The Earth Moves: Galileo and the Roman Inquisition

In November, I handed my mom a Daedalus Books catalog with circled "suggestions" for Christmas.  All of them enforced my Pale and Geeky reputation, and one of them was The Earth Moves.  I probably should have skipped it.  I don't regret reading it, but Dan Hofstader's writing style is a bit dry and the book made very little impression on me.  Other than learning that the inquisitorial court was closer to modern appellate court than trial court and that Galileo didn't actually confirm Copernicus's theory (he merely said that there was evidence to support it), I didn't learn much.  Perhaps it just wasn't a good commute book, being neither lightweight enough to enjoy in short bursts nor engrossing enough to stay in my mind as I walked across the platform.