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Galileo Galilei Bibliography

Primary Sources (Translated to English)

  • 1586: La Bilancetta (The Little Balance). Fermi, Laura, and Bernardini, Gilberto (trans.) in Fermi, Laura, and Bernardini, Gilberto, 1961, Galileo and the Scientific Revolution, New York: Basic Books; reprinted 1965, New York: Fawcett; and 2003 and 2013, Mineola, NY: Dover.
  • circa 1590: De Motu (On Motion). Drabkin, I. E. (trans.) in Galilei, Galileo, 1960, On Motion and On Mechanics, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Fredette, Raymond (trans.), 2000, De Motu Antiquiora, Berlin: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.
  • circa 1600: Le Meccaniche (On Mechanics). Drake, Stillman (trans.) in Galilei, Galileo, 1960, On Motion and On Mechanics, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
  • 1606: Le Operazioni del Compasso Geometrico e Militare (Operations of the Geometric and Military Compass). Drake, Stillman (trans.), 1978, Operations of the Geometric and Military Compass, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
  • 1610: Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger). Van Helden, Albert (trans.), 1989, Sidereus Nuncius, or The Sidereal Messenger, Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2nd edition, 2016; reprinted, with facsimile of Library of Congress’s first edition and expository essays, in De Simone, Daniel, and John W. Hessler (eds.), 2013, The Starry Messenger: From Doubt to Astonishment, Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress/Levenger Press. Barker, Peter (trans.), 2004, Sidereus Nuncius, Oklahoma City: Byzantium Press. Shea, William R. (trans.), 2009, Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius, or A Sidereal Message, Sagamore Beach, MA: Science History Publications; 2nd revised printing, 2012.
  • 1612: Discorso intorno alle Cose che Stanno in su l’Acqua (Discouse on Floating Bodies). Drake, Stillman (trans.) in Drake, Stillman, 1984, Cause, Experiment, and Science, Chicago: Chicago University Press.
  • 1613: Istoria e Dimostrazioni intorno alle Macchie Solari (Letters on the Sunspots). Reeves, Eileen, and Van Helden, Albert (trans.) in Galilei, Galileo, and Scheiner, Christoph 2010, On Sunspots, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • 1623: Il Saggiatore (The Assayer). Drake, Stillman (trans.), in Galilei, Galileo, Grassi, Horatio, Guiducci, Mario, and Kepler, Johannes, 1960, The Controversy on the Comets of 1618, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • 1632: Dialogo sopra i Due Massimi Sistemi del Mondo (Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems). Drake, Stillman (trans.), 1967, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Berkeley: University of California Press; reprinted 2001, New York: The Modern Library.
  • 1638: Discorsi e Dimostrazioni Matematiche intorno a Due Nuove Scienze (Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences). Crew, Henry, and de Salvio, Alfonso (trans.), 1954, Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences, New York: Dover Publications. This inferior translation, first published in 1914, has been reprinted numerous times and is widely available. Drake, Stillman (trans.), 1974, [Discourses on the] Two New Sciences, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press; 2nd edition, 1989, reprinted 2000, Toronto: Wall and Emerson.

Secondary Sources

  • Mayer, Thomas F. (ed.), 2012, The Trial of Galileo 1612–1633, North York, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. Summary: Describes Galileo’s trial by the Roman Inquisition and includes documentation from the event. Explains how a trial before the Roman Inquisition would be conducted. Details Galileo’s life and the events leading up to his trial.
  • Gattei, Stefano, 2019, On the Life of Galileo: Viviani’s Historical Account and Other Early Biographies, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Summary: Contains biographical accounts of Galileo’s life and work, as well as explaining how he was viewed in his time and why. Describes how politics, religion, and science were connected in Italy at the time. Describes how Galileo’s image and legacy has been shaped and by whom.
  • Finocchiaro, Maurice A., 1980, Galileo and the Art of Reasoning, Dordrecht: D. Reidel. Summary: Explains Galileo’s role in forming the modern scientific method and his influence on physics. Describes how Galileo questioned the accepted science of his time.