Customer Reviews

What Your Astronomy Textbook Won't Tell You: Clear, Savvy Insights for Mastery

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This is a highly readable and interesting book. If you're trying to learn astronomy, you've doubtless encountered tidbits of knowledge that just didn't make sense. The bizarre naming of the phases of the moon for example (1st quarter, full moon, 3rd quarter). Instead of glossing over the inconsistent terminology, this book tackles it head on, with enough historical background to explain how it got that way.

There are also gaps and mysteries in astronomy that text books sidestep. After all, a textbook is supposed to explain *everything* right? Did you know there are still some spectrum lines that we can't identify? You'll learn about that in this book.

The one flaw is an attempt at humor. Interspersed with the author's writing are silly answers his students have put in their exams. These are in a variety of illegible fonts meant to imitate handwriting, which makes them more annoying. A half-dozen such responses is more than enough, but this book is riddled with them throughout.

But step past the silly student answers and the remainder of the book is very entertaining and educational.