Solar System Books

This work provides the reader with much insight into the world of scientific research and reveals the dedication and devotion scientists must possess in order to endure the setbacks and challenges. One such story is that of Labeyrie and the Hubble Space Telescope.

Bruce Dorminey does an excellent job of explaining the diverse methods of planet detection. Thanks to him, I have finally grasped the concept of interferometry.

Even though Distant Wanderers has been in print for some time, I found it amazingly current. A well written, informative book for the layperson, and a must read for anyone contemplating a career in astronomy or astrophysics.

In an age of the human race's thirst for information regarding the unknown, Bruce Dorminey, hits it out of the galaxy. Extrasolar planets are the rave of future astronomers and to receive first hand knowledge from someone who has become close to the scientists involved in the discoveries allows us, the reader, to get a detailed description of the process and history not seen before. This book is a must for anyone with even the slightest interest in the subject. Fantastic Job, Bruce.

A very timely book! Five years ago there wasn?t enough progress and news to warrant a book on this intriguing subject. Today this field is teeming with excitement and new discoveries. This book takes you behind the scenes of the serious research that is focused on finding planets beyond the solar system.

Bruce Dorminey does an excellent job of setting the stage. For the layman, like me, there are simple explanations of the more technical terms and concepts. These are welcome and wisely placed within the text, making the book highly readable. The professional merely skips over these italicized paragraphs.

As he travels the world to visit observatories, scientists and their scientific conferences, Mr Dorminey adds his own observations of the localities, the technical facilities and the personalities behind some of these remarkable discoveries. Amongst others, we follow him to Chile, Hawaii, the south of France and even the Isle of Capri!

The final chapters on Signatures of Life and Signals of Life are what this search is all about. Fascinating reading!

It is enjoyable and well worth the time to read this well written book on a truly absorbing subject.

The search for planets in orbit around stars outside our own Solar Systems is one of the most exciting fields of science today. Since the first indirect detection of a planet circling another Sun-like star was announced in 1995, dozens of extrasolar planets have been discovered.

In Distant Wanderers, Bruce Dorminey looks at the history, methods, and future of extrasolar planet hunting. He predicts, "Before the end of this new century, every schoolchild will know for certain how many planers circle nearby stars," and whether or not Earth-like planets are a rare anomaly. Like many rapidly developing scientific fields, the search for extra-solar planets has had many controversies and false starts along with the startling new discoveries, and the book presents a variety of theories and viewpoints in a fair and even-handed way.

In the first part of the book, Dorminey, an award-winning science journalist and former bureau chief for Aviation Week & Space Technology, describes methods that planet hunters have used (spectroscopic methods, astrometric detection, interferometry, microlensing, transit studies, and direct imaging through the use of a coronagraphic mask in the focal plane a camera). Although most of these methods require sophisticated technology and painstaking analysis, he explains each term or concept as it is introduced. He makes the science seem simple enough for lay readers to grasp and explains the strengths and limitations of each method.

The rest of the book looks ahead to programs that are planned for the future, including telescopes in space and larger, more sophisticated instruments here on Earth. Some of these programs are already funded and will begin soon. Others are nd ambitious ideas that may not be attempted for years, if they ever happen at all.

Dorminey explains current ideas about formation of planets and discusses the search for Earth-like planets and for chemical signatures of extraterrestrial life. Through interviews with numerous researchers and experts, he presents information on what has already been learned about extrasolar planets and gives readers a feeling for the personalities and activities involved in doing this kind of research. In the process of writing Distant Wanderers, Dorminey himself wandered to far-off places, meeting the scientists and visiting the telescopes that are searching for extrasolar planets. His reports on his travels make the book much more human, interesting, and also tell us something about the writer.

After a visiting the European South Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile's Atacama Desert, Dorminey wrote, "After a night on an observatory mountain, E-mails left unanswered and faxes gone missing seem trivial indeed. I knew that a thousand miles south and several thousand miles north, the world was racing hither and yon. But for me, at that moment, my own existence seemed as precarious as the shallow atmosphere separating us from the nothingness beyond. If only for a fleeting minute, it was impossible not to imagine Earth as it really is: an oasis in the midst of a relative void."

Perhaps you can't quit your day job to make a grand tour of observatories. If that's the case, buy this book and read it. I learned and enjoyed. So will you.

