A must buy, 09 Nov 2008
I would definitely recommend this book to a novice astronomer. It explains in simple terms what you're looking at in the sky, and how to find the most infamous star constellations. I discovered a lot of things that I had no idea existed. It even gives advice on what telescope to buy, which is a big help if you're looking to buy a telescope for the first time.

A plain and simple guide to the stars in the sky. A must buy!

A must buy, 09 Nov 2008
I would definitely recommend this book to a novice astronomer. It explains in simple terms what you're looking at in the sky, and how to find the most infamous star constellations. I discovered a lot of things that I had no idea existed. It even gives advice on what telescope to buy, which is a big help if you're looking to buy a telescope for the first time.

A plain and simple guide to the stars in the sky. A must buy!

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

A must buy, 09 Nov 2008
I would definitely recommend this book to a novice astronomer. It explains in simple terms what you're looking at in the sky, and how to find the most infamous star constellations. I discovered a lot of things that I had no idea existed. It even gives advice on what telescope to buy, which is a big help if you're looking to buy a telescope for the first time.

A plain and simple guide to the stars in the sky. A must buy!

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Perfect for Amateur Astronomers, 22 Jun 2008
The Planisphere is the perfect tool for any amateur astronomer.
It comes with full instructions on its use, so you can have a quick look at it and be out inspecting the night sky in only a few minutes.

It also explains how to find the major planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), sunrise and sunset as well as the positions of the constellations, season by season. Luckily, many of these instructions can be found on the back of the Planisphere itself (along with a Key to map symbols) so that you can always flip it over if you get stuck.

The Planisphere itself is sturdy, flexible and laminated so it won't be affected by wet surfaces - which is useful if you find yourself outside and there's a change in the weather. This makes it superior to any cardboard version.

I recieved my first Planisphere at the age of ten, and I still buy updated versions every few years, simply because they are useful for locating the major planets (it covers their positions, month by month for ten years). Those who have just started stargazing will find the Planisphere a useful tool.


Great tool for the occassional astronomer, 29 Dec 2007
Every now and then in the winter when Orion is visible in the skies I dig this out and use it to work out what else I can find in the night (or early morning) sky.

It is very easy to use and can also be explained to kids. I have used it in the West of Ireland and Southern England to remind myself of the night sky I was so fascinated by as a teenager.

Straightforward, useful and accurate, 03 Dec 2006
I got the Planisphere a while back and found it to be a fabulous astronomical companion. The larger format makes it easy to see outside in the dark and it's plastic construction means it won't be affected by night dew. On the back is a handy planet finder which is accurate and I quickly found Saturn in the area it computed.
I prefer the Planisphere to the laptop version as it doesn't run out of batteries, crash or damage easily. I wouldn't be without it.

A must buy, 09 Nov 2008
I would definitely recommend this book to a novice astronomer. It explains in simple terms what you're looking at in the sky, and how to find the most infamous star constellations. I discovered a lot of things that I had no idea existed. It even gives advice on what telescope to buy, which is a big help if you're looking to buy a telescope for the first time.

A plain and simple guide to the stars in the sky. A must buy!

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Perfect for Amateur Astronomers, 22 Jun 2008
The Planisphere is the perfect tool for any amateur astronomer.
It comes with full instructions on its use, so you can have a quick look at it and be out inspecting the night sky in only a few minutes.

It also explains how to find the major planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), sunrise and sunset as well as the positions of the constellations, season by season. Luckily, many of these instructions can be found on the back of the Planisphere itself (along with a Key to map symbols) so that you can always flip it over if you get stuck.

The Planisphere itself is sturdy, flexible and laminated so it won't be affected by wet surfaces - which is useful if you find yourself outside and there's a change in the weather. This makes it superior to any cardboard version.

I recieved my first Planisphere at the age of ten, and I still buy updated versions every few years, simply because they are useful for locating the major planets (it covers their positions, month by month for ten years). Those who have just started stargazing will find the Planisphere a useful tool.


Great tool for the occassional astronomer, 29 Dec 2007
Every now and then in the winter when Orion is visible in the skies I dig this out and use it to work out what else I can find in the night (or early morning) sky.

