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James B. Kaler
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The Hundred Greatest Stars Kindle Edition

by James B. Kaler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 29 ratings
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I have always loved the stars. I watch them, photograph one. And you can hardly talk about Zubenelgenubi them, research them, write about them. Their wonder without bringing in Zubeneschamali, so they too are is that they are there not simply for scientists, but for treated within one story. The Sun is not included in the all of us, filling the night sky with their sparkling beauty. 100 list, but instead leads the pack as “Star Zero. ” There are as many different kinds as there are stars Before describing the glories of the 100 stars, an themselves, each an individual. The heavens give us introduction briefs the beginning stargazer on basic bright ones, dim ones, near ones, far ones, the aged, stellar properties and explains the astronomical the young, those that help tell our ancient stories, and terminology, without which we would be continuously those nearly invisible even with the greatest of our tongue-tied. A separate glossary provides a quick technologies. Taken together, they relate the tale of our reminder. Then we move on to the stars themselves. existence, of the birth, life, and death of the Sun on Each of my favorite stars is introduced by a short which we depend.
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  1. Print length
    239 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
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  4. Publisher
    Copernicus
  5. Publication date
    June 19, 2002
  6. File size
    4442 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
29 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the introduction to the book an excellent summary of star types and stellar evolution. They also appreciate the high quality printing and photo reproductions.

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StarsPrinting quality
7 customers mention "Stars"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's introduction an excellent summary of star types and stellar evolution. They also say the book highlights some of the more interesting stars, provides good astronomical information, and discusses each star with true passion.

"...Very impressive -- I was enthralled. He discusses each star with true passion and on a level the ordinary amateur astronomer can understand...." Read more

"...The introduction alone is an excellent summary of star types and stellar evolution, though perhaps not if one is a complete novice to the topic...." Read more

"...It selects 100 of the most interesting stars and gives a "biography" of each. His style is engaging and readable...." Read more

"...This sample of 100 stars presents a broad survey of astronomy topics...." Read more

3 customers mention "Printing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the high-quality printing and photo reproductions in the book.

"...The book has good production quality. This is a fairly short book, very approachable for students who might be science shy...." Read more

"Terrific condition and a terrific price. Lots of stuff I hadn't seen before, beautifully presented." Read more

"Superb book! Buy an old version, used, to ensure you get high quality printing and photo reproductions!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Frank W.
5.0 out of 5 stars His Best Yet!
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2003
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I was not a big fan of Kaler's until this book. I had read his "Extreme Stars" -- very difficult to follow with his writing style, but still a good book. I begged the library to order this one, which they did. Very impressive -- I was enthralled. He discusses each star with true passion and on a level the ordinary amateur astronomer can understand. If someone can get me excited looking at a boring 5th magnitude 51 Pegasii, then he's done a good job :) --- he has. Excellent illustrations to boot! Buy this book - you won't be disappointed.
Update: January 2004 - after 3 times checking it out from the library -- decided it was too good of a reference book to pass up and ordered from Amazon.com at discounted price! A true gem - I will observe outside, then use this to enrich my knowledge of some of the stars I've looked at afterwards. All the "biggies" are here - Arcturus, Sirius, Capella, Vega, Betelguese, and some other obscure ones -- but all so well chosen that it's hard to argue with his 100 picks! I wish he'd write another on his next top 100. I am also half through his "Little Book of Stars" and recommend that too! Will write a review on that when I am finished. Bottomline: Buy this book - you won't be disappointed if you are an astronomy buff.
14 people found this helpful
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Ceaseless reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent browsing book about the life of stars and the fascinating objects in the night sky
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2021
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A very well written overview of 100 stars that summarize stellar evolution and the wide range of stars and objects in the night sky. The introduction alone is an excellent summary of star types and stellar evolution, though perhaps not if one is a complete novice to the topic. The book is perfect for short dives or to read about a few stars each night before sleep, and I very much enjoyed many of his sly comments inserted into the text. Like all his books, you’ll learn a lot from a master explainer.
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Ritesh Laud
4.0 out of 5 stars Star overload, but I'm not complaining
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2004
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This well-written book is a bit of information overload. Kaler presents a good variety of stars in his top 100 picks, and writes enthusiastically about each one. In addition, many of the illustrations are excellent. Though it may be difficult to remember much of the information presented (over one month after reading it, I've retained practically nothing), the overall impression that will stay with you is that there are tremendous differences between stars. This impression is not entirely accurate; the vast majority of stars are out there are on the main sequence and exhibit very similar characteristics. But there are quite a few oddballs, or extremes, that have a completely different behavior. Kaler has chosen most of his hundred out of this group.

