As some one who expresses more than a passing interest in this subject, I was delighted when this weighty tome landed on my desk. Seven chapters covering everything from The Birth of Astronomy and the Celestial Sphere to Planetary Theory makes this a very comprehensive book indeed. Even Calendars and Time are covered including the Julian and Gregorian calendar. Hipparchus, Ptolemy are featured in some depth, as you would expect, but it's the extra's such as making a sundial and Astrolabe, that in my opinion make this book stand out. Not only does it cover the History in depth, but allow practical examples to relate the views of the ancients as well.

The Zodiac is covered of course, but also covered are Armillary Spheres, Aristarchus and his measurement of distance, The Egyptian calendar, which is always interesting, with their idea of a 360 day year plus 5 spare days! Within the Planetary section are such gems as Apollonius and Ptolemy's  theory of longitude and the Babylonian planetary theories.

in conclusion, a well laid out, easily readable but very comprehensive view of the ancient world's Thoughts on Astronomy, not much on Mythology, which in my view is quite nice as so many similar books spend time discussing more about the mythology and less about the astronomy of the ancients. Well worth the money, diagrammatically excellent, superbly structured, if you are interested in Archeoastronomy...GET IT.

Although Pricy at nearly £25, it's over 450 pages were packed with information.

Well where do I start, firstly this is not just a book! it comes with Starry Night enthusiast 4.5 and Deep Space Explorer.

Now in it's 7th edition this best-selling brief text is carried along by the book's vibrant main theme, the process of scientific discovery, readers will encounter spectacular sights, landmark experiments, and recent discoveries, while learning to avoid the pitfalls created by common misconceptions about astronomy. Now enhanced with a powerful technology and image projection package, this is the most exciting and effective edition yet.

It grips you from the moment you open the cover to reveal star charts on it's inside cover pages. The Major four sections cover everything from understanding astronomy to understanding the universe! but within this brief subsections include everything from  the Earth's rotation to the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligent life!, calling at such places as the Big Bang, Red Shift, Optic and Telescopes along the way.

Written as a course textbook (free interactive study and exams are available online) this is as comprehensive a book as anyone could imagine! I for one will be referring to it time and time again, and I can recommend a book no higher than that! It's not cheap but boy is it quality! GET it or Regret it!

Reviewing this book was easy, I've had a copy on my bookshelf for a couple of years! need I say more, well yes I guess I should.

This is part of the OUP's very successful 'short introduction' series, and it is a simple to read, non-technical introduction to the subject. covering developments in the subject from the Big Bang to quantum cosmology, superstrings, and dark matter! what more could you as for. containing good illustrations and diagrams.

A superb introduction to cosmology for specialist and non-specialist alike. It takes a non-mathematical approach, and so may be read by anyone, but the coverage of the topic is so good is so good, that it would prove an ideal first read from amateurs to postgraduates.

This up-to-date introduction to modern cosmology is sufficiently systematic for use as a course text by physics or astronomy students and sufficiently self-contained for anyone with school science to understand. There is a strong emphasis on observational cosmology, with  chapters including, the visible universe, our galaxy, other galaxies and the empirical basis for cosmological theory. One interesting feature of the book is its updated epilogue of 20 controversies in cosmology today.

Whilst aimed at Second and third year undergraduates, it will also be of interest to postgraduate students requiring an introduction to cosmology, professional astronomers and those of the general public, with a secondary school science background, wishing to gain a better understanding of cosmology. The latest results from the WMAP mission are included and discussed, bring it right up to date (or as up to date as any astronomy book can be).

If your interested in current thoughts on Cosmology, and wish to read in a depth further than the book reviewed above, then this is the one for you. It's not aimed at the public, so those with limited scientific/mathematical background may find some aspects a touch difficult, but don't let that put you off. This is a good book (essential for those seriously interested or studying the subject) and well worth the money.

I have to admit when this book arrived I was slightly stunned, after all how can anyone write more than a few hundred words on this subject let alone nearly 275 pages!

Well write it they have and a jolly good read it is! Obviously they have had to diversify their writings slightly to include virtually everything that causes atmospheric illusions, but that is no bad thing. It really is the book of all books if you are interested in how our atmosphere alters out visual perception of objects in the sky. There is even a section detailing how our brain receives and processes visual information. Another useful section looks at other theories on why the moon/sun appear larger on the horizon than at the zenith and carefully exposes the faults in these views.

My only slight niggle is 63 pages of notes and references seem to pad the book out a little, which is sad as if you are not an academic you may well not be that interested in these pages (that you are paying for) which at £35 is not cheap. This aside this book does cover the subject in great depth and it a worthy addition to any bookshelf. I would happily recommend it.

Subtitled 'Understanding X-ray astronomy in the age of Chandra and Newton', this book covers a subject that is 'hot' i.e. 21st Century astronomy, and I have to admit a subject that I know little about practically (I understand what these telescopes are discovering, but not how).

This is a very informative read on the subject, and should be considering the author worked on the Chandra project for several years. However it is not too 'heavy', non-scientists and serious scientists alike will find the book a superb read, and in depth introduction to this dramatic and evolving field.

The book shows the wonder and excitement scientists working at the leading edge of this area feel as they see images/data of the universe, inconceivable  only a few decades ago.