It is very easy to use and can also be explained to kids. I have used it in the West of Ireland and Southern England to remind myself of the night sky I was so fascinated by as a teenager.

Straightforward, useful and accurate, 03 Dec 2006
I got the Planisphere a while back and found it to be a fabulous astronomical companion. The larger format makes it easy to see outside in the dark and it's plastic construction means it won't be affected by night dew. On the back is a handy planet finder which is accurate and I quickly found Saturn in the area it computed.
I prefer the Planisphere to the laptop version as it doesn't run out of batteries, crash or damage easily. I wouldn't be without it.

A book by an ordinary guy meeting ordinary guys...who did extraordinary things, 13 Oct 2008
I was a real spaceflight geek when I was a kid - I think I still am, deep down. But I'd had my fill of cutaway-diagrammed, statistic-filled glossy coffee-table books about the Apollo Missions and, at the age of 30, wanted to read something a bit more human.

Some of the reviewers here have criticised the book because it's more about Andrew Smith's journey than it is about the astronauts themselves. But that's the point. He starts out being this schoolkid, wowed by the Apollo landings on TV, and as an adult decides to track the pilots down before they're lost forever. It's about his personal mission as much as theirs. And if their missions changed their lives, their lives certainly changed Smith's mission. The long, friendly chat with Alan Bean, still cheery and talented at the age of over 70, is pivotal to this. For these people are more than just astronauts: They're flesh and blood people with families, just like the rest of us. Smith is one of the few spaceflight authors who deals with this aspect of things head-on.

This book was fascinating, sometimes hilarious, often profoundly moving. Very few books tell the story of Apollo from this perspective, because they're books for the brain. This is a book for the heart, and needs to be read as such.


in search of the moon men, 07 Sep 2008
between 1969 and 1972, six spacecraft landed on the moon. Twelve men in total walked on the surface of another heavenly body. all came back to earth afterwards. nine of them are still with us. so what was it like to walk on the moon?

in this book, which runs for roughly 350 pages, of nine chapters and has a biblography and an index at the back, the writer sets out to ask them that. some are easier to find than others, as neil armstrong for instance does not give interviews. but can each of them tell us what the experience was like? and how if affected their subsequent life?

added to which, the writer considers the wider context. the history of america at the time and since, and the effect that the whole thing had on the nation. the mood of optimism and interest at the time and how things have changed since. this he does via personal recollections and historical notes. thus, as other reviews say, a lot of the book is about the writer rather than the astronauts, but in the context of what he is trying to achieve this approach works fine.

and the astronauts, when spoken to, are all very interesting to read about as well. it affected each in different ways, and the stories of what they've done since and why make fascinating reading. nobody can explain something like the feeling of a moon walk to those who haven't done it, but what they say makes you think, and it's absorbing reading as a result.

a good, different approach to the whole subject, and a really good read.

Too much subjective speculation and not enough about the astronauts!, 01 Jul 2008
This book tells more about Andrew Smith's quest to meet the nine men remaining from the twelve who walked on the Moon than it does about the men themselves. It is fascinating, much of the time. It's frustrating, too, when Smith waxes lyrical about his own memories, clearly forgetting that it's not his memories we want to hear about.

When he gets down to business and talks to Ed Mitchell, who has subsequently set up an organisation to unify science and religion, or `Buzz' Aldrin, who hit the depths of despair after his return, and found his way out of the mire again, or even why he's trying to get Neil Armstrong to describe his feelings at being the first man on the Moon, the book's compelling.

It's also the story of Apollo, and the ex-Nazi, Wernher von Braun, who was instrumental in its success. Smith details the many contradictions and conundrums of Apollo, setting it against the background of the 1960s counterculture - the 60s ended, he says, in December 1972, when the last man left the Moon.

It's a book filled with memorable encounters and observations, but at the end just two stuck in my mind. The first was from Bill Anders, who was aboard Apollo 8, and so never set foot on the Moon at all. Anders points out that the whole point, the only point, of putting a man on the Moon, was to beat the Russians, "to demonstrate American technological pre-eminence." NASA, however, was a civilian organisation, so "they started pushing exploration as the motive - and soon... began believing their own PR. When Neil Armstrong and `Buzz' Aldrin planted the American flag on the Moon, the programme was over and NASA didn't realise it."

