Solar System Books

As a resident of a small, dark, cold and remote place in Arctic Alaska, I join many of our 4,200 residents in protesting the demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet status.
This book shows that as we explore the outer regions of the solar system, we are finding so much more than rock-solid, unchanging frozen outposts.
Even before the New Horizons spacecraft reaches Pluto/Charon in 2015, the authors carefully summarize decades of precise science to learn a lot about this dynamic system
We already know that Pluto has an atmosphere, and may resemble Neptune's surprisingly active moon Triton, which has ice geysers, long vapor and dust trails and evidence of a changing surface.
We learn about the hard work, and frequent frustration as astronomers travel around the world to find vantage points when Charon passes in front of Pluto, or Pluto passes in front of a star.
Imagine the challenges of observing such motions of small bodies more than 3 billion miles away!
Get the book, keep it close, and we will all get ready for New Horizons to finally give us a close up view of this fantastic planet and moon

The reviewer below - An.McCracken - is a fake. He reviews countless books each day but he does not read the books, just paraphrases other people's reviews. REPORT THIS TO AMAZON. Click on (Report this) link under the review, next to the voting buttons.

The author and New Horizons Principal Investigator, Alan Stern, is obviously excited (i.e. worse than a creationist zealot) about Pluto and Charon. But he doesn't fairly tackle the other side of the debate: who really cares? Yes, scientists can make up reasons why the American government should waste millions of dollars to send a spacecraft to Pluto, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt, but what startling science will be advanced by two pieces of ice that we already have a pretty good understanding of after Voyager 2's trip past Neptune's moon Triton in 1989? Even if we lack a fundamental understanding of so-called ice dwarf class planets, is the extraordinary cost really worth the benefit? Any scientist will admit that it is extremely unlikely that we will find life on Pluto or Charon. Can we finally solve the debate about whether Pluto is a planet or a KBO? Wow. What a great use of over $700 million. I think that Stern and other Planetary Society members need to focus on more important, and less selfish, world problems, such as genocide and starvation in Somalia or Al Qaeda. Or at the very least, spend the money on a worthy objective, such as sending another craft to Jupiter's moon Europa, a place where we might actually find life.

If you don't know much about the "King of the Kuiper Belt", read this book, and you will have a very clear scientific description of this "massive comet"...

This book is complete, starting from the historic discovery (blind luck, really) of Pluto, the subsequent observations that kept on shrinking the planet, then the suprising discovery of Charon, the fortuitious Pluto/Charon occultation, and the latest HST results.

Easy to read, and yet technical enough, this book will probably make you love this planet, even though it's only a big comet saved from destruction by its orbital resonance with Neptune... and will make you hate NASA (or the US Congress) for not going forward with their Pluto Express probe.

This book is a well-written and enjoyable summary of what we know about Pluto and its relatively huge moon Charon. However, the fact of the matter is we don't know much because we have yet to send a spacecraft to this fascinating double planet! Stern and Mitton do a great job presenting the timeline of our discoveries about Pluto as well as the latest theories on the compositions and origin of these bodies.

I was especially impressed with the discussion of Pluto's atmosphere changing as a result of the planet's greatly elliptical orbit around the Sun. In addition, the authors give a great detailed breakdown of the discoveries gleaned from the mutual occultations in the late 80s. Also, this book was written several years ago but we have since indeed found many more Kuiper Belt objects that lend great credibility to the theory of Pluto simply being one of the largest of that family.

Too much time was spent on describing the birth and continuing struggles of the Pluto Express project. This discussion would have been more appropriate if the spacecraft had even launched, let alone successfully completed its mission. But the fact is that NASA's funding issues have kept the project grounded for now. Hopefully it'll fly in the next couple years. If it doesn't, much of the mission may be compromised because Pluto is getting farther from the Sun each day and as a result its atmospheric activity is dying.

Overall a great effort and worth your time. Don't expect incredible revelations and photographs though, because we still have yet to visit the place!

Want to know when the "big things" are going to happen in your life? This book helps you to easily identify the "forks in the road" as they occur in your life. If you want to know when you'll get married or if you'll someday find fame and fortune, read this book!

In this complex but extremely educational book, Tyl describes the Solar Arc theory amongst others to show you how to exactly progress your NATAL chart foward in order to see the new aspects formed. This book focuses little on basic planetary triggers, but leans heavily on the concept of midpoints (which are far more productive in Transits) I would say, that this book is not for the first-time astrologer; I would highly recommend "The New Way to Learn Astrology: Presenting the Noel Tyl Method" by Basil Fearrington. It is geared more like a school text book, with chapters and quizes at the end of each chapter. I own over 15 Astrology books, and I think Basil and Tyl have it down. Solar Arc theory is highly recommended, but make sure you have a basic knowledge of houses, signs, planets, and the combinations of. If you do, or at least have the concept, buy this book.

I think the book provides some interesting information. I don't know about all of it, still reading it, over halfway through. Some of it jives with my experience, and some of it, for me, I wouldn't necessarily come to the same conclusions. However, he's been doing this for a long long time. Looking back at some of my solar arc over planets and angles in the past, some were uneventful, and some were very eventful. He seems to be more sure about some of the types of events that will happen whereas I believe that the soul's evolutionary level can make predictions very hard, especially the scale of the event. Sometimes, we expect something really big when it's something much less grand.