The search for planets in orbit around stars outside our own Solar Systems is one of the most exciting fields of science today. Since the first indirect detection of a planet circling another Sun-like star was announced in 1995, dozens of extrasolar planets have been discovered.

In Distant Wanderers, Bruce Dorminey looks at the history, methods, and future of extrasolar planet hunting. He predicts, "Before the end of this new century, every schoolchild will know for certain how many planers circle nearby stars," and whether or not Earth-like planets are a rare anomaly. Like many rapidly developing scientific fields, the search for extra-solar planets has had many controversies and false starts along with the startling new discoveries, and the book presents a variety of theories and viewpoints in a fair and even-handed way.

In the first part of the book, Dorminey, an award-winning science journalist and former bureau chief for Aviation Week & Space Technology, describes methods that planet hunters have used (spectroscopic methods, astrometric detection, interferometry, microlensing, transit studies, and direct imaging through the use of a coronagraphic mask in the focal plane a camera). Although most of these methods require sophisticated technology and painstaking analysis, he explains each term or concept as it is introduced. He makes the science seem simple enough for lay readers to grasp and explains the strengths and limitations of each method.

The rest of the book looks ahead to programs that are planned for the future, including telescopes in space and larger, more sophisticated instruments here on Earth. Some of these programs are already funded and will begin soon. Others are nd ambitious ideas that may not be attempted for years, if they ever happen at all.

Dorminey explains current ideas about formation of planets and discusses the search for Earth-like planets and for chemical signatures of extraterrestrial life. Through interviews with numerous researchers and experts, he presents information on what has already been learned about extrasolar planets and gives readers a feeling for the personalities and activities involved in doing this kind of research. In the process of writing Distant Wanderers, Dorminey himself wandered to far-off places, meeting the scientists and visiting the telescopes that are searching for extrasolar planets. His reports on his travels make the book much more human, interesting, and also tell us something about the writer.

After a visiting the European South Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile's Atacama Desert, Dorminey wrote, "After a night on an observatory mountain, E-mails left unanswered and faxes gone missing seem trivial indeed. I knew that a thousand miles south and several thousand miles north, the world was racing hither and yon. But for me, at that moment, my own existence seemed as precarious as the shallow atmosphere separating us from the nothingness beyond. If only for a fleeting minute, it was impossible not to imagine Earth as it really is: an oasis in the midst of a relative void."

Perhaps you can't quit your day job to make a grand tour of observatories. If that's the case, buy this book and read it. I learned and enjoyed. So will you.

When other books fail to get me to sit down and read, this book has always been a true joy. The authors implemented the beauty of art and photography with the quest for the remote unknowns that allow the reader's imagination to grow freely. The contrast between the dark and immense space and colorful and selective graphs grasps the reader's curiosity for search for clues on the ultimate purpose of the universe.

During cold and long nights, that book brings the pleasure of rejoicing the triumph of our human race over myth and trivial conflicts that plagued our long history. The authors demonstrate the immense potential of science and international cooperation in space discovery. It also addresses fundamental issues such as the origin of both biological life as well as stellar and planetary life. Of course, the book did not attempt to explain why some elements were more abundant in the solar system than others, or whether there was an ultimate secret in the large space universe versus the immensely small nuclear core of atoms, or why atoms behaved in such manner that created life and organic matter. The book however laid out the authors' current knowledge about the solar system.

Compared to the construction of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the space program has comparably gigantic antennas of 70 meters diameter, similarly gigantic rocket launching structures, oddly designed neutrino detectors of 40 meter by 40 meters and over a thousand of photo-detectors. The book displays such human yearning for the history-long quest for knowledge of the greater world, with comparable passion for integrating many fields of knowledge.

The sad fact about the science of astronomy is the minute number of scientists of merely 1500 worldwide. While the Pyramids were built thousands years ago with resourceful and generous commitment by the weak state, modern astronomers are confronted with indifferent statesmen and the public that is more interested in feeding, educating, and caring for its own exploding population growth.

As the authors stated in the book introduction, that book neither is a textbook or a coffee table book, but rather in between. The book includes plenty of tables, graphs, and photos without delving into the hard science of space physics. The book reads like an illustrated story telling about the events in the solar system. It thus provides the reader with plenty of food for thought.

