SHL Book Club: Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel

We are reading Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel for our May book club meeting.

The meeting will be held in Meeting Room B of the Main Public Library downtown. Metered street parking is free on Sundays, and there is parking available in the garage under the library (garage closes at 5).

After the meeting we'll go out for food and further conversation.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, SHL has funds available to ensure everyone feels welcome and able to participate. If you would like to participate in dining with us after book club but the cost presents a challenge, please email us at shl@lowcountryhumanists.org, and we can discreetly arrange to cover your costs.

About the book:
Inspired by Galileo and the surviving letters of his daughter, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel offers a distinctive biography of the scientist Galileo Galilei—whom Albert Einstein called the father of modern science—alongside a vivid portrait of his daughter, Maria Celeste.

Galileo’s telescopic discoveries transformed humanity’s view of the cosmos and supported the controversial claim that Earth orbits the Sun. For this, he faced the Roman Inquisition, was tried for heresy, and spent his final years under house arrest.

At the same time, his daughter—placed in a convent as a teenager—became his closest confidante. Through her letters, translated and woven into the narrative, Sobel reveals a deeply personal relationship that sustained Galileo during his most challenging years.

Blending scientific history with intimate storytelling, Galileo’s Daughter reexamines a pivotal conflict between science and religion while bringing new depth to one of history’s most iconic figures.