An astrologer for 35 years I have read countless books containing opinions and information concerning the subject of astrology, some good, some not so good and some down-right poor and seriously misleading. Every serious astrologer knows the name Noel Tyl and some the man and teacher, Noel Tyl. His work is exciting, informative, and presented in a manner that astrologers, new and experienced can learn and benefit from, as well as their clients. The book is extensive, the examples are backed up by fact and who can ask for better than that. Noel's fastidious research on the subject of solar arcs and how they mark times in our lives when important and life changing events and experiences will occur is here for all to see and use. Other than being in a classroom with Noel, what more could you want if you are into serious astrology, than to have years of Noel Tyls experinece and research at your finger tips. I highly recommend the book.

I started studying astrology in my spare time nearly four years ago. Most of what I've learned has come from following the discussions of friends and reading books they've recommended.

Tyl's work is high on their list of reference materials. After reading Solar Arcs, it is easy to see why. Tyl's writing style is user friendly. His clear, well-defined examples make it a valuable resource for skilled astrologers & students as well.

I look forward to reading Synthesis & Counseling in Astrology next.

Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet, by Paul Raeburn and introduction and commentary by Mars Pathfinder project scientist Matt Golombek, is a book filled with a massive amount of detailed information. Occasionally, the information was overwhelming. Although the author did an excellent job at mixing the more technical information with lighter information and absolutely amazing photos, the book was still confusing at times.
The book begins by introducing some of the famous astronomers of history. It addresses what Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Aristarchus, and Ptolemy believed about Mars. The book also has pictures illustrating what mankind has thought of Mars and Martians from a stereotypical view. Later the author focuses on the time during which Russia and America raced to make their space program the best in the world. You may or may not be familiar with this period in history (this information is covered in the book) but the competition was fierce. The writer focuses on the attempts to launch probes into space, the monetary issues that arose, and the problems each side faced in their quest to eventually land on the moon. Raeburn then discusses the American Mariner, Viking and Pathfinder missions to Mars. He describes the details of the launches, the successes, the failures, and the purposes of the missions. He then explains the interest in going to Mars, the debate over life on Mars, and gives information about the similarities between Earth, and the red planet.
I felt this book was a challenging read. It was informative and had many quotes from famous scientists such as Dr. Robert Manning and Dr. McKay. The photographs in this book were fantastic; they were detailed and visually impressive. This was the most informative book about Mars I have ever read by a long shot, and although I wouldn't recommend it for light reading, it is an excellent reference book. I feel an adult would appreciate the book more than I did.

This book can't decide if it is a coffee table picture book or something more serious and suffers as a consequence as it is not particularly good at either. I suppose it might be a nice, very non-technical introduction to the study of Mars for the very non-technical. If you are looking for a nice picture book (which I was) I think you'll find this falls a little short. I was hoping for something analagous to the NGS book, Orbit, and I did not get it.

This work has spectacular pictures of the Martian surface
developed from recent expeditions. The shots of the Valles
Marineris are panoramic as is the Orphir plateau surface.
The planet has a heavily cratered terrain with many
photo shots of the Southern Polar Cap consisting of water and
CO 2. This book would be a treasure chest for a school class
project in science. It is highly recommended for a young
audience or for curious elders and other red planet enthusiasts. The detailed descriptions of the planet add
significantly to the overall presentation. The book is a
worthy addition to any science library.

AN EXCELLENT COLLECTION OF PHOTOS AND INFO. THIS BOOK IS AWESOME FOR THE PERSON WHO LOVES SCIENCE AND SPACE. HISTORY, FACTS, OPINIONS AND A WHOLE LOT MORE MAKE THIS BOOK A WINNER. WELL WORTH OWNING FOR YEARS TO COME.
A MUST FOR SPACE BUFFS.

This outstanding book is published by National Geographic and it shows! Enough colorful pictures to qualify as a coffee table book but plenty of interesting text to work through as well. The book is written for the "educated layman", not too technical but at the same time assuming a basic understanding of science. The ratio of text to pictures is similar to the National Geographic magazine, perhaps a bit heavier on the text.

Raeburn begins with a summary of the different beliefs held about Mars before the spacecraft era, including the widely held one initiated by Lowell about canals constructed by intelligent Martians. Raeburn spends the bulk of the book taking us through NASA's various missions to Mars: Mariner, Viking, Pathfinder, and Global Surveyor. The book was published in 1998 and hence only provides a "preview" of the Global Surveyor findings. Today, of course, we have a complete global map of Mars in astonishing detail.

Also, Raeburn optimistically looks forward to NASA's continuing "faster, cheaper, better" program of Mars exploration. We already know that the orbiter and polar lander failed, so let's hope that the craft to be launched this year fare better. Raeburn also notes that in 2005 a craft will be launched that should bring rocks from Mars back to Earth!

Overall, definitely worth the price of entry for the pictures alone. There are even some neat 3-D pictures inside and the book provides 3-D glasses!