The other, more chilling comment, came from John Young, who was on Apollo 16, and who comes over as a curious, eccentric, genius. "The chance of a civilisation-ending event occurring in the next hundred years is 1 in 455. Very high risk," he warns. "You're ten times more likely to get killed in a civilisation-ending event than you are of getting killed on a commercial airline flight." Console yourself with that next time you take off for sunnier climes!

Overall, a patchy book, often fascinating, but equally often frustrating, and certainly not the final word on these astronauts.

Doesn't every product appeal to a different market?, 05 Feb 2008
This book appealed to me straight away, dealing with a subject that I have long been fascinated in- Man landing on the moon- but that I have not yet had the inclination to wonder about any further than the fact that this amazing event happened 5 years before I was born (my wife would debate this latter point, but anyway. . .)

Therefore I would have to say that, with the added concept of interviewing the last remaining humans to have walked upon another celestial body (literally a dying breed), I enjoyed this book like no other I have read in a long time.

The writers style is relaxed, he injects just enough technical detail into his writing to make you want to find out more and I think it was great to have his own experiences linked to the unfolding story of Mankinds greatest achievement.

Overall, a triumph. The wife even read it after me. . .

Houston, we have a problem., 14 Jan 2008
Despite a stellar launch describing the agonising suspense of the first moon landing, Moondust soon plummets disappointingly back to earth. Awkwardly caught between biography and travelogue and between accurate description and personal reflection, Andrew Smith's first book suffers from the same lack of direction that has evidently plagued the space programme in recent decades.

Putting aside the occasionally sloppy writing style, tricky phrasings and an irritating "I would later discover..." narrative device, Moondust has the feel of a distended "Where are they now?" magazine article, which may be an inevitable consequence of Smith's journalistic background. Sadly, many of the interesting observations, reflections and revelations in this account are second-hand - borrowed honestly from third-party sources, the masses of existing literature on this well-trodden subject, and rarely from the nine surviving moonwalkers themselves.

Nevertheless, the informality of this book may appeal to those who cannot stomach a more factual analysis of the Apollo programme - Smith's hazy recollection of his childhood and an ongoing commentary on the political situation of America in the late 1960's certainly sets the scene for mankind's `giant leap' into the unknown. As this is forced to prop up an increasingly skimpy collection of anecdotes from each astronaut however - not to mention a disappointing no-show from the elusive Neil Armstrong - one cannot help wondering whether other accounts of the moon landings (many of which Smith teasingly references) would provide a more fulfilling exposition of this fascinating subject.

A must buy, 09 Nov 2008
I would definitely recommend this book to a novice astronomer. It explains in simple terms what you're looking at in the sky, and how to find the most infamous star constellations. I discovered a lot of things that I had no idea existed. It even gives advice on what telescope to buy, which is a big help if you're looking to buy a telescope for the first time.

A plain and simple guide to the stars in the sky. A must buy!

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Perfect for Amateur Astronomers, 22 Jun 2008
The Planisphere is the perfect tool for any amateur astronomer.
It comes with full instructions on its use, so you can have a quick look at it and be out inspecting the night sky in only a few minutes.

It also explains how to find the major planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), sunrise and sunset as well as the positions of the constellations, season by season. Luckily, many of these instructions can be found on the back of the Planisphere itself (along with a Key to map symbols) so that you can always flip it over if you get stuck.

The Planisphere itself is sturdy, flexible and laminated so it won't be affected by wet surfaces - which is useful if you find yourself outside and there's a change in the weather. This makes it superior to any cardboard version.

I recieved my first Planisphere at the age of ten, and I still buy updated versions every few years, simply because they are useful for locating the major planets (it covers their positions, month by month for ten years). Those who have just started stargazing will find the Planisphere a useful tool.


Great tool for the occassional astronomer, 29 Dec 2007
Every now and then in the winter when Orion is visible in the skies I dig this out and use it to work out what else I can find in the night (or early morning) sky.

