Customer Reviews

Asimov on Astronomy

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... this book should be on your bookshelf. If you are new to astronomy and wish to learn some basic facts about our solar system and the universe, Isaac Asimov's compendium of essays in this book will help you grasp the basics and give you a good background on the "Whys." If you are seriously pursuing astronomy as a hobby and post-retirement profession, the book is an indespensible as a little book of known facts and non-intense mathematics regarding moons, orbital mechanics, gravity calculations, and "what-ifs". If you are a professional astronomer, what better way to bring your knowledge and love of astronomy down to the lay person. (Sometimes we learn so much, that we have a hard time explaining things to the little people who one day might take our place.)

Everytime I find a new person interested in astronomy, I come to Amazon to scrounge up a used copy of "Asimov on Astronomy" and give it to them. The book is obviously dated and new things have been discovered since the last printing in 1979; however, much of the book talks about things that do not change with time.

Hopefully, the books will be brought upto date and reprinted again. Thanks, Isaac!

Yet more classic Asimov. Here Asimov collects his F&FS essays on astronomy (complete up to the early seventies). These have been previously published mixed with essays on other topics in chronological order, but republished here as a subject set.

He has other books which provide an easy and complete introduction to Astronomy, and if you want an overview you should read one of these. However if you want to have your interest piqued, this selection of essays cover some varied and interesting astronomical topics that you might not find treated elsewhere, and which always begin with a thoughtful idea or premise.

This book is an example of his conversational style at its best! Highly recommended.