The main drawback in the book is the variation of writing styles from one chapter to another since each chapter is written by a different coauthor. Such lack of systematic approach to each topic in the book leaves the reader with the extra task of sorting out its unexpected flow of thoughts. I would rather prefer the unified template of thought flow along all the chapters in order to facilitate the comparison between the different members of the solar system.

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This book is packed full of exciting pictures and is an in depth look at the solar system based on that latest discoveries in space exploration. It is an exciting read for anyone who is into astronomy. Some parts of the book are filled with scientific detail that can be difficult to read, but can be understood if you are willing to get through them.

As a layperson reading this book, I find it very easy to understand what is being said, and I feel that I am learning a great deal from it. The writing is interesting enough to hold my attention and keep me from drifting off, which is a problem I have with many other science texts. Overall, I am finding reading this book an enjoyable experience.

This is a very thorough book, covering many important aspects of planetology. Its level of depth is very adequate to its intended public, that of non-expert but "science-literate" people. Although slightly out-of-date (it's been 5 years since its publication), most of its content is still considered correct. It is a shame that its Amazon average customer review has been degraded by Robert M Carto's unfortunate reviews. Unfortunate because they represent the opinion of someone who believes in the theories of Immanuel Velikovsky. Velikovsky's theories are considered unscientific by the vast majority of astronomy professional researchers (including myself) who have read them.

It's easy to read! You can read the chapters in just about any order. The material is mostly descriptive, without any complicated mathematics. And it's a terrific collection, with wonderful color pictures, graphs, and charts. This Fourth edition (1999) is the first to have pictures (and other data) of Jupiter and of the Jovian satellites taken by the Galileo mission. And yes, I suspect there will be a fifth edition which will include, among other new material, pictures of Saturn and its satellites taken by the Cassini mission.

This is the best possible introduction to the study of our Solar System. I'd recommend reading it before getting into a more formal university textbook on the subject.

My four year old showed an interest in planets, so I purchased this book as a Christmas present. My husband reads it to him before bed and they discuss it and look at all the pictures. Although the book is sophisticated, my husband and I sometimes only read parts of the book, paraphrase or just examine the pictures. It has only added to his fascination with the planets and space. Well worth the money.

I purchased this book for my 5yo son, hoping for a good introduction to the solar system. He loves it! The pictures are beautiful and the amount of information is just right.

My 2-year-old and 4-year-old both adore this book, and we've already read it at least 100 times. It's got amazing photographs and up-to-date information about the planets and their moons. Highly recommend!

Every schoolchild should have a good book about the solar system. After all, it's where we live!

In the Smithsonian updated edition of OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, Seymour Simon brings together new information, stunning images--some new, some older but still remarkable--of Earth and her neighbors.

Did you know that the Sun is so big that 1.3 millions Earths could fit inside? And that Jupiter has one ring, whereas Saturn has over 1000? Mercury is now considered the smallest planet (because Pluto got demoted to "dwarf planet") but is smaller than some moons.

Interesting facts are presented in a readable fashion that kids will enjoy. Amazing photos from the Hubble Telescope, lunar missions, the Voyager missions, and other sources are featured throughout.

This is a good choice to pull in children to something so amazing that it's hard to imagine. Just think, their kids may see even more!

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
on 08/22/2007

There are a lot of solar system books that are pretty, but the writing is what sets this one apart. Good sized text that is easy to read, simple yet concise, and fun. The author also does a good job of conveying his excitement to the reader. He isn't just throwing out facts for memorizing.

As like many others, I read this book for a class. I was given the choice between this book, and two other books, so I read the reviews for the three books, and this one sounded the best. All the positive reviews for this book were correct. The author puts his sense of humor into his tale of the history of cosmology. He tries to avoid all technical aspects of this field, and puts it in an appendix for those more curious than I. This book also went very smoothly. The first section goes by like a breeze! Only the last section on the current views of cosmology boggs down, and just by a little. I liked the book so much, that I gave it to my parents to read, and they're both in the art field, and they enjoyed it!

An excellent read!

I don't remember the last time I read a book that was as packed with fascinating facts about astronomy as this one. Better still, Mr. Kolb's dry wit makes the book a very quick read.

