An object in motion tends to stay in motion—or so claims the learned natural philosopher Isaac Newton. He applies similar rules of geometry to all the motions of natural objects. Newton vividly demonstrates the forces of gravity with which bodies tend to the sun and the several planets. Then he deduces the motions of the planets, the comets, the moon, and the sea in a manner not for the mathematically faint of heart. 1687.

Additional information can be found at http://members.tripod.com/~gravitee.

Available from Science News Books. Prometheus, 456 p., paperback, $14.95.

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 25 & 26, December 18 & 25, 1999, p. ii. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.