The Milky Way: Fifth Edition (Harvard Books on Astronomy) [Hardcover]

Bart J. Bok (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 1981 | ISBN-10: 0674575032 | ISBN-13: 978-0674575035 | Edition: Fifth Edition

Surveys present knowledge of and research into the sun's galaxy, covering such aspects and components as observational data, neighboring stars, clusters, galactic motion, the nucleus, interstellar gas, nebulae, and galactic structure and change.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; Fifth Edition edition (July 17, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674575032
• ISBN-13: 978-0674575035
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starry, starry night..., July 19, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Milky Way: Fifth Edition (Harvard Books on Astronomy) (Hardcover)

'The Milky Way' by Bart J. Bok and Priscilla F. Bok is a book a long time and two careers in the making. Bart Bok was a Dutch-American astronomer who taught at Harvard, then the Australia National University, and finishing his careere at the University of Arizona; he and his wife collaborated on this book in various editions, the first of which was in 1941. The last edition, the fifth, was published a generation later, in 1981 -- it was a standard text for stellar and local galactic study for undergraduate astronomy students, as well as a great text for general interest readers. The degree of information contained in the text is high, but it is presupposes no particular study beforehand; the mathematics and physics presented assume very elementary understanding, but not a high degree of familiarity.

Much of astronomy consists of observations of phenomena in our own galaxies; even with our most advanced observational tools, it is difficult to get much detail out of distant galaxies. As most galaxies fall into particular patterns of overall construction, by understanding what makes up our own galaxy, we are better able to understand what happens throughout the universe.

The Boks start by setting the stage with definitions, terminology, and general overviews, including nice composite photographs of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Discussion of observational equipment and methods is also discussed here, so as to make it clear how we know what we know. Even so, this is an ever-changing field.

The chapters are well-organised. Chapters include data analysis and how to recognise differences in starlight; types of stars, nearby neighbours and the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram of stars; stellar clusters, pulsars and globular clusters; overall galactic motion through rotation and other stellar movements; the nature of the nucleus of the galaxy; instellar gas and matter; unique features of a spiral galaxy like our own; and finally, galactic changes and evolution, including stellar growth and decay.

This is more properly an astronomy text than an astrophysics text -- it certainly does not ignore astrophysical issues, but concentrates more on the structures and observable/observation issues -- dynamics and kinematics are not the focus here, but they are not ignored, either. The interested student will find this a good grounding from which to proceed to these more advanced topics.

In 1974, at the conclusion of the fourth edition, the Boks assumed they'd likely not need to do another edition for 15 years. This estimate turned out to be very wrong, as the pace of astronomical knowledge has increased, well, astronomically. This should be a caveat to those reading the text -- if the years from 1974 to 1981 were significant enough to warrant a new edition, there are doubtless other advances between 1981 and the present. Even so, this book remains a solid introduction to many of the basic structures and concepts, presented in a very readable and user-friendly format.

It is touching to read the dedication; Priscilla Bok passed away in 1975, and Bart Bok dedicates this book to her, with the inscription 'To Priscilla, with my love: This is the first time I have revised the book without her...' As it turned out, it would be the last revision, as Bok himself died a few years after this final edition. It remains a significant work that has influenced generations of astronomers; there are heavenly objects known by the Bok name -- spherical dark nebulae are known as Bok globules, after he first called attention to them during the 1940s.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best detailed introduction to our Galaxy for the real science enthusiast, June 25, 2010

By 

R. A. Lang "madbioman" (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Milky Way: Fifth Edition (Harvard Books on Astronomy) (Hardcover)

If you are a scientifically informed layperson, or a real science enthusiast, or a mid-level amateur astronomer... with a serious interest in galaxies; yet you perhaps feel that your knowledge of the "details" of galaxies is fuzzy, go out and buy a nice cheap copy of the 5th (NOT the 4th) edition of this book from an online book retailer; because this is the first book that you should read!

For the persistent layperson or for the intermediate-level amateur astronomer, this still remains the best Seriously Detailed introduction to the Milky Way and galaxies, because nothing else generates such a sense of insight and knowledge. This book is quite technical, in parts, so some people have called it a "study book"; but really, these sorts of people just want to look at galaxies without thinking about what they are looking at. This is a REAL science book, and not a watered down and highly simplified popularization; so if you want real detail about our own Galaxy, Bok's wonderful prose is the best entree to humankind's knowledge of our majestic Milky Way galaxy.

The late Bart Bok was a superb writer who wrote with that passion and extreme clarity, which, these days, has become an unusual distinction for a professional astronomer; indeed, most of today's professional scientists do not have the time to develop a fine prose style and to keep working on their books till they reach this level of gem-like perfection.

This 5th Edition Bok & Bok is a good place to start a personal journey towards detailed knowledge of the galaxies.

Q. Is the 5th edition still up-to-date??

A. In Bart Bok's day, not much was known about the centre of our own Galaxy, and studies of its outer halo component were in their infancy; but this book has not become dated - because it focused on what was securely known at the time it was written.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Milky Way, January 5, 2008

By 

John A. Shaw (Monroe, LA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Milky Way (The Harvard books on astronomy) (Hardcover)

I cannot add much to the previous review except to emphasize that this is one of the better books in astronomy available at this level. I learned a great deal reading the 4th edition when I was in high school and its organization makes reading it a pleasure. It is an excellent introduction to the structure of our galaxy and stellar astronomy. The only caveat is its age and sadly the Boks are no longer around to update it. It is better than most of the textbooks I have read on its subject. I would also recommend Berendzen, Hart, and Seeley's _Man Discovers the Galaxies_.