If you're interested in the history of astronomy and want a book that takes you past the basics, read this book. I can't recommend it highly enough.

If you have ever wonder how new stars were found, and how scientist came up with the alignment of the planets. Then read Blind Watchers of the Sky:The People that Shaped our Views of The Universe. Discover how the scientist came up with their theories, and the basic history of cosmology. The book flows very well and is interesting. Learn more about the thought of the scientist that have spent most of their lives studying the sky.

Unlike the other reviewers here, I *had* to read this book. Why is that? Because I took Natural Sciences 101 at the University of Chicago, and it happened to be taught by the very same Rocky Kolb. I must say, I was a little leery about reading a book written by the prof, I mean, how self serving is that? But let me tell you, this book captivated me more than any other that quarter. It's clear and concise, but most importantly, its humor keeps you wanting to read more. He writes just like he teaches. That's his voice speaking from the pages, and he's speaking something he knows a lot about. If you want to get the basics of the history of cosmology and get in on the ground floor of a few of the more complicated cosmologiacl principals, all in an entertaining read, this book is for you.

After reading Blind Watchers of the Sky all I have to is, "wow!" I never thought I would learn more about (or care about, for that matter) astronomy. The basis of my celestial knowledge before reading this book was elementary to say the least. My comprehension of astronomy now is not that of a rocket scientist or anything but it is a secure foundation on which further studying will be easier understood because of the basic concept learned from this book. These concepts are not exactly abecedarian, they are not easy to grasp in a classroom or textbook. For some reason Kolb's intricate stories explain these concepts in a flowing manner that doesn't stress the mind. All of a sudden you are reading and you pause to say aloud to yourself, "Oh, I get it." I would recommend this book to anyone. You need no past knowledge to enjoy the book or any great passion to learn about astronomy because it is entertaining aside from the fun facts you learn. I am not an astronomy scholar so I am unaware what there take on this book would be. But this is also an excellent source for high school astronomy students having a difficult time grasping our celestial ideas. -JoAnna Newburn

Let's not forget we're living on a little planet, what some like to call spaceship earth. If earth is a spaceship, this is the owner's manual: THE HOME PLANET. Political boundaries are dissolved by a moon's-eye view of Earth to create bold visions of the planet through 150 color photographs culled from the American and then-Soviet archives. Commentary is provided solely by eloquent quotes from astronauts of 18 nations which are shown both in original language (be it Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindi, Mongolian, French, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Dutch, or Russian) and English translation. The message is simple--we are all citizens of the same global nation.

This superb coffee table book by Kevin W. Kelley is especially apt in this day and age, when so much in life feels precarious and precious. A simple and simply eloquent collection of photographs and quotations, it is so much more than the sum of its parts.

The astronauts who have either landed on the moon or have orbited the earth have so much to tell us and it's easy to see from the photographs why they feel words fail them. Luckily for us, words DON'T fail them. This select, small group of men and woman try mightily to tell us what their experiences were, and overwhelmingly they succeed in conveying the mystery and beauty they saw from their unique perches in space. A few of the better bits include:

"[From space] you have an almost dispassionate platform--remote, Olympian--and yet [seeing the earth from up there is] so moving that you can hardly believe how emotionally attached you are to those rough patterns shifting steadily below."
- THOMAS STAFFORD, USA

"O. Henry, the American writer, wrote in one of his stories that if you want to encourage the craft of murder, all you have to do is lock up two men for two months in an eighteen-by-twenty-four-foot room. Entering 'Salyut,' which was to be both our home and our office for six months, we told each other: We are brothers. I am you and you are me."
- VALERIE RYUMIN, USSR

"Before I flew, I was already aware of how small and vulnerable our planet is; but only when I saw it from space, in all its ineffable beauty and fragility, did I realize that humankind's most urgent task is to cherish and preserve it for future generations."
- SIGMUND JAHN, GERMANY

In no book that I can think of does the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" better fit. The photographs herein are astonishing in showing the exquisite planet we occupy. A view of England's North Sea coast looks like a slab of lapiz lazuli, its surface flecked with sparkle and hue. Canada's Lake Winnipeg from space has the appearance of something primal, almost fetal. The Indian Ocean off Madagascar looks like a sheet of slate over which some divine presence has tossed a handful of diamonds. So few of us can ever hope to share the experience of these men and women that this book is all the more precious, and beautiful.