It is very easy to use and can also be explained to kids. I have used it in the West of Ireland and Southern England to remind myself of the night sky I was so fascinated by as a teenager.

Straightforward, useful and accurate, 03 Dec 2006
I got the Planisphere a while back and found it to be a fabulous astronomical companion. The larger format makes it easy to see outside in the dark and it's plastic construction means it won't be affected by night dew. On the back is a handy planet finder which is accurate and I quickly found Saturn in the area it computed.
I prefer the Planisphere to the laptop version as it doesn't run out of batteries, crash or damage easily. I wouldn't be without it.

A book by an ordinary guy meeting ordinary guys...who did extraordinary things, 13 Oct 2008
I was a real spaceflight geek when I was a kid - I think I still am, deep down. But I'd had my fill of cutaway-diagrammed, statistic-filled glossy coffee-table books about the Apollo Missions and, at the age of 30, wanted to read something a bit more human.

Some of the reviewers here have criticised the book because it's more about Andrew Smith's journey than it is about the astronauts themselves. But that's the point. He starts out being this schoolkid, wowed by the Apollo landings on TV, and as an adult decides to track the pilots down before they're lost forever. It's about his personal mission as much as theirs. And if their missions changed their lives, their lives certainly changed Smith's mission. The long, friendly chat with Alan Bean, still cheery and talented at the age of over 70, is pivotal to this. For these people are more than just astronauts: They're flesh and blood people with families, just like the rest of us. Smith is one of the few spaceflight authors who deals with this aspect of things head-on.

This book was fascinating, sometimes hilarious, often profoundly moving. Very few books tell the story of Apollo from this perspective, because they're books for the brain. This is a book for the heart, and needs to be read as such.


in search of the moon men, 07 Sep 2008
between 1969 and 1972, six spacecraft landed on the moon. Twelve men in total walked on the surface of another heavenly body. all came back to earth afterwards. nine of them are still with us. so what was it like to walk on the moon?

in this book, which runs for roughly 350 pages, of nine chapters and has a biblography and an index at the back, the writer sets out to ask them that. some are easier to find than others, as neil armstrong for instance does not give interviews. but can each of them tell us what the experience was like? and how if affected their subsequent life?

added to which, the writer considers the wider context. the history of america at the time and since, and the effect that the whole thing had on the nation. the mood of optimism and interest at the time and how things have changed since. this he does via personal recollections and historical notes. thus, as other reviews say, a lot of the book is about the writer rather than the astronauts, but in the context of what he is trying to achieve this approach works fine.

and the astronauts, when spoken to, are all very interesting to read about as well. it affected each in different ways, and the stories of what they've done since and why make fascinating reading. nobody can explain something like the feeling of a moon walk to those who haven't done it, but what they say makes you think, and it's absorbing reading as a result.

a good, different approach to the whole subject, and a really good read.

Too much subjective speculation and not enough about the astronauts!, 01 Jul 2008
This book tells more about Andrew Smith's quest to meet the nine men remaining from the twelve who walked on the Moon than it does about the men themselves. It is fascinating, much of the time. It's frustrating, too, when Smith waxes lyrical about his own memories, clearly forgetting that it's not his memories we want to hear about.

When he gets down to business and talks to Ed Mitchell, who has subsequently set up an organisation to unify science and religion, or `Buzz' Aldrin, who hit the depths of despair after his return, and found his way out of the mire again, or even why he's trying to get Neil Armstrong to describe his feelings at being the first man on the Moon, the book's compelling.

It's also the story of Apollo, and the ex-Nazi, Wernher von Braun, who was instrumental in its success. Smith details the many contradictions and conundrums of Apollo, setting it against the background of the 1960s counterculture - the 60s ended, he says, in December 1972, when the last man left the Moon.

