The Astronomical Scrapbook: Skywatchers, Pioneers and Seekers in Astronomy [Hardcover]

Joseph Ashbrook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 1985

This collection of 83 articles on the history of astronomy is the harvest of a quarter of a century spent in seeking out intriguing, unusual and half-forgotten events. Joe Ashbrook wrote a column regularly for the monthly magazine Sky and Telescope. Professor Owen Gingerich, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has helped in the selection of the very best of these timeless vignettes, and he has contributed a foreword to the collection. Each article has been edited, and in some cases modified, to take account of any subsequent discoveries. Articles are grouped into themes covering biography, telescopes, the solar systems, stars and galaxies, and star atlases. Much of the material cannot be found in standard references in the history of astronomy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A collection of ninety-one articles selected from the author's "Astronomical Scrapbook" column in the Sky and Telescope magazine and grouped into themes covering biography, telescopes, the solar systems, stars and galaxies and star atlases. Copublished with the Sky Publishing Corporation. -- Book Description

Book Description

This collection of 83 articles on the history of astronomy is the harvest of a quarter of a century spent in seeking out intriguing, unusual and half-forgotten events.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1St Edition edition (January 25, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521300452
• ISBN-13: 978-0521300452
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,106,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Collection, March 25, 2002

By 

Horace Smith (East Lansing, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Astronomical Scrapbook: Skywatchers, Pioneers and Seekers in Astronomy (Hardcover)

Some of you may be subscribers to Sky and Telescope magazine.
As a reader of that magazine in the 1960s and 1970s, I recall
the anticipation with which I turned to Joseph Ashbrook's
Astronomical Scrapbook articles when one appeared every couple
of months. The fun of those articles awaits the reader of this
book. Ashbrook's interests were varied, occasionally
idiosyncratic. His breadth of knowledge on the history of
astronomy was extraordinary. Many of the articles gathered
in this collection are gems, all are worth reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine overview of the history of people in astronomy, February 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Astronomical Scrapbook: Skywatchers, Pioneers and Seekers in Astronomy (Hardcover)

I would recommend this book. It satifies in short bits by the telling of many different lives and how they approached the matter of astronomy. The approaches vary with different personalities as well as the changing technological advances with time. Historical summary and very readable.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book filled with fascinating information, May 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Astronomical Scrapbook: Skywatchers, Pioneers and Seekers in Astronomy (Hardcover)

The Astronomical Scrapbook was written by my grandfather, Joseph Ashbrook.It is a collection of some of his most memorable articles from the popular magazine Sky and Telescope,of which he was editor. It is filled with fascinating bits of information on the lives and discoveries of some of the most famous astronomers ever. This book is a wonderful choice for anyone interested in astronomy, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.