Political boundaries are dissolved by a moon's-eye view of Earth to create bold visions of the planet through 150 color photographs culled from the American and then-Soviet archives. The pictures are allowed to speak for themselves, with only tiny captions describing locales and weather conditions. Commentary is provided solely by eloquent quotes from astronauts of 18 nations which are shown both in original language (be it Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindi, Mongolian, French, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Dutch, or Russian) and English translation. The message is simple--we are all citizens of the same global nation.

Conceived and edited for the Association of Space Explorers, no earthling will be unmoved by the views, both photographic and verbal, regarding our home. From desert to arctic, ocean to breadbasket, this book will delight anyone who's ever looked outside an airplane window to marvel at the forms below.

A wonderfully moving and beautifully compiled collection of images. Mountain ranges and river deltas dissolve into abstract designs of astounding beauty. The accompanying commentaries show a world united in space in a way that is sadly absent on Earth. The book would make anybody want to become an astronaut.

This is the perfect present for any occasion. It has touched the hearts of everyone I know who has ever seen it. Highly recommended.

This coffee table book presents some of the best photographs taken of the Earth and the Moon by both astronauts and cosmonauts. Due to the large size of the book, these photographs are even more stunning. In addition to the photographs, several quotes by those who have flown in space accompany each photograph.

One of things that I really liked about the book is that other than the small quotes, there is very little accompany text. The only real text is at the end of the book, where NASA's chief photographic planner describes "Why Space Photography?" I found thispart kind of chilling where he states, "it is a far more air-polluted Earth today than it was in the past ... twenty years ago"

An excellent book for anyone interested in using solar power. It's especially useful for anyone planning to build a new house. But anyone wanting the basics of solar (passive) heating and solar electricity will benefit.

Paul gives an honest step-by-step account of his own building experiences, including the mistakes and what it took to correct them. I found the entire story very worthwhile and useful.

If you want a solid overview of how to prep any house for alternative electrical power, you should read this book. If you're looking for practical info in the best use of passive solar heating, you can't beat this book.

Jim, Montana
[...]

This fun book taught me how to think in terms of independent living. One of the best on my shelf.

As a Biologist, I have been looking for a book that would give a clear and concise introduction to solar energy and photovoltaics. Paul Fowler's book does just that. It is written for the person who has an interest in solar power, but who does not have the technical background to immediately delve into more detailed texts. It's story format is engaging, yet also very informative. I highly recommend this book.

Found this book very interesting and easy to read. The book shows the 'human' side of this technology and the enduring spirit of a man who wanted to live independant of the utilities. A man who dared to live the simplier life and enjoyed the hard work to get there.

If only there were 240+ million more like him.

In my quest to utilize this techology, I was delighted to encounter a volume that felt like it emerged from personal experience and not simply a rote tech survey. While I am not a particularly technical person, I found the information and presentation clear and direct. There is an undercurrent of personal charm I found engaging and added to my a sence of confidence in being able to do this. My wife and I are delighted with the results of what we learned and applied based on Mr Fowlers' book. Our second home in the woods was enhanced for it.

Prompted by hundreds of probing questions from school-aged children from the United States and Canada, 'Kids to Space: A Space Traveler's Guide' is destined to become a 'must have' classroom guide and reference manual for science teachers and space enthusiasts alike.

The manuscript is imaginatively illustrated by the kids' own artwork. Their detailed questions, covering just about everything associated with spaceflight and space exploration, have been fielded by true notables in their respective technical fields -- the real 'rocket scientists' -- astronomers, astrophysicists, physicians, scientists, and, yes, even some astronauts.

Seldom, if ever has so much interesting and inspiring information about spaceflight and space exploration been packed into such a compelling, readable and useful volume. No doubt teachers and their students will thoroughly enjoy diving into this users' guide to spaceflight.

Kudos to the author, Lonnie Jones Schorer!

As an elementary educator for 31 years, I give this book 5 stars! Children from America and Canada were asked to submit questions about their ideas of Space, Exploration, and Space Travel knowing that experts in these fields would answer their questions. Hundreds of answers and beautiful artwork from the children are included in the book. For the younger children, a story line with larger print begins each chapter. This book is for children of ALL ages and could be used as a wonderful resource for reports and research papers, too. I feel this book needs to get into the hands of this next generation who will hopefully, become our next astronauts, Moon and Mars explorers, and the engineers, mathematicians, and scientists who will get them there. This book can provide that needed inspiration and joy of discovery.