This book made good lunchtime reading for me, and my interest never really flagged. But reading details about a hundred stars is a lot of information to take in, and I think my patience would have worn thin with any more. Perhaps a better approach would have been to cover only thirty stars, but write more on each one. Kaler makes his selections based on some outstanding feature of that star: location in the sky, intrinsic brightness, size, peculiar spectral feature, etc.

Recommended for astronomy buffs and for the layman with a bent to science.
6 people found this helpful
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Terry Teays
5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Gem
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2005
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Jim Kaler has written a real little gem in this book. It selects 100 of the most interesting stars and gives a "biography" of each. His style is engaging and readable. The author seems to have intended the audience to be amateur astronomers, but I have found it quite useful for students in both secondary school and the university. I have always told my students that "stars are like people, if you examine them closely, all of them are strange in some way", and this book highlights some of the more interesting ones. Along the way, a fair bit of astronomical information is also imparted, but in a way that flows naturally with the stories. The book has good production quality. This is a fairly short book, very approachable for students who might be science shy. I think this is the best one that Jim has done so far. My only quibble is that he left out RU Cam, which should have been given a place in this collection.
5 people found this helpful
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J. Hatfield
3.0 out of 5 stars Nice book but a bit disappointed!
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2013
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This book is no doubt well researched and written, but I thought it would have better photographs and the book was not as large as I thought it would be. I glanced at it a few time, attempted to read the text, but became disinterested and placed it on my book shelf for later.
One person found this helpful
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bye bye bye
5.0 out of 5 stars Dr K knows what will fascinate you
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2017
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So great. Each treatment is only one page, so you might need to research specific topics via other sources to clarify the information conveyed here. Try Phil Plait's PBS Crash Course Astronomy. Dr. Kaler also publishes much useful information elsewhere, including his U of Ill website.

This sample of 100 stars presents a broad survey of astronomy topics. Even with such a compact presentation of each you feel you get to know each star intimately. You'll want to run out and find as many as you can, ideally with a tripod-mounted pair of 10x50 binoculars. Don't buy a telescope unless you can't die without seeing some 16th mag object.
One person found this helpful
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Marguerite Abaddonais
5.0 out of 5 stars This is such an awesome book
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2013
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There are so many stars, listed A-Z that are easy to find in the night sky, that I never knew how cool they really were. Pulsars, T Tauri stars, they even included Cygnus X-1 (a black hole). I love this book and the information in it!
One person found this helpful
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Stuart J Rankin
1.0 out of 5 stars Buy the Hardcover - Kindle Version Text Almost Unreadable
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2015
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I loved the original in hardcover but the visual quality of the text in the Kindle version is, to be blunt, bad. It is difficult to read to the extent that you should probably wait until a new version of the Kindle version is available.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Grogfish
5.0 out of 5 stars Great astronomy present
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2015
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A great book - deserves to be better known. A good present for any astronomer as a coffee table book, or anywhere else you just want to dip into something for five minutes
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2015
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A SUPERB guide to the stars,that is a worthy addition to my small but expanding library of astronomy books.
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Owen Brazell
4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat dated
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2019
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Although the book is fascinating the speed at which knowledge accumulates means that some of the star stories are somewhat dated now. It is also obviously a POD version as the coloured text is now just black and white.
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