The Essential Galileo by Galileo Galilei (review)

REVIEWS 290 century discourses circulating in the Frankish world and the specific political threat of the Frankish Empire similar to the role played by the Roman Empire during the Migration Era. Sverre Bagge argues that the lack of stable political divisions in Norway prior to unification in the thirteenth century permitted political authorities to foster emotional links and command strong loyalties leading to unification of the region. The last section of the volume is concerned with identities in the Slavic world, especially the role of religion in shaping these identities during a period of religious transformation. The main source of ethnic and religious identity transition in the Middle Dnieper Region is the twelfth-century Primary Chronicle , which has traditionally been used by historians to create a narrative of ethnic development ultimately leading to state formation. Reexamining this text, Oleksiy Tolochko argues that the source does not present an unbiased ethnographic description but a constructed origo gentis and suggests that these modern accounts about the early Rus need to question the importance of the Primary Chronicle. Rather than focusing on a single text, Christian Lübke problematizes the conversion to Christianity as a component of group identity in the region east of the Elbe and Saale Rivers. Przemysław Urbańczyk questions the use of place names, especially those recorded in texts from outside of the Slavic world, to understand group identity, thus providing a strong contrast to Brinke’s work in Scandinavia. Historians have connected these place names with the anthropological term of tribe in an unsophisticated manner creating misconceptions about Slavic identity. Neven Budak’s work on the multi-ethnic Dalmatia emphasizes how Frankish, Italian, and Byzantine ideas about Dalmatia changed significantly from the seventh-century model of two ethnic groups Romans and Slavs to the ninth-century recognition of different Slavic ethnic groups. Finally, Patrick Geary problematizes the creation of linear histories from present day countries to early medieval polities, using a case study of the Samo to argue that while the name may remain, the content behind the term changed drastically over the countries. The idea of state formation is never concretely formulated in the introduction to the volume, allowing the term to be conveniently ambiguous throughout . For some contributors state formation meant the use of the idea of medieval peoples to create modern political identities, such as German and French debates about Charlemagne. Other authors were concerned with the relationship between ethnic identities and early medieval polities. Yet overall the book questions the correlation between the creation of strong ethnic identities and the formation of medieval states, giving rise to the this question for future scholarship : if identity did not lead to the development of the kingdoms then what did? SARAH WHITTEN, History, UCLA Galileo Galilei, The Essential Galileo, ed. and trans. Maurice A. Finocchiaro (Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company 2008) ix + 380 pp. Maurice A. Finocchiaro has carefully chosen the word “essential” for the title of this text, asserting that “this is a collection of Galileo’s most important writings , covering his entire career” (vii). Indeed, the major advantage of this compilation from Galileo’s body of work is its seamless melding of accessibility REVIEWS 291 and scholarship. Finocchiaro has created a volume that functions equally as an introduction to Galileo’s life and writings for the complete novice, and as an invaluable reference work for the specialist. The Essential Galileo contains English translations of Galileo’s works, as well as extremely useful notes and suggested bibliographical references for scholars who seek further information on narrow topics in Galileo studies. Finocchiaro begins The Essential Galileo with an historical introduction, explaining the methodology behind his selection. Finocchiaro does not assume any prior knowledge of Galileo’s life on the part of the reader, achieving his goal of emphasizing ease, clarity, and accessibility for this collection. At the same time, he clearly writes for an intelligent reader who wishes to be challenged . He explains his choice in this one-volume edition by citing Galileo’s role as “one of the founders of modern science” (1), and also by asserting that Galileo’s trial still has something to teach everyone. Galileo’s writing contains philosophical arguments as...