It's a book filled with memorable encounters and observations, but at the end just two stuck in my mind. The first was from Bill Anders, who was aboard Apollo 8, and so never set foot on the Moon at all. Anders points out that the whole point, the only point, of putting a man on the Moon, was to beat the Russians, "to demonstrate American technological pre-eminence." NASA, however, was a civilian organisation, so "they started pushing exploration as the motive - and soon... began believing their own PR. When Neil Armstrong and `Buzz' Aldrin planted the American flag on the Moon, the programme was over and NASA didn't realise it."

The other, more chilling comment, came from John Young, who was on Apollo 16, and who comes over as a curious, eccentric, genius. "The chance of a civilisation-ending event occurring in the next hundred years is 1 in 455. Very high risk," he warns. "You're ten times more likely to get killed in a civilisation-ending event than you are of getting killed on a commercial airline flight." Console yourself with that next time you take off for sunnier climes!

Overall, a patchy book, often fascinating, but equally often frustrating, and certainly not the final word on these astronauts.

Doesn't every product appeal to a different market?, 05 Feb 2008
This book appealed to me straight away, dealing with a subject that I have long been fascinated in- Man landing on the moon- but that I have not yet had the inclination to wonder about any further than the fact that this amazing event happened 5 years before I was born (my wife would debate this latter point, but anyway. . .)

Therefore I would have to say that, with the added concept of interviewing the last remaining humans to have walked upon another celestial body (literally a dying breed), I enjoyed this book like no other I have read in a long time.

The writers style is relaxed, he injects just enough technical detail into his writing to make you want to find out more and I think it was great to have his own experiences linked to the unfolding story of Mankinds greatest achievement.

Overall, a triumph. The wife even read it after me. . .

Houston, we have a problem., 14 Jan 2008
Despite a stellar launch describing the agonising suspense of the first moon landing, Moondust soon plummets disappointingly back to earth. Awkwardly caught between biography and travelogue and between accurate description and personal reflection, Andrew Smith's first book suffers from the same lack of direction that has evidently plagued the space programme in recent decades.

Putting aside the occasionally sloppy writing style, tricky phrasings and an irritating "I would later discover..." narrative device, Moondust has the feel of a distended "Where are they now?" magazine article, which may be an inevitable consequence of Smith's journalistic background. Sadly, many of the interesting observations, reflections and revelations in this account are second-hand - borrowed honestly from third-party sources, the masses of existing literature on this well-trodden subject, and rarely from the nine surviving moonwalkers themselves.

Nevertheless, the informality of this book may appeal to those who cannot stomach a more factual analysis of the Apollo programme - Smith's hazy recollection of his childhood and an ongoing commentary on the political situation of America in the late 1960's certainly sets the scene for mankind's `giant leap' into the unknown. As this is forced to prop up an increasingly skimpy collection of anecdotes from each astronaut however - not to mention a disappointing no-show from the elusive Neil Armstrong - one cannot help wondering whether other accounts of the moon landings (many of which Smith teasingly references) would provide a more fulfilling exposition of this fascinating subject.

Shocking..., 16 Jan 2008

Mind blowing. I chanced upon this gem in a bookstore & couldn't believe it was just £9.99. I've toyed with the idea of various other expensive pictorial guides but it's always a bit of a risk to buy without seeing. One flick through this one however and I was convinced.

After buying the first copy as a gift, I swiftly bought 2 more from Amazon (at an amazing price) - one for me, and one as another gift.

I have just put it down (reluctantly) after a 45 minute sitting, my imagination and wonder stoked and my mind struggling to comprehend what i have just seen and read.

The combination of beautiful, quality images and minimal intriguing text explanations are a perfect match. My only frustration was that I wanted to know more technical info on each object, though in reality they have done the image/text balance well, and it serves to feed my thirst to find out more.

An amazing book, which could just change your perspective. Buy it! you won't be disappointed.


Interesting, 03 Apr 2007
Firstly, I hate astrology but I loved this book. I only bought it because of the images, and I have even defaced the book and have cut some of the photos out and framed them. I'll tell you why, I use them when I place my orders to the cosmos. I look at the images and it makes me realise what a big place the universe is, and yet we are still able to control our destiny.

so much better, 30 Aug 2006
I've been searching the book shops trying to find the best book for pictures in astronomy. I've looked through 'Beyond' which is suposed to be the best out there, didn't think it was near worth the money, and i looked through all the others i could find,visions of the universe, hubble:mirror of the universe, etc. I already owned this one and while looking at all the others which are alot dearer i couldn't find one i thought was better. I think this book is beautiful and i'm very suprised at its price.

