The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Inventive Life of Robert Hooke, 1635-1703 Book

The strange and eventful story of one of the great unsung heroes of modern science. Robert Hooke was a scientist and architect and during the late 17th century there was hardly a scientific advance or discovery that he did not have something to do with, or lay claim to. He payed his part in the invention of the barometer, the thermometer, the spring-driven watch, the air pump, the diving bell, the telescope and the calculator. He was also Christopher Wren's assistant in rebuilding London after the Great Fire of 1666. However, he died a pauper and his story is little known. Why was it that Hooke never won the reputation of his famous contemporaries, Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Edmund Halley and Christopher Wren? Stephen Inwood goes in search of the man and uncovers this troubled and troublesome chatracter and a story full of incident. Dr Stephen Inwood was born in London in 1947, and was educated at Dulwich College and at Balliol and St Antony's College, Oxford. For twenty-six years he was a college and university history lecturer, but he became a professional writer in 1999. He lives in Richmond, west London, with his wife and three sons.Read More