Customer Reviews

An Introduction to the Sun and Stars

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I have read over this book a couple times and although it has great potential, it just doesn't live up it. First problem is that it is written by committee and thus writing styles differ. Some writers get their points across others do not. I think they tried to cover too many topics at once and in doing so didn't do justice to most of them.

While the mathematics are good you will need a good mathematical incite to be able to follow some of the derivations. Other topics on stellar data really lack sufficient explanation for the laymen. The section of nuclear reactions is probably the best written section of all of them. The colorful illustrations on all topics are first rate. Rarely have I seen better.

I downloaded the sample problem set and I must say that the laymen would be hard pressed to answer these problems without further explanations or a good instructor. The book is a good attempt but really needs to be reworked with limited topics and/or greater explanations. Writing by committee just doesn't do it.

If you are a total laymen then you are going to have some difficulty with this book. If you have some underlying knowledge of stellar astronomy, then this book is a nice asset even with its problems. At its full price it a shaky buy without first being seen in advance. Find it in a college library first before you pay full price for it or find it on sale.

This is another introductory astronomy text similar to "Voyages to the Stars and Galaxies" by Fraknoi, Morrison, and Wolff but with a little more math. I bought this book with the intention that it would take me a step further than "Voyages". Unfortunately I've been somewhat disappointed with it. Not that "An Introduction to the Sun and Stars" is not a good book. It is, and it has some noteworthy features, but overall it is not as clearly written as "Voyages".

What I did like about "An Introduction to the Sun and Stars" were the problems. In this respect the book succeeded perfectly in what I was looking for... a step beyond "Voyages". At an introductory level the problems were ideal. They required nothing more than a decent high school math background, but they were well considered to support, highlight, and illuminate the text. Also, the answers to the problems were well written, and helped to clarify many concepts.

Another nice feature of "An Introduction to the Sun and Stars" are the many excellent diagrams. These really helped to clarify numerous points in the text.

As it's title suggests "An Introduction to the Sun and Stars" is limited in scope to our Sun and stars in general. It does not cover anything related to galaxies or cosmology. For that you would need the companion book, appropriately titled "An Introduction to Galaxies and Cosmology". So two books are required to cover the same material as "Voyages to the Stars and Galaxies", (though admittedly in somewhat more depth). The contents of "An Introduction to the Sun and Stars" include:

1. Seeing the Sun
2. The Working Sun
3. Measuring Stars
4. Comparing Stars
5. The Formation of Stars
6. The Main Sequence Life of Stars
7. The Life of Stars Beyond the Main Sequence
8. The Death of Stars
9. The Remnants of Stars


Bottom line is this is an excellent book for introductory problems in astronomy, but if you are looking for an introducory book to give a clear overview of astronomy, I recommend "Voyages to the Stars and Galaxies" by Fraknoi, Morrison, and Wolff. If you already have a pretty good grasp on the big picture, then "An Introduction to the Sun and Stars" provides a gentle stepping stone into a bit more detail including an excellent set of introductory problems. It is certainly a worthy addition to any astronomy library.