Low price but high production values !, 19 Jan 2006
I bought this book cheaply but have been very presently surprised by both the quality of the pictures and the of the accompanying writing/captions.

The format is that of a full page picture each with a short explanatory paragraph of text. This text is written for a general audience but with a wonderful eye to both the lyrical beauty and the scientific significance of the of the images.

I also found the steady progression from pictures of the solar system out to the far reaches of the universe very helpful in putting all those beautiful Hubble telescope pictures into a context.

This is among the most interesting astronomical writing I have read.

All in all I highly recommend this book for anyone with a general interest in the Universe we all live in.

A must buy, 09 Nov 2008
I would definitely recommend this book to a novice astronomer. It explains in simple terms what you're looking at in the sky, and how to find the most infamous star constellations. I discovered a lot of things that I had no idea existed. It even gives advice on what telescope to buy, which is a big help if you're looking to buy a telescope for the first time.

A plain and simple guide to the stars in the sky. A must buy!

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Perfect for Amateur Astronomers, 22 Jun 2008
The Planisphere is the perfect tool for any amateur astronomer.
It comes with full instructions on its use, so you can have a quick look at it and be out inspecting the night sky in only a few minutes.

It also explains how to find the major planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), sunrise and sunset as well as the positions of the constellations, season by season. Luckily, many of these instructions can be found on the back of the Planisphere itself (along with a Key to map symbols) so that you can always flip it over if you get stuck.

The Planisphere itself is sturdy, flexible and laminated so it won't be affected by wet surfaces - which is useful if you find yourself outside and there's a change in the weather. This makes it superior to any cardboard version.

I recieved my first Planisphere at the age of ten, and I still buy updated versions every few years, simply because they are useful for locating the major planets (it covers their positions, month by month for ten years). Those who have just started stargazing will find the Planisphere a useful tool.


Great tool for the occassional astronomer, 29 Dec 2007
Every now and then in the winter when Orion is visible in the skies I dig this out and use it to work out what else I can find in the night (or early morning) sky.

It is very easy to use and can also be explained to kids. I have used it in the West of Ireland and Southern England to remind myself of the night sky I was so fascinated by as a teenager.

Straightforward, useful and accurate, 03 Dec 2006
I got the Planisphere a while back and found it to be a fabulous astronomical companion. The larger format makes it easy to see outside in the dark and it's plastic construction means it won't be affected by night dew. On the back is a handy planet finder which is accurate and I quickly found Saturn in the area it computed.
I prefer the Planisphere to the laptop version as it doesn't run out of batteries, crash or damage easily. I wouldn't be without it.

A book by an ordinary guy meeting ordinary guys...who did extraordinary things, 13 Oct 2008
I was a real spaceflight geek when I was a kid - I think I still am, deep down. But I'd had my fill of cutaway-diagrammed, statistic-filled glossy coffee-table books about the Apollo Missions and, at the age of 30, wanted to read something a bit more human.

Some of the reviewers here have criticised the book because it's more about Andrew Smith's journey than it is about the astronauts themselves. But that's the point. He starts out being this schoolkid, wowed by the Apollo landings on TV, and as an adult decides to track the pilots down before they're lost forever. It's about his personal mission as much as theirs. And if their missions changed their lives, their lives certainly changed Smith's mission. The long, friendly chat with Alan Bean, still cheery and talented at the age of over 70, is pivotal to this. For these people are more than just astronauts: They're flesh and blood people with families, just like the rest of us. Smith is one of the few spaceflight authors who deals with this aspect of things head-on.

