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Life Of Galileo

By Bertolt Brecht
Series: Modern Classics
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Life of Galileo depicts the life of the renowned scientist Galileo Galilei, whose groundbreaking discoveries about the solar system challenge the doctrines of the Inquisition. Despite being forced to publicly renounce his theories, Galileo continues his scientific work in secret, embodying the tensions between free inquiry and authoritarian control. Bertolt Brecht's portrayal reveals a deeply human and complex figure, exploring the broader conflict between truth and ideology.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in drama, scientific history, and political philosophy, as well as students and scholars of Brecht and 20th-century theatre.

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This play depicts the Renaissance scientist Galilei Galileo in a brutal struggle for freedom from authoritarian dogma. Unable to resist his appetite for scientific investigation, Galileo comes in conflict with the Inquisition and must publicly abjure his theories.

This play depicts the Renaissance scientist Galilei Galileo in a brutal struggle for freedom from authoritarian dogma. Unable to resist his appetite for scientific investigation, Galileo comes in conflict with the Inquisition and must publicly abjure his theories.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Along with Mother Courage, the character of Galileo is one of Brecht's greatest creations, immensely live, human and complex. Unable to resist his appetite for scientific investigation, Galileo's heretical discoveries about the solar system bring him to the attention of the Inquisition. He is scared into publicly abjuring his theories but, despite his self-contempt, goes on working in private, eventually helping to smuggle his writings out of the country.

As an examination of the problems that face not only the scientist but also the whole spirit of free inquiry when brought into conflict with the requirements of government or official ideology, Life of Galileo has few equals.

Written in exile in 1937-9 and first performed in Zurich in 1943, Galileo was first staged in English in 1947 by Joseph Losey in a version jointly prepared by Brecht and Charles Laughton, who played the title role. Printed here is the complete translation by Brecht scholar John Willett. The much shorter Laughton version is also included in full as an appendix, along with Brecht's own copious notes on the play, making this the most trusted scholarly edition of the text.

Series: Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Theatre Journal praises this edition as "the definitive translations of one of the 20th century's most influential playwrights...Far superior to the competition."

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780413763808

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 08 November 2001

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Edition: New edition

Contributors:

  • Edited by John Willett
  • Edited by Ralph Manheim
  • Translated by John Willett
  • Volume editor John Willett
  • Volume editor Ralph Manheim

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 279g

Pages: 288

Collections

Arts & Culture Bertolt Brecht Non-Fiction Series: Modern Classics

About the Author

One of the major dramatists of the 20th century, Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) grew to maturity as a pl aywright in the frenetic 1920s and early '30s, with such plays as THE THREEPENNY OPERA, THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY and THE MOTHER. He left Germany when Hitler came to power in 1933, eventually reaching the USA in 1941, where he stayed until 1947. During his exile he wrote such masterpieces as THE LIFE OF GALILEO, MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN and THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE. Shortly after returning to Europe in 1947, he founded the Berliner Ensemble, with whom he created legendary productions of his own plays. He died in 1956.

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