My daughter had a hard time with the difference between cities, states and countries until we read this. I feel it gave her a good understanding of where we are on the map.

I liked "Me on the Map" MUCH better. I ordered the space book because the map book was very useful in explaining the concept of map representation to my four year old. This book simply wasn't as good. It is inaccurate, also, as it includes Pluto as a planet, though it is no longer considered to be one.

This book is great! Excellent teaching tool. Engaging for children.

I bought this book to introduce a unit on Saturn for my third grade class. When I first scanned the book I thought maybe I'd made a mistake and bought something beneath their level. Not so! I read it aloud to them & they loved it. They all wanted to take it home to read again.

Great illustrations, and informative non-fiction for preschoolers. I am a big beleiver in improving young children's vocabulary through non-fiction reading. This book series will help keep your youngsters attention while you talk to him/her about the world around us. A couple sentences per page. If you want to read another science series with more reading and more detail, but still great illustrations try the "Let's read and find out science" series including "Why Frogs are Wet" and many others.

My four year old space nut was not interested in this book. We lost some of the colorforms too. :( I thought it was great, but he doesn't enjoy it. Not enough action maybe? I'm hoping he'll like it when he's a little older........

Very fun, educational book. We love it when Blue Skidoos! This book lets you learn about the Solar System in a fun way. Blue and Steve are so cute in their capes!

My father turned 51 this September, a month and a half before his first grandchild, my daughter, turned 2. When I was a child, he spent hours with my sister and I star-gazing, taking us to the planetarium, talking, thinking, breathing astronomy. I was 8 when the Right Stuff came out in theaters, and yet my 6 year old sister and I saw it on the big screen, even so young. So, this birthday, what better gift to give him than a copy of that movie on DVD and a not-so-subtle invitation for him to help make my daughter as starry-eyed as I am.

My daughter already loved Blues Clues, and this book is fantastic in its simplicity. She identifies easily with the characters, the text is simple enough for her to remember and it may even be among the first books she actually reads herself, plus my father gets so much joy from reading it with her, helping her to pronounce the planets' names. It IS simple, and might, if it weren't for the Colorforms stickers, but TOO simple for a 3 or 4 year old, but it is absolutely perfect for my 2 year old. She and my father give it a two thumbs up.

Also, for the record, as near as I can tell, Colorforms have never been out of production. I could be wrong, but I'm sure that colorforms were available all through the 80's, since many popular 80's cartoons have special Colorforms sets. There may have been a dryspell in the 90's, but I also know that as long ago as 1999 or 2000 new character sets of colorforms were popping up all over the place, and dozens are now available.

This is a simple, not too many details book about the planets. It is a good place to get kids wondering what is up there with a catchy little song from the Steve era of the show.

I avoided this book for some time. I wasn't interested in anything with "stickers" for my young son. (I could just see them being attached to the wood furniture.) At some point we ended up with the book. I was shocked that the "stickers" were actually "colorforms", something that I had been looking for. The "stickers" are made of a thin plastic with the pictures printed on them. The "pages" of the book are made of a stiff board material.

Ironically I was looking for colorforms for my son. When I inquired at the local toy stores they all told me that Colorforms were no longer in production.

I read this to my son a couple years ago (when he was 10), and we both really enjoyed it. I had been reading it myself, but decided to read the opening chapter to him and he was hooked. The process of "finding" Neptune gave perspective to our own backyard endeavors with a simple refractor telescope.

The field of science has long been a habitat for entrenched older types who do not want to shake the fundamental assumptions of its own field. It takes visionaries to do such a thing. The Neptune File chronicles the attempts and successes of planet hunters who had to work against the inertia of the belief that were no other planets to be found beyond Jupiter and Saturn. It begins with the discovery of Uranus by William Herschel in the 1700's and all the skepticism he had to fight against. Once it was accepted as a fact, it opened up a new can of worms because the orbit of the planet did not make sense. It seemed to be irregular, as though some force was operating on it, a force with enough mass to cause that might just be another planet, so the whole thing starts over again. Of course, we would find that there was another planet, Neptune. This book tries to show how much adventure, luck, and just plain persistance leads to great scientific discoveries. Some of the scientists are motivated by fame, others by simple curiosity. It does start to drag by the end, but for the most part is an engaging and entertaining read. It also shows how one discovery settles nothing, but simply leads to more.

I devoured this book in three big bites. From the shockingly superior optics of William Herschel to the elegant mathematics of John Couch Adams to the extra-solar planets discovered in the late 1990s to the techniques being now developed to find planets orbiting other stars -- its all fascinating. In the end, most of what you thought watching Star Trek had taught you about distant worlds is sacked. "The idea that planetary systems around other stars will be broadly similar to our own solar system is no longer tenable. Indeed, as more planets are discovered, it is our solar system itself that starts to seem more and more unusual."
If you don't read science books and don't know why anybody would, this book might change your mind. Highly recommended.

