The historical and social implications of the telescope and that instrument s modern-day significance are brought into startling focus in this fascinating account. When Galileo looked to the sky with his perspicillum, or spyglass, roughly 400 years ago, he could not have fathomed the amount of change his astonishing findingsa seemingly flat moon magically transformed into a dynamic, crater-filled orb and a large, black sky suddenly held millions of galaxieswould have on civilizations. Reflecting on how Galileo s world compares with contemporary society, this insightful analysis deftly moves...