This book was fascinating, sometimes hilarious, often profoundly moving. Very few books tell the story of Apollo from this perspective, because they're books for the brain. This is a book for the heart, and needs to be read as such.


in search of the moon men, 07 Sep 2008
between 1969 and 1972, six spacecraft landed on the moon. Twelve men in total walked on the surface of another heavenly body. all came back to earth afterwards. nine of them are still with us. so what was it like to walk on the moon?

in this book, which runs for roughly 350 pages, of nine chapters and has a biblography and an index at the back, the writer sets out to ask them that. some are easier to find than others, as neil armstrong for instance does not give interviews. but can each of them tell us what the experience was like? and how if affected their subsequent life?

added to which, the writer considers the wider context. the history of america at the time and since, and the effect that the whole thing had on the nation. the mood of optimism and interest at the time and how things have changed since. this he does via personal recollections and historical notes. thus, as other reviews say, a lot of the book is about the writer rather than the astronauts, but in the context of what he is trying to achieve this approach works fine.

and the astronauts, when spoken to, are all very interesting to read about as well. it affected each in different ways, and the stories of what they've done since and why make fascinating reading. nobody can explain something like the feeling of a moon walk to those who haven't done it, but what they say makes you think, and it's absorbing reading as a result.

a good, different approach to the whole subject, and a really good read.

Too much subjective speculation and not enough about the astronauts!, 01 Jul 2008
This book tells more about Andrew Smith's quest to meet the nine men remaining from the twelve who walked on the Moon than it does about the men themselves. It is fascinating, much of the time. It's frustrating, too, when Smith waxes lyrical about his own memories, clearly forgetting that it's not his memories we want to hear about.

When he gets down to business and talks to Ed Mitchell, who has subsequently set up an organisation to unify science and religion, or `Buzz' Aldrin, who hit the depths of despair after his return, and found his way out of the mire again, or even why he's trying to get Neil Armstrong to describe his feelings at being the first man on the Moon, the book's compelling.

It's also the story of Apollo, and the ex-Nazi, Wernher von Braun, who was instrumental in its success. Smith details the many contradictions and conundrums of Apollo, setting it against the background of the 1960s counterculture - the 60s ended, he says, in December 1972, when the last man left the Moon.

It's a book filled with memorable encounters and observations, but at the end just two stuck in my mind. The first was from Bill Anders, who was aboard Apollo 8, and so never set foot on the Moon at all. Anders points out that the whole point, the only point, of putting a man on the Moon, was to beat the Russians, "to demonstrate American technological pre-eminence." NASA, however, was a civilian organisation, so "they started pushing exploration as the motive - and soon... began believing their own PR. When Neil Armstrong and `Buzz' Aldrin planted the American flag on the Moon, the programme was over and NASA didn't realise it."

The other, more chilling comment, came from John Young, who was on Apollo 16, and who comes over as a curious, eccentric, genius. "The chance of a civilisation-ending event occurring in the next hundred years is 1 in 455. Very high risk," he warns. "You're ten times more likely to get killed in a civilisation-ending event than you are of getting killed on a commercial airline flight." Console yourself with that next time you take off for sunnier climes!

Overall, a patchy book, often fascinating, but equally often frustrating, and certainly not the final word on these astronauts.

Doesn't every product appeal to a different market?, 05 Feb 2008
This book appealed to me straight away, dealing with a subject that I have long been fascinated in- Man landing on the moon- but that I have not yet had the inclination to wonder about any further than the fact that this amazing event happened 5 years before I was born (my wife would debate this latter point, but anyway. . .)

Therefore I would have to say that, with the added concept of interviewing the last remaining humans to have walked upon another celestial body (literally a dying breed), I enjoyed this book like no other I have read in a long time.

The writers style is relaxed, he injects just enough technical detail into his writing to make you want to find out more and I think it was great to have his own experiences linked to the unfolding story of Mankinds greatest achievement.

Overall, a triumph. The wife even read it after me. . .

Houston, we have a problem., 14 Jan 2008
Despite a stellar launch describing the agonising suspense of the first moon landing, Moondust soon plummets disappointingly back to earth. Awkwardly caught between biography and travelogue and between accurate description and personal reflection, Andrew Smith's first book suffers from the same lack of direction that has evidently plagued the space programme in recent decades.