I actually picked up this book in a used bookstore and read the back cover. The facts surrounding the discovery of the planet were new to me. (Kind of embarrassing really that I had never heard it before. Remind me to contact the secondary school I attended!!) In any event, I was enamored by the discriptions on the back cover and bought it for around four or five bucks. I read it in less than a day, which for me is an extreme rarity. I usually spend my time in the "shallow end" of the literary pool, reading books that can only be described as "easy" reads. This is one of the most entertaining books I've read in years. Unfortunately, I lent the book to someone who had more of a background in astronomy who must have known the book's true value and I haven't seen the book (or the guy) since. So I'm back here to purchase another copy. This time I am much more certain of my investment.

The story of the discovery of the planet Neptune is one of the most fascinating in the era of modern astronomy. Kepler's laws of planetary motion and Newton's unprecedented mathematical description of the law of universal gravitation allowed predictions of planetary positions to an accuracy of arcseconds.

In view of this successful mathematical description, Uranus' misbehavior was so bad that it was proving to be a continual embarrassment to astronomers, and the drive to find a solution was strong in the early to mid 19th century. The story of Adams in England, Le Verrier in France, and Galle in Germany has been told many times, and will be familiar to fans of the history of astronomy. Standage's retelling of the story is a good read, but probably adds little to Grosser's 'The Discovery of Neptune' (1962). An interesting facet Standage adds to the picture has to do with the title of his book. The 'file' in question belongs to George Airy (a notoriously fastidious record keeper). It contained correspondence, news clippings, etc., on the issue of the discovery of Neptune. Conspiracy theorists abounded in the years after the discovery, and some made the claim that Airy was in cahoots with Le Verrier in suppressing Adams' work to ensure that the credit would go to the Frenchman. Apparently Airy's file disappeared at some point during the last 20 years or so, renewing the conspiracy theorists' energies. Standage informs us late in his book that the file eventually turned up among the papers of a recently deceased former astronomer of the Greenwich Observatory. Examination of the file proved that there was no collusion.

This incident deserves further mention. Standage does not name the astronomer who had the file, nor the circumstances under which it was 'borrowed.' Nor does he elaborate on what was found there, other than exonerating Airy of the charge of conspiracy to suppress Adams' findings. Just who did have the file, and for how long? My own brief research revealed that an historian of science named Dennis Rawlins has written several articles about this situation, claiming a cover-up on the part of English astronomers, and alleging that the Neptune file contains a copy of Adams' original paper in which his position prediction is off by more than 12 degrees, and that a faction of 'Cambridge' astronomers is conspiring to keep the contents of the file suppressed.

I contacted two historians of science, one at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and one at Harvard. Neither knows of any evidence as to the truth of these allegations, and both attest that Rawlins tends to gravitate toward farfetched notions that mainstream science regards with suspicion. In fact, Rawlins doesn't publish his papers in mainstream journals, but in his own self-published journal 'Dio.'

At any rate, Standage's treatment of the issues was disappointingly brief and left me wondering if he was unable to dredge up any additional info himself.

Standage doesn't end the story with the discovery of Neptune and the international fallout over credit that ensued. He goes on to add the modern planet seekers, those who look for - and find - planets around other stars. Their challenge may be technically greater - to discern the minute wobbles of distant stars and infer the existence of planets, but they also have superior tools. Standage draws the parallel between their task, and the way Adams and Le Verrier inferred the existence of Neptune mathematically long before it was seen by astronomers. The comparison is perhaps valid, but the modern search for extrasolar planets certainly carries none of the intrigue of the Neptune story, where the search was carried out with paper and pencil and little more.

Standage's book is a good read, particularly for those unfamiliar with the details of the story. However, I would still recommend Grosser's book as the better account (minus the modern info), but I would even more highly recommend Richard Baum and William Sheehan's excellent 'In Search Of Planet Vulcan: The Ghost In Newton's Clockwork Universe,' a book which retells the Neptune story, possibly better than either Grosser and Standage, and adding the historical context of the planet Vulcan search as well.

I was frustrated upon finishing this book. I wished Standage had done the digging necessary to really tell the story behind the "file." Hopefully more will come to light of the contents of Airy's Neptune File, and will be published in some still unwritten account.

Every space buff should read this book. Like a mystery story, it is a page turner, but with a difference. This mystery story really happened, and the story continues with the Mars lander. Highly recommended.

