Not as enjoyable as [b:Longitude|4806|Longitude The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time|Dava Sobel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316636792s/4806.jpg|1755348] or [b:Galileo's Daughter|18646|Galileo's Daughter A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love |Dava Sobel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309287769s/18646.jpg|2351782]. The play-within-a-play-biography gimmick didn't really work well for me. Still, four stars because I really did develop a strong feeling for that time period. It can't be easy: we live in a world where heliocentrism is a fundamental tenet, known and understood since we're old enough to say “mama.” We can't really imagine what it was like when this wasn't understood. Sobel does a great job conveying the zeitgeist.

(Side rant: Why oh why do I read books like this? Religious idiots squelching knowledge and doing their best to crush intelligent souls. I get that kind of news every day already. It's exasperating to see how little we've grown.)