This book enables it's reader to gain a better understanding of this field of astronomy that is opening new doors on our universe, at £21 it is very reasonably priced, and a worthy addition to any bookshelf.
 

Another weighty tome! Over 500 pages, covering science from it's middle ages roots to the modern era.

I have to say that when a book begins with a chapter entitled NEWTON gets it completely wrong, I am instantly intrigued! Please don't think this is a comprehensive history of science, it most certainly is not, it's an account of the major breakthroughs and changes of though, that has pervaded science since the renaissance.

It does bias towards the western science, and seems to give little regard to the amazing scientific discoveries that were made in other parts of the world, but this is more than likely a limit on space rather than a specific disregard for the subject.

The great thing about this book, is it simplifies difficult concepts and make enjoyable reading, no easy task, at only £18 in paperback, I would say to anyone interested in science as a broad subject, get it, and to scientific specialists, it would make a very good addition to your library.

ISBN 0-00-717223-0

This book is

A truly fabulous book! Collins have produced a really affordable Night sky atlas. Each constellation Northern and Southern are shown together with maps showing the sky from various Positions around the globe.

The Maps are similar to many other Products but for only £20 this is a truly affordable tome!

In addition to the maps themselves the book also provides the astronomer who wishes to move up from simply star gazing, to a more studied approach to the sky, information on  celestial coordinates, Star Names and Magnitudes and much more.

In addition Nearly 60 pages are devoted to the Moon and solar system, with drawings of the entire moon, and major craters in much greater detail (see left fore Mare Crisium).

Following a section describing the best ways to observe the Solar System, together with descriptions of Retrograde movement, the positions of the Main OUTER planets is given until 2009. Here is my main gripe about this book, scant coverage is given to Mercury and Venus, there positions are not covered in any real depth, which is a pity considering that Uranus and Neptune both have much greater coverage, and we all know that these are well beyond naked eye/small telescope range for much of their orbits.

This minor point aside this is a great and affordable way of moving from basic books/maps before embarking on the expense of Larger Sky Atlases, and the coverage of the moon is superb.

I wish this sort of book had been around years ago...

IF you have yet to purchase a 'proper' night sky atlas this should be top of your shopping list.

W H Freeman & Co ISBN: 0-7167-3907-0

Although this book is intended as an interactive STUDY GUIDE (with free Interactive Study & exam Review) on the History of the Earth and life on it. It is a really fascinating read.

Chronicling our planet from it's birth the book is divided into two sections, firstly dealing with Materials Process and Cycles. This section also looks at rocks and minerals, and how they formed, together with how we date rocks & fossil records. Also covered is plate tectonics, on a localised and continental level, showing how mountain ranges were/are formed.

The second section deals with the various era's of the Earth from Precambrian to today. This section covers much more than just life on earth during these various phases of our history from the formation of the Earth and Moon to the impact of 20th/21st Century Man on our planet.

It may seem strange looking at a text book on the Geology, Biology and Anthropology of the Earth on an Astronomy website, but believe me this is one of the most interesting books I have read in ages. It's quite simple to understand, and personally I feel we all should know how our planet developed from it's birth to today in order to see where we fit in to the solar system and beyond.

At £40 it's not cheap, but a really good resource that will have you not only enthralled for ages, but returning to again and again.

ISBN: 0-00-717791-7 £9.99

A good little pocket book, Perfect for those starting out in this fabulous science.

Perhaps a little too simply for anyone with a few years observing under their belt, but this is not for whom it was written.

It describes the position of the stars in a simple to understand way and shows the position of the Major Planets until 2008 including major events such as eclipses both Solar and Lunar.

If this were not enough it comes complete with it's own 'mini star wheel' which whilst no where as comprehensive as the larger wheels, nevertheless provides details of the major constellations.

All in all a good buy for a beginner, but a bit too simplistic for anyone further down the astronomical road.

ISBN: 0-00-718997-4 £5.99

Where do I begin?

I am amazed the Times have put there name to such a sad little book, it's star maps are poor, with no legend describing some of the items depicted such as the beehive cluster which appears as 5 bright stars in the centre on Cancer, likewise the Pleiades are mentioned on one map although they are not actually shown (as the picture of the moon sits over their position in the sky!).

It mentions planetary positions on it's monthly maps as well as the dates on the main moon phases (Quarters) and other events such as Meteor showers and Eclipses. Quite why one section is called "Eclipses and Transits of Venus" is beyond me as we are not due another Transit for a few years! yet in Octobers diary half a sentence covers the Annular Eclipse over Spain (not mentioning it's annular, just an eclipse) but failing to mention the % of the eclipse visible over Britain. Also although it does mention the dates of Solar/Lunar eclipses it strangely omits the timings! which to my mind are rather important, and easily obtainable.

I am sorry to report that this is one of the poorest astronomy books I have ever read, it's only redeeming factor is a useful table of Nautical sunrise/sunset times, but these can be obtained on the internet for free! At 32 pages in length I cannot recommend it at all.

How a book on night sky watching can only devote one page to details of stars, such as magnitude, is sad. but a much more glaring error is, it's described as a guide to naked eye observing...So why is Neptune's position detailed for each month? a bit less Uranus and Neptune and a bit more on the timings of eclipses etc would have made this a more useful item.