I highly recommend this excellent, very honest, well documented and balanced book. Everyone interested in the intelligent design controversy should read this book. It gives an accurate picture of both how science works and scientists as people which is quite in contrast to the public's perception of both. Sawyer documents that scientists not uncommonly behave like children arguing whose father is the strongest or can beat someone else's dad up. The book is about the scientific question of whether life once existed on Mars. The focus of the book is on a meteorite that researchers concluded is from Mars. Inside of the meteorite scientists have found evidence of bacterial life. When one figures in the dollar cost of Mars probes and the enormous time, money and resources spent on researching the Mars rocks, the cost is in the billions. Although much has been learned about many things in science from the research, a common concern is that the money could be much better spent elsewhere. One example is, one researcher has estimated that a billion dollars could defeat tuberculosis. Why spend this much money on Mars probes and on rocks to find evidence of life there? The reason is, if life, any kind on life, is proven to have existed, or to exist, on Mars this will demonstrate that, given the right conditions, life will eventually evolve most anywhere, providing strong support for both naturalism and molecules to man evolution. It will also strike a blow to theism and religion in general. In the end, this 394 page book concluded that there does not seem to be much good scientific evidence that the rock contained evidence of life, nor does there exist evidence of life, past or present, on Mars. On another point, it is commonly believed that J. William Schopf has proven the existence of at least 5 microbial life forms dating back to 3.5 billion years. I have been telling this to my students since he published his conclusions back in 1980. Sawyer documents that this claim is mostly speculation and good arguments exist to dispute this "well known fact." For example, see page 249 to 254 for Dr. Brasier's valid well documented scientific concerns about this claim, and page 254-260 for Schopf's attempt to rehabilitate himself. Sawyer reports that a Nature journal summary wrote that in the end "most judges gave a clear points victory to Brasier" and Schopf "had won few converts to his cause" (page 260). From now on after I explain to my students the "long held fact that humans have 100,000 genes has now been shown to be false" I will explain that the "fact" cited in your textbook that at least 5 microbial life forms dating back 3.5 billion years has been confirmed is also now very doubtful.

This is a great book if you like exploring where science originates and how personal battles control the dominant paradigm. Sawyer traces the journey of ALH84001 from its discovery in the Antartic ice by Robbie Score to its place of fame as the first possible clue to possible bacterial life on Mars. Sawyer also includes the massive controversy at stake, the secrecy of the research, and the rush accompanied with going public with their findings. In addition, she explores the backlash against the claims of the McKay group claims and their attempts to explore every possible avenue of contamination. Bringing together scientists across the board from glacial geologists to chemical specialists, ALH84001 allows almost everyone in the scientific community to evaluate the possibility that Mars might have seeded Earth with microbacteria or vice versa and, thanks to Sawyer, you can too.

This book is a page-turner! The possibility of having discovered traces of ancient Martian life, no matter how primitive, has sent ripples throughout the (mainly scientific) world. This book gives an excellent overview of the entire story - from the 1984 discovery of this Martian rock in the Antarctic to the present time. As expected, there was much debate about whether the rock did indeed show signs of primitive, ancient Martian life. Consequently, two main camps formed: those trying to prove that the rock did show such signs of Martian life and those proposing alternative explanations for the rock's interesting features. I think that the author has done an excellent job in presenting the story without taking sides in the occasionally heated debates that took place over the years. There are no good guys and no bad guys here, just people trying to understand what had been found in the face of a possible paradigm shift. This book can be enjoyed by anyone because of its clear prose and engaging writing style. Nevertheless, because of its subject matter, it will likely be more popular among science buffs.

We are fascinated by the possibility that there may be some sort of life elsewhere than on the Earth. The possibility that there is no life elsewhere is equally interesting, but it doesn't, for instance, make interesting science fiction movies. Life outside of Earth has most often been imagined on Mars, which for all its differences from our planet is the one that is most similar to our own. Thus, when on 7 August 1996 researchers announced that they had found evidence that might show fossilized life on Mars, it was not just a scientific announcement, but one which that non-scientist President Clinton had to take part in making. _The Rock from Mars: A Detective Story on Two Planets_ (Random House) by Kathy Sawyer tells how the announcement came about, the science behind it, and the personalities (and the infighting) that made it happen and have kept research in the arena to the current day at various cutting edges at the limits of our understanding. Sawyer, a science reporter for the _Washington Post_, has made this story not only interesting but exciting, a refreshing view of how big science is done these days.

The story began sixteen million years ago with an asteroid slamming into Mars. This sent up debris, and some of the debris became asteroids in their own right, and came down on Earth. This particular rock came down 13,000 years ago, and remained in the ice of Antarctica until it was discovered in 1984. The special nature of the rock, wasn't understood until 1993, when geochemists started examining it, and found that it was 4.5 billion years old; it was the oldest known rock from any planet including our own. More important, they found carbonates and iron crystals that were similar to such chemicals produced by organisms on Earth. Sawyer carefully explains the process of examining the rock; acid, electron scanning microscopes, ultraviolet lasers and more are brought upon it. There is lots of evidence that was turned up, and whatever the aftermath of the research, the team of David McKay, a famously careful and conservative researcher, did such a thorough job that the evidence was never in question. It was the interpretation of the evidence that proved to be troubling. Many scientists were upset that the researchers were taking undue advantage of a hot story and making it seem that their interpretation was factual rather than tentative. NASA was criticized from the start for hyping the research and using it for political reasons. In the ten years since the announcement, the controversy has become less prominent, but among scientists who are looking into the subject, there are still opposing camps on the matter, and vehement disagreements, and hurt feelings.

As Sawyer winds up the story, there is no overall agreement on just what McKay's team turned up. There have been different ways of looking at the rock since then, none of them making a conclusive case. This is not a bad thing. Because of the controversy, new techniques have been brought into play and new discoveries have been made. For instance, what was learned about possible earthly contamination of the rock will be used when bits of Mars are brought back by robot spacecraft sometime in the future. Because of the controversy, there has been increased interest and better explanations for the origins of life on Earth in the most unlikely and unwelcoming of environments. With its depiction of all-too-human scientists attempting objectivity when contemplating the great mystery of life elsewhere, Sawyer's account is an appealing picture of a good example of how science works.