Lonnie Jones Schorer has written a book with a mission. A critical mission. Turning the next generation of kids--your kids and mine--into space-farers. Inspiring our kids to dream of vacationing in orbit, of kicking up dust on the moon, of living in places life has never gone, and of being the Johnny Appleseeds of the solar system. Schorer has written a book to turn today's kids into the generation that realizes Star Trek's dreams.

Moving into space is as vital as reducing carbon emissions. Our planet is so fragile that it has experienced 146 mass extinctions--all without smokestack industries and human beings. So taking life to as many nooks and crannies of the cosmos as we can is crucial to the survival of the plants, animals, and even the bacteria who are our cousins in the family of DNA.

Schorer has given kids a personal stake in the big jump to space. She's asked 6,000 students in the US and Canada to imagine planning a trip to the moon or to a space hotel, then to think of the questions whose answers they'd want before they packed their bags and prepared for the big trek, the adventure of their lives.

The students posed a total of 18,000 questions, questions Schorer took to 80 experts, some of the top experts in their field. The contributors she snagged for Kids to Space include Richard Branson, Arthur C. Clark, Buzz Aldrin, Robert Bigelow (who launched the first inflatable hotel prototype into orbit July 14, 2006), Burt Rutan (who won the X-Prize in October, 2004, for designing, building, and launching the first privately-financed human-piloted rocket into suborbital space, landing it safely, then launching and landing it a second time in a single week), Neil deGrasse Tyson (Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City), Norman Mineta (a Democrat who served as Secretary of Transportation for President George W. Bush), and Esther Dyson (one of the world's leading emerging-technology experts).

Then Schorer tied her questions and answers together with a storyline that you can read to your kids when they're young ...and with in-depth information you and your kids can dive into as your children grow older and more curious.

Want your kids to have high aspirations, some of the highest ever dreamed by humankind? Kids to Space: A Space Traveler's Guide is the book to fire space-fever in their minds.

Howard Bloom--author of The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History and of Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From the Big Bang to the 21st Century

I have developed space science materials for children and I have reviewed such work by other scientists. What sets 'Kids to Space' apart from those fine efforts is the simple fact that the students, not the educators, set the agenda: kids wrote and illustrated the questions with the curiosity and imagination that comes so naturally to young people. It was fun and often very challenging to respond to those questions because they got quickly and simply to the fundamentals of many areas of the science and technology of space and space travel. 'Kids to Space' and its innovative approach are a fabulous and remarkably thorough resource for teachers, students, and anyone interested in outer space and the issues and intricacies surrounding its exploration.

This is a beautiful book but most importantly, it demystifies the subject for children. It is comprehensive, clear, contains lovely illustrations by children, and offers an enormous amount of information in very manageable (bite size) portions. This is a must for any teacher who wants to bring this subject into the classroom in a way that students can understand. With our Space Shuttle missions in progress, it's the perfect teaching tool to bring both students and adults up to speed (possibly Mach 1?) with the space program.

I both collect meteorites and give talks about them throughout the U.S. I am always looking for good books on meteorites that I can recommend to those who attend my presentations. Norton's books, as well as McSween's, are the best. It's chock full of very interesting information that has been abstracted from research journals and put into language that non-specialists can understand. It's by no means a beginners book, but one that you'd want to read after the more superficial ones.

The main theme is, of course, identifying the parent planets and asteroids for the classifications of meteorite. McSween provides his readers with the most up-to-date information, by 1999 standards, and when there is no agreement, he offers us his best opinion.

The book is organized by first providing a good overview of meteoronics in general. Then he addresses chondrites in Chapter 2, followed by a chapter related to possible parent bodies for the chondrites discussed. Ch 4 and 5 do the same for achondrites, and Chs 6 and 7 for Irons and Stony-Irons. The final two chapters get into subjects such as the geography of teh asteroidal belt and Kirkwood gaps, resonance, fractionations, and so forth -- this is the discussion that will interest those who have been involved with meteors for awhile.

