Newton and the Counterfeiter
The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist
- 336 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Newton and the Counterfeiter
The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist
About This Book
A "thoroughly surprising" chapter in the life of Isaac Newton, with a "vivid re-creation of 17th-century London and its fascinating criminal haunts" ( Providence Journal ). When renowned scientist Isaac Newton takes up the post of Warden of His Majesty's Mint in London, another kind of geniusâa preternaturally gifted counterfeiter named William Chalonerâhas already taken up residence in the city, rising quickly in an unruly, competitive underworld. In the courts and streets of London, and amid the tremors of a world being transformed by ideas Newton himself set in motion, Chaloner crosses paths with the formidable new warden. An epic game of cat and mouse ensues in Newton and the Counterfeiter, revealing for the first time the "remarkable and true tale of the only criminal investigator who was far, far brainier than even Sherlock Holmes: Sir Isaac Newton during his tenure as Warden of the Royal Mint... A fascinating saga" (Walter Isaacson). "I absolutely loved Newton and the Counterfeiter. Deft, witty and exhaustively researched." âJunot DĂaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao "A delicious read, featuring brilliant detective work and a captivating story... Avirtuoso performance." âSylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind "Through a page-turning narrative, we witness Isaac Newton's genius grappling with the darker sides of human nature, an all too human journey reflecting his deepest beliefs about the cosmic order." âBrian Greene, author of The Fabric of the Cosmos "Levenson transforms inflation and metallurgy into a suspenseful detective story bolstered by an eloquent summary of Newtonian physics and stomach-turning descriptions of prison life in the Tower of London.... [The book] humanizes a legend, transforming him into a Sherlock Holmes in pursuit of his own private Moriarty." â The Washington Post
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Table of contents
- Title Page
- Contents
- Copyright
- Dedication
- âLet Newton Beâ
- Learning to Think
- âExcept Godâ
- âThe Prime of My Ageâ
- âI Have Calculated Itâ
- âThe Incomparable Mr. Newtonâ
- A Rogueâs Progress
- âThe Greatest Stock of Impudenceâ
- âEvery Thing Seemâd to Favour His Undertakingsâ
- Passions
- âAll Species of Metals . . . from This Single Rootâ
- âThus You May Multiply to Infinityâ
- âSleeping Too Often by My Fireâ
- The New Warden
- âThe Undoing of the Whole Nationâ
- âOur Beloved Isaac Newtonâ
- âStifling the Evidence Against Himâ
- âHis Old Trickâ
- âA Thing Impossibleâ
- Skirmishes
- âThe Warden of the Mint Is a Rogueâ
- âBoxefulls of Informations in His Own Handwritingâ
- âI Had Been Out Before Now but for Himâ
- âA New and Dangerous Way of Coiningâ
- Newton and the Counterfeiter
- âTo Accuse and Vilify the Mintâ
- âAt This Rate the Nation May Be Imposed Uponâ
- âHe Had Got His Business Doneâ
- âIf Sr Be Pleased . . .â
- âIf I Die I Am Murtheredâ
- âA Plain and Honest Defenceâ
- âO I Hope God Will Move Yor Heartâ
- âHe Could Not Calculate the Madness of the Peopleâ
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- About the Author