This book is great and a must read for anyone who wants to cut the wire and become energy independent of the energy grid. Everyone knows that the grid is a mony gobleing monster and that they will use any excuse to charge you more and more money for your electric bill and yes this includes the so called co-ops. Read this book and not only can you cut the wire but it shows you how to turn the tables on them and make them buy the excess electriscity that you don't use from you.

Book tells you how to "plan" a solar powered system by outlining the loads in your home. Easy to understand but not technical enough. Needs to list more products and where to get them. More pictures would be nice. All in all the book gives a great summary on how to start and plan a system that suits your needs. I recommend getting it for anyone interested in planing a solar powered system for you home or business.

Jeff Yago's book is a great tool for solar experts to use when teaching homeowners or training electricians and solar contractors new to the business. My organization, the Maryland-DC-Virginia Solar Energy Industries Association, uses Jeff's book as a text for Training Seminars and Workshops we conduct throughout the year. The book has been an invaluable aid in conveying the sometimes complex information in a user-friendly fashion to our Seminar participants. I highly recommend the book!

Jeff Yago's book is a great tool for solar experts to use when teaching homeowners or training electricians and solar contractors new to the business. My organization, the Maryland-DC-Virginia Solar Energy Industries Association, uses Jeff's book as a text for Training Seminars and Workshops we conduct throughout the year. The book has been an invaluable aid in conveying the sometimes complex information in a user-friendly fashion to our Seminar participants. I highly recommend the book!

Jeffrey Yago certainly has the credentials to write an authoritative book on energy independence; he's a professional engineer, a specialist in alternate energy applications, and - most importantly - he's done it himself; he lives in a large home that embodies his philosophy. The book reflects this wealth of knowledge and experience.

You should know that at least 90% of this book, and perhaps more, is centered around electricity production through the use of solar panels. Wind generators are mentioned, but only briefly - as in a few paragraphs, and one picture; and other important solar energy topics, such as the use of solar hot water systems, are barely mentioned. The importance of heat conservation through upgrading insulation and the use of triple pane, low-e argon filled windows is not mentioned at all. This is particularly disappointing, because for most climates in North America, ranging from the very cold to the very hot, reducing energy losses through passive insulation is one of the most cost effective things the average person can do. You get more bang for your buck through insulation - in most cases - than any other solar energy upgrade you can perform. But Yago doesn't mention this fact.

(Think you don't need insulation, because you live in Arizona? Well, more insulation keeps the heat out, and the cold in, better. Something to consider, when you next pay the electrical bill for running your air conditioner.)

I would like to have seen plans for a do it yourself domestic solar water heater; but they're not here. A solar oven can be easily constructed, and is a very inspiring and educational way to learn about the power of the sun; but there's nothing in this book on the topic. Solar showers can be easily constructed, or even inexpensively purchased commercially; but you won't find them mentioned here. There's no indication of how much insulation to use in your home's walls and ceilings, and there's no discussion of how much heat loss occurs through regular windows. There's nothing on passive solar gain through the use of Trombe walls, and no information on heat storage through the use of water or rock mass. Electricity generation through the use of small hydroelectric units is barely mentioned (as in, yeah, you can do it). But you won't find any discussion of height versus water pressure, or suppliers of hydro generation units, or cost/benefit ratios (how much water do I have to have flowing, from what height, before hydro units are a better value than solar panels?)

In short, the book confines itself to the topic of ELECTRICITY conservation, and ELECTRICITY generation - and that, primarily through the use of solar panels and gasoline generators, often connected to the grid through utility intertie systems.

For the beginner, this is a good book. The information, although very limited in scope, is correct; and Yago's experience in this small aspect of solar power is quite evident. His information regarding batteries - selection, housing, charging, equalization - is important for those new to solar power.

(One important point: Yago states that homeowners should replace their existing light bulbs with replacement florescent lighting. He's correct; the payback is dramatic. But Yago also states that hallways and rooms should be equipped with motion sensor switches, that turn on the lights when you enter and turn them off when you leave. The trouble is, most motion sensor switches of this type will not work with florescent tubes; and of the few that do, none will work with the electronic ballast, screw in replacement florescent bulbs most likely to be used by the consumer. They'll cause the switches to overheat, burn out, and represent a fire hazard. This is mentioned in the fine print on the switch; so, if you go this route, make CERTAIN that the motion detector switch is compatible with an ELECTRONIC ballast, florescent fixture. I don't know of any that are.)
(UPDATE: Scott Ermatinger found one at Smarthome - do a Google Search to locate their website. So finally, it is an option, although at $55 each it's a somewhat expensive one. Thanks, Scott, for the information!)

Other, more detailed books on solar electrical power have been written by David Smead, who runs a company called Ample Power. While Smead tends to center his books on the boating industry, most of the issues that face an off grid homeowner are the same as those faced by a cruising boat captain. Smead's texts provide a wealth of factual information on batteries and electrical generation, and should be read by anyone intent on doing solar power. They can be daunting, however; Smead is a very high level engineer, and has designed a few items for solar power which have become widely used - and copied - throughout the industry. You should familiarize yourself with his books and products.