I highly recommend the book and hope that he updates it in the near future. It has a 1999 date -- 8 years ago from this review. I'd love to read a third edition.

I'm a geologist who loves to find good summaries of geology / planetary science topics, and "Meteorites and their Parent Planets" is one of the best I've found. While I've always been more interested in "geometric" topics like structural geology, McSween's book made geochemistry and cosmochemistry come alive like I'd never imagined. He weaves a fascinating tale of the amazing deductions that have been made from analyses of meteorites. "Compositional" sciences like petrology and geochemistry used to make my eyes glaze over, but now I think that if I had it to do over again, I might go into geochemistry or meteoritics! I look forward to reading McSween's other books.

Really a MUST-have for the serious meteorite collector. Lots of scientifical informations, but very readable.

Informative reading and great photos. This book makes a great addition to your meteorite book library.

I think that this book is very well written and easy for the beginner to understand. Lots of great information.

This book is absolutely amazing. I ordered it for my blind grandson and then ordered another copy for myself. The text is accurate and the illustrations are amazing, awesome and out of this world. The illustrator has truly brought a new level of learning to the blind. Good Job!!!

My 6 year old loves this book. Much of the content will be current and relavant as he gets older and while he may not understand everything now he certainly enjoys it. The book is great for all ages and I have learned quite a bit. Of his library of braille books, this is his absolute favorite!

An excellent book to teach students who are blind or visually impaired about the sun. The tactile representations and the descriptor for each tactile representation are just what is needed to bring these abstract concepts home.

Fun to read. Really enjoyed the illustrations. It was a whole new experience for me. Thanks

I bought this book as a gift for my 11 yr old Daughter who is Blind.

I think the idea of having pictures that she can feel that are also illustrated so that myself and anyone else reading the book with her can see is GREAT! There is also printed text on every page so that sighted people can read it as well.

Out of all of the braille books she owns or has borrowed this is the best one in my opinion.

She was absolutely enthralled by this book.The information is presented in a way that was easy for her to comprehend.When I ordered this books I wasn't sure how she would react to a non-fiction book. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she absolutely loved it. All braille books should be done this well.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

This book is great for very young children wanting to learn the names and some attributes of the planets in our solar system.

My 3 and a half year old boy had this book memorized and could recite it to me after two weeks of making me read it twice a day! He loved it from the first reading.

He was already nuts about space and the planets, and was completely enthralled with the witty quirky energetic text and illustrations of these carefree colorful dogs in space helmets, zooming off to sneeze red dust on Mars, and spin sideways on the planet Uranus. A little narrating dog in the lower right corner of each page gives little cheers and comments that urge you to turn the page and see what's next. My son learned those parts first and wanted to say them after I read the main text to him. He pored over the pictures, enjoying the details.

There is nothing dry and 'educational' about this book, even though all the little facts about the planets are quite correct. One of the best new children's books I've seen.

I can't say enough about this colorful, campy, delightful book. It is one of my 2-and-a-half year-old daughter's favorites.

My daughter enjoys reading about the adventures each planet provides these spunky canines. They fly kites on windy Jupiter, wear sunglasses on Mercury and don sweaters on chilly Neptune. My daughter knows that Mars is dusty and red and that pluto is very dark--because of this book. The author and illustrator have made learning about the planets fun, interesting and entertaining.

My daughter absolutely loves the solar system maps in the front and back of the book. She can point to and name every planet, and she isn't even three years old! She talks about "jet packs" "asteroids" and Saturn's rings--concepts that the book so wonderfully depicts.

What a treasure. It is rare to find a book that is so adorable and educational. The illustrations are hilarious, as well as lively.

I highly recommend this book. Your little ones will enjoy this and you will have fun reading it to them.

Angela

What a beautifully illustrated book...Very vibrant andunusual...My daughter checked it out of her school library and shebegan to copy the drawings...I now have dogs in space all over my kitchen! It's simple but silly...It has peeked my curiosity to find out more about the author/artist...hope to see and read more of her works!

The coolest part of this book for me is when dogs in space go from Earth all the way to Mercury and when they got to Mercury it was so hot that they had to wear sunglasses. This book is an excellent good book. The pictures of this book are just magnificent. I wish to see if you like this book report. Thank you and thank you again for giving my book report a rating now goodbye.