Tradition maintains that while he was forced to recant his astronomical writings that supported the theory of heliocentric, Galileo muttered under his breath, “Eppur si muove” (“and still it turns [around the sun]”).

Dava Sobel does an extraordinary job at bringing Galileo and his age to life, while also revealing a surprisingly tender side to the great scientist through his relationship to his cloistered daughter, Celeste.