For those looking for more general information on achieving energy independence through solar power, check out the many books written or published by Real Goods, and available through Amazon. Real Goods covers many more of the bases than this book does. Do keep in mind that Real Goods is a commercial retail mail order store; they sell stuff. Even so, I've found their information to be factual, and wide ranging. Becasue of their commercial orientation, I'm always concerned that their information will be designed to sell products, rather than educate consumers; but in truth, I have not found this to be the case.

Yago's book is NOT complete. You will NOT leave this book with all the information necessary to order and construct your own solar power system. It is more of a general, 30,000 foot overview of electrical energy conservation and production through the use of solar panels.

I would recommend this book to individuals new to the solar power movement, who are seeking a broad, non-detailed overview of power production and storage through solar panel usage. It is by no means a one stop shop; you'll need to read many other books to become a solar power guru. But Yagos' book is informative, fairly accurate, and factual - as far as it goes.

It just doesn't go very far.

There is a marvelous cover painting by Ed Emshwiller for the February, 1960 issue of _Galaxy_. It depicts a middle-aged woman in shorts and a halter, with her hair in curlers. She is sitting in an old acceleration chair and knitting. A ball of yarn sits on the ground beside her. Behind her is a fence and a sign that says: JENNY'S JUNK: USED SPACESHIPS, SECOND HAND ROBOTS. Inside the fence is a jumble of rockets, space stations, antigravity cars, computers, engines, and robots-- most of them gutted for parts.

I would not want to say that the junkyard is exactly a science fiction archtype, but it is not unknown. Lee Correy's _Contraband Rocket_ (1957) is about a group of rocket buffs who assemble a lunar rocket from raw material from a spaceship junkyard. Robert A. Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_ (1952) opens with the Stone twins dickering for the shell of a spaceship at a lunar junkyard.

H. Beam Piper probably did the most elaborate treatment in _Junkyard Planet_ (1963), in which he imagines an entire planet of junk that has passed into the public domain. There are legends of a supercomputer named Merlin that may be hidden on the planet. The hero, Conn Maxwell, and his father know that there is no such computer. But in order to raise an expedition to the planet to mine other treasures, they must lie and pretend that Merlin exists.

Piper has a good feel for the difficulties and false starts that must be endured to successfully launch an expedition. He also does well with his picture of the treasures and traps on the junkyard planet itself:

They found the fissionables magazine and in it plenty of plutonium, each sub-critical slug in a five hundred pound collapsium cannister. There were repair-robots, and they only had to replace the cartridges in the power units of three of them. They sent them inside the collapsium-shielded death-to-people area-transmitter to relay what the others picked up through receptors wire-connected to the outside; foreman robots, globes a yard in diameter covered with horns and spikes like old-fashioned ocean-navy mines; worker robots in avariety of shapes, but mostly looking like many-clawed crabs. (111-12)

There are a number of effective twists and turns along the way, and Piper's main theme is sound. Sometimes you need a myth to revitalize a society.

Though _Junkyard Planet_ was written for a juvenile audience, it is comparable in quality to his adult novel, _Space Viking_ (1963) that was written at about the same time. It is solid, well-crafted, and intelligent... but just a little bit routine. _Junkyard Planet_ has sometimes been issued under the much inferior title, _The Cosmic Computer_. Buy it under either title.

With the transition of much of H. Beam Piper's work into the public domain publishers like Aegypan Press have finally begun to bring Piper's work back into print and for that fans of Piper owe them a debt of gratitude. This novel, set in Piper's Terrohuman Future History, is one of his best. Poictesme (pronounced "pwa-tem") is a backwater planet, its economy crashed in the aftermath of an interstellar civil war, its surface dotted with known and unknown installations from the war. Conn Maxwell, freshly returned from computer studies on Terra (the non-miniaturized technology here will make some readers stumble), leads an exciting search for the fabled lost supercomputer, Merlin, that helped to win the war. In an adventure that takes us across the planet and into the local solar system Conn and his colleagues encounter pirates, Merlin-worshippers, wayward robots, and saboteurs before discovering a long-kept secret that threatens all of interstellar civilization! This is an exciting, tightly-written story that showcases Piper's storytelling at its complex and intricate best.

Other Terrohuman Future History works by Piper include Uller Uprising, Four-Day Planet, Little Fuzzy, and Space Viking.

My favorite Piper novel (though Space Viking is a close second). I've read this over a dozen times. Solid plot. Excellent pace. Believable human characters. And the writing ain't bad either. Must read.

One of the best SF works I've ever read. The only one I reread and enjoy every time. I think I've read the book 4 or 5 time. Good story background, unique story line, and a narative that moves along at a good clip. You can really escape into this story.

Conn Maxwell was raised on the planet of Poictesme, home base of the Third Fleet-Army Force during the System States War. After the war, the soldiers went home, leaving the planet dotted with abandoned bases and equipment. However, one piece of equipment has yet to have been found: Merlin, the military's rumored super-computer--a computer so powerful that it could solve any problem. Life will be good once Merlin is found.

