"This illustrated biography is an efficient and perceptive introduction to [Galileo's] personality and historic scientific achievements. Himself a scientist and author of popular works such as The Sun, Whitehouse writes with empathy for Galileo's impetus to connect with the reading public of his day, which he achieved with the sensational announcements in his 1610 book The Starry Messenger. Interestingly, Whitehouse sees the discovery of Jupiter's moons as a by-product of Galileo's midlife crisis. Successful but not famous, Galileo knew that the telescope could make his name, and he pounced on the opportunity. While the arc of Whitehouse's narrative curves along Galileo's relationships with the powerful of Renaissance Florence and Rome, culminating in his ordeal before the Inquisition, its inclusion of Galileo's family life, by tapping into Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter, renders a humanized portrait. Supported by a book design whose elements are colorful, cosmic, and subtle, Whitehouse's volume should prove highly attractive to students and recreational readers of scientific history."—Booklist