Customer Reviews

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Amateur Astronomy

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An excellent book that takes a unique approach to explaining the world of amateur astronomy. I use this book more as a reference than a door to beginning to understand the huge world of astronomy (Terence Dickinson in Nightwatch does that best). Has an excellent Equipment section (especially the filters area), great planetary info in the Solar System section, and very handy reference charts in the back of the book.

For the price of this book, you'd expect paper quality to at least be equal to The Backyard Astronomer's Guide (Dickinson, Dyer)-- but it isn't. The paper is cheap and really doesn't stand up well to the heavy page turning I have subjected it to - a minor gripe though. There is stuff in this book that is very hard to find elsewhere. Check it out in your local bookstore -- then buy it here at Amazon for a substantial discount off retail if you like it!

The purpose of this book is to give someone just starting out in amateur astronomy a foundation from which to work. This book accomplishes that task very well. It covers the basics of a wide range of topics. The Author presents this material in a conversational style which makes it an easy read. While this book is very similar in purpose to Dickinson/Dyers's Backyard Astronomer's Guide, it doesn't go into as great a detail on most topics. If you are just starting out in amateur astronomy you should consider buying this book. Two additions I would have liked to have seen in this book were 1.) A section with starmaps, and 2.) A section on how to starhop with examples. These two items should be in any beginners book.