And so, Conn is sent to Terra to study computers and learn the location of Merlin. Well, Conn's back with the knowledge: Merlin only ever did exist in rumor. But Poictesme is rotting away, its inhabitants apathetic, sitting and waiting for Merlin to come along and solve their problems for them. So, Conn needs something to get Poictesme moving again, he need's Merlin!

This book is another masterpiece by that under appreciated master of science fiction, H. Beam Piper. The story is great, with an excellent mix of adventure and suspense. In fact, the surprise ending will throw anyone for a loop. I really loved this book, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

I must admit one thing, though. The author did somewhat date the book, with computers that only communicate in taped-in machine code, and scientists who use slide-rules. But, if you are willing to suspend disbelief a little extra, you will be rewarded with a great read. So, get this book!

This is a nice, streamlined book. Logical layout, sharp photography, and a clean, crisp design. The first portion discusses the universe and stars (addressed below), and is followed by another section that provides a 2-4 page profile on each planet, including when and where in the sky it's visible until 2009. Following these sections, is a large section covering all the official constellations in alphabetical order with at least one interesting item to check out from each constellation. Obviously, some have more: Sagitarius, Scorpius, Orion, etc. A brief constellation history is provided, along with a small map depicting the constellation stars, surrounding stars, and objects of particular interest. These objects are coded with simple icons to denote "viewability": naked eye, bino, scope, etc. The last section of the book has monthly sky maps. I purchased the flex-cover edition, which is made of some quasi-vinyl material that's quite nice. The book itself seems well made and durable. Why only 4 stars? I have two issues. #1, I wish it were spiral bound. #2, it's not as forthright about its hypothetical aspects as it should be (planetary core composition, Big Bang mechanics, Oort Cloud (!), etc.) Other than that, the book is highly recommended and a pleasure to read/use.

If you own only one astronomy field guide, this should be it. The charts are accurate & easy to read, the text is informative but not overpowering, and the design is very reader friendly. The monthly star charts can be used from most latitudes - both northern and southern.
This is the third edition of this book. I've been a fan of it since it was first published in the mid 1980s.

I found this book to be interesting, but not in-depth enough for intermediate astronomers. The information on the planets is overly simplistic and for entertainment purposes. For example, instead of having a graph of basic information for every planet, sometimes it lists essential information (like orbital period) and sometimes it doesn't which makes it useless as a reference.

I suggest it for the younger prospective amateur, but for older users get the Peterson's Field Guide: Stars and Planets. Very sturdy build and good guide for charting the planets.

I sat down at a local book retailer and compared this book with both the Peterson Field Guide, and the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to the Night Sky. I was purchasing this book for a teenager who is taking a serious interest in the stars, and I wanted him to have a field guide to accompany the 10x50 binoculars I bought him. My immediate response was to look at the Audubon text because I had an older edition and was attracted to the plastic blue cover. I also knew of 'Peterson' since I had one of those growing up as a teenager. I looked at them both, and also found this Princeton edition which I had no experience with.

A quick run-down of build (binding, pages), charts, photos, and arrangement of content is listed for each text:

Audubon: nice plastic cover, very thin paper for text (not suitable for dew or teenage abuse) and nice paper used for charts and photos, charts are okay, photos are not listed beside text (lose context of photo), lots of other good info, but maybe too much info and not well organized(?)

Peterson: good cover, good paper, charts are very detailed but good for indoor use only (not suitable for red light use at night) because of colored stars (color of stars specify spectral types - not useful to beginner looking for clusters and galaxies with binoculars). I don't recall other info since I put the book down after seeing the star charts.

Princeton: good cover and paper (thick - should handle dew and typical teenage abuse), charts are good contrast white stars on light blue background (stars to mag 5 or 6, I think?), very good info on historical significance of each constellation, and any objects viewable in that constellation - also shows most significant objects in context of the constellation they are found.

I sat down at home and thumbed thru the text a few times and was quite pleased with it. It has a brief run down on each planet (sort of an introduction) along with some decent photos. We've used the book a couple times since purchasing it, and I would have to say that it is a joy to use when trying to get acquainted with the night sky. I don't expect it to tell me anything and everything about equipment and the nature of the universe - I just need it to help me find what I'm looking for.

I am one of those people who has trouble finding specific constellations, and is never quite sure whether I'm looking at Jupiter or Venus. I carry around little scraps of paper from the newspaper so I can figure out which planets are visible . . . but have a hard time reading the scraps in the dark.

With this book, I can see when and where each planet will appear through 2012. I can also get all the help I need to know what constellations are up there now, and which ones will be present when.

As a result, I can finally introduce the starry heavens in an appropriate way to younger people. I already know a lot about astronomy, but the night sky was beyond me. No longer! Whew!

Although my four children did not get much help with the heavens from me, the grandchildren will receive great benefits from this resource.

Even if you are good at identifying objects in the night sky, this book will be a valuable, convenient reference for you.

Enjoy the lore that our ancestors appreciated by seeing new aspects of the night-time sky!