''Newton for Beginners'', republished as ''Introducing Newton'', is a 1993

graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

study guide Study guides can be broad based to facilitate learning in a number of areas, or be resources that foster comprehension of literature, research topics, history, and other subjects. General topics include study and testing strategies; reading, wr ...

to the

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

and

classical physics Classical physics is a group of physics theories that predate modern, more complete, or more widely applicable theories. If a currently accepted theory is considered to be modern, and its introduction represented a major paradigm shift, then the ...

written and illustrated by William Rankin. The volume, according to the publisher's website, "explains the extraordinary ideas of a man who ..single-handedly made enormous advances in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

and

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

," and, "was also a secret

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

, a mystic and an

alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscience, protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in Chinese alchemy, C ...

." "William Rankin," '' Public Understanding of Science'' reviewer Patrick Fullick confirms, "sets out to illuminate the man whose work laid the foundations of the physics of the last 350 years, and to place him and his work in the context of the times in which he lived." ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'' reviewer Roy Herbert adds that, "alongside theories of the Universe from ancient times, the book explains those originating since Isaac Newton, so placing him deftly in his scientific context."

Publication History

This volume was originally published in the UK by Icon Books in 1993 as ''Newton for Beginners'', and subsequently republished with different covers in different editions. Selected editions: * * * * Related volumes in the series: * * * * * * * *

Reception

"This book shares the general characteristics of the ''Beginners'' series with a large number of line drawings and cartoons with associated text and many asides," states Patrick Fullick, writing in '' Public Understanding of Science'', "for some readers the asides may seem idiosyncratic or even annoying." "Some may dislike the humour and bad puns that abound in this work," confirms Bill Palmer, writing in the ''Journal of the Science Teacher Association of the Northern Territory'', "but I suspect that those starting the study of Newton's life and work will appreciate this attempt to facilitate reading." "The book is well-grounded in recent historiography," and, "Rankin is clearly sympathetic towards his subject," states Fullick, "but inevitably Newton still comes over as one whose intellectual vanity was at times apt to overcome his self-control." Roy Herbert, writing in ''

'', confirms that despite being a colossus, "Many of his contemporaries saw him as something else and these bit players provide a background of 17th-century backbiting and squabbling (Newton took part) that is always fascinating." "Newton's story is told accurately and entertainingly," concludes Palmer. "It combines drawings with text and pulls off the difficult trick of imparting serious information while keeping the reader amused with jokes and irreverent asides," adds Herbert, "it is a technique that has strong appeal and so, even if you have misgivings about it, you are lured along the trail." "The communication of the idea that the great scientists of the past had their hopes and fears and that they had concerns other than the purely academic or professional is probably done as well pictorially as by other means," confirms Fullick. "Easily swallowed and," concludes Herbert, "retainable."

References

{{Reflist Non-fiction graphic novels Biographical comics Comics based on real people Popular physics books Educational comics 1993 in comics Cultural depictions of Isaac Newton Comics set in the 17th century Comics set in the United Kingdom Books about the history of physics