Robert Hooke was one of the most gifted men of his age. His Micrographia (1665) brought him some fame but it was his great misfortune to work in the sphere of two remarkable men - Isaac Newton and Christopher Wren. While they gained the recognition of a monument in Westminster Abbey, the vitriolic and unsociable Hooke died unloved, alone and in poverty. This book, published to coincide with the tercentenary of his death, recognizes at last the great contribution that he made. Alongside a close examination of Hooke's work with Wren in the reconstruction of London after the Great Fire, Michael Cooper provides a rounded portrayal of Hooke's scientific inventions, as well as examining afresh his relationships with Newton and other contemporaries.