by Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College & ASP)
Version 1.0; June 2008
© copyright 2008 Andrew Fraknoi. All rights reserved. For permission to use and to suggest additions, contact the author at:
fraknoiandrew {at} fhda.edu
Kepler Books for Adults
Casper, Max Kepler. 1959, Collier; available in a Dover reprint edition. This biography by a respected historian is the classic story of Kepler’s life.
Connor, James Kepler's Witch: An Astronomer's Discovery of Cosmic Order Amid Religious War, Political Intrigue, and the Heresy Trial of His Mother. 2004, HaperOne. A popular-level introduction that places Kepler in the context of the religious and political conflicts of his time.
Ferguson, Kitty Tycho and Kepler: The Unlikely Partnership That Forever Changed Our Understanding of the Heavens. 2002, Walker & Co. Biography and chronicle of the two men’s interaction, by a prolific science writer.
Gingerich, Owen The Eye of Heaven: Ptolemy, Copernicus and Kepler. 1993, American Institute of Physics Press. A somewhat more technical introduction by a foremost astronomical historian.
Koestler, Arthur The Watershed. 1960, Doubleday. A novelist’s take on the revolutionary ideas of Kepler and others. (See Koestler’s The Sleepwalkers, 1959, Macmillan, for his full history of the astronomical renaissance. The Watershed is one section of this longer book.)
Most books on the history of astronomy feature a section on the work of Kepler. Two that have nice sections on his contributions are:
Ferris, Timothy Coming of Age in the Milky Way. 1988, Morrow. Chapter 4 focuses on Kepler.
Kolb, Rocky Blind Watchers of the Sky. 1996, Helix/Addison-Wesley. Kepler is one of the key scientists discussed.
Kepler Books for Children
Boerst, William Johannes Kepler: Discovering the Laws of Celestial Motion. 2003, Morgan Reynolds. For students in grades 6 - 9.
Voelkel, James Johannes Kepler and the New Astronomy. 1999, Oxford U. Press. Good beginner’s introduction to his work and life; part of the “Oxford Portraits in Science” series. For middle and high school students.
Kepler Articles
Gee, B. "400 Years: Johannes Kepler" in Physics Teacher, vol. 9, p. 510 (1971).
Gingerich, O. “Johannes Kepler and the Rudolphine Tables” in Sky & Telescope, Dec. 1971, p. 328. (6-page article on Kepler’s work, reprinted in Gingerich’s The Great Copernicus Chase. 1992, Sky Publishing.)
Wilson, C. "How Did Kepler Discover His First Two Laws" in Scientific American, Mar. 1972, p. 92.
Some Kepler Web Sites
Biography at the Galileo Project Site: http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/kepler.html
Kepler Mission’s Johannes Kepler Page (with brief bio): http://kepler.nasa.gov/johannes/
MacTutor Kepler Biography:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Kepler.html
Michael Fowler’s Notes from a Course at the University of Virginia:
http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/
1995/lectures/kepler.html
and
http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/
1995/lectures/morekepl.html
Kepler in Fiction
Banville, John Kepler: A Novel. 1981, Godine. Novelization of Kepler's life.
Hindemith, Paul The Harmony of the World. An opera written in the 1950’s based on Kepler’s life and philosophical beliefs. A CD of the full opera is available, performed by the Berlin Rundfunk Symphony, conducted by Janowski (Wergo CD)
