687 (Cambridge University Press, £19.95/$32.95 ISBN 0 521
56509 X) is a formidable task. But if you’re keen to understand the history of
ideas about the cosmos, then this paperback is the one. Here you can find, for
example, a debate on the implications of infinite space for the notion of God,
and whether space is a vacuum.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Humans
Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead
News
Life
Frozen squirrel scat preserves ancient DNA from hundreds of species
News
Environment
The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction
Features
Earth
Dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site stayed hot for millions of years
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally
2
Dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site stayed hot for millions of years
3
The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction
4
What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?
5
Understanding anorexia’s grip on the brain could unlock new therapies
6
Why you need to future-proof your brain in middle age and how to start
7
What really happened when ancient humans migrated out of Africa
8
Unpicking endometriosis reveals how it affects more than the pelvis
9
Embryos made without sperm or eggs reveal why many pregnancies fail
10
What we’re learning about consciousness from master meditators’ brains