Putting aside the occasionally sloppy writing style, tricky phrasings and an irritating "I would later discover..." narrative device, Moondust has the feel of a distended "Where are they now?" magazine article, which may be an inevitable consequence of Smith's journalistic background. Sadly, many of the interesting observations, reflections and revelations in this account are second-hand - borrowed honestly from third-party sources, the masses of existing literature on this well-trodden subject, and rarely from the nine surviving moonwalkers themselves.

Nevertheless, the informality of this book may appeal to those who cannot stomach a more factual analysis of the Apollo programme - Smith's hazy recollection of his childhood and an ongoing commentary on the political situation of America in the late 1960's certainly sets the scene for mankind's `giant leap' into the unknown. As this is forced to prop up an increasingly skimpy collection of anecdotes from each astronaut however - not to mention a disappointing no-show from the elusive Neil Armstrong - one cannot help wondering whether other accounts of the moon landings (many of which Smith teasingly references) would provide a more fulfilling exposition of this fascinating subject.

Shocking..., 16 Jan 2008

Mind blowing. I chanced upon this gem in a bookstore & couldn't believe it was just £9.99. I've toyed with the idea of various other expensive pictorial guides but it's always a bit of a risk to buy without seeing. One flick through this one however and I was convinced.

After buying the first copy as a gift, I swiftly bought 2 more from Amazon (at an amazing price) - one for me, and one as another gift.

I have just put it down (reluctantly) after a 45 minute sitting, my imagination and wonder stoked and my mind struggling to comprehend what i have just seen and read.

The combination of beautiful, quality images and minimal intriguing text explanations are a perfect match. My only frustration was that I wanted to know more technical info on each object, though in reality they have done the image/text balance well, and it serves to feed my thirst to find out more.

An amazing book, which could just change your perspective. Buy it! you won't be disappointed.


Interesting, 03 Apr 2007
Firstly, I hate astrology but I loved this book. I only bought it because of the images, and I have even defaced the book and have cut some of the photos out and framed them. I'll tell you why, I use them when I place my orders to the cosmos. I look at the images and it makes me realise what a big place the universe is, and yet we are still able to control our destiny.

so much better, 30 Aug 2006
I've been searching the book shops trying to find the best book for pictures in astronomy. I've looked through 'Beyond' which is suposed to be the best out there, didn't think it was near worth the money, and i looked through all the others i could find,visions of the universe, hubble:mirror of the universe, etc. I already owned this one and while looking at all the others which are alot dearer i couldn't find one i thought was better. I think this book is beautiful and i'm very suprised at its price.

Low price but high production values !, 19 Jan 2006
I bought this book cheaply but have been very presently surprised by both the quality of the pictures and the of the accompanying writing/captions.

The format is that of a full page picture each with a short explanatory paragraph of text. This text is written for a general audience but with a wonderful eye to both the lyrical beauty and the scientific significance of the of the images.

I also found the steady progression from pictures of the solar system out to the far reaches of the universe very helpful in putting all those beautiful Hubble telescope pictures into a context.

This is among the most interesting astronomical writing I have read.

All in all I highly recommend this book for anyone with a general interest in the Universe we all live in.

Excellent Reading, 18 Sep 2008
As soon as I saw this book and read the reviews I had to buy it, On receiving the book you can tell immediately a lot of hard work and thought has gone into it, the book itself is beautifully put together the front cover has a striking hologram on the front, it's a well executed graphical representation of the Big Bang and is a really nice bonus.

I liked how the book puts forward fairly complicated astronomy and science in an easy and enjoyable way, without the feeling you're being spoken down to.

The book is ideal for a younger audience too as it's layout is striking while at the same time being useful and intuitive, there seems to be a very good reason for everything in this book. The science, the layout, the graphics and the stunning illustrations are all top class.

five stars, 29 Nov 2007
this book is basically a history of the universe, starting from the planck time-length through to 13,700,000,000 years later and the present day, which is where the speed of light limits its scope.

it's told in language that is easy to understand, although it does skim over the details a little (i'm actually quite interested in the maths of molecule-making), and all-in-all is a thoroughly fascinating read.

the pictures, photos and diagrams are highly informative and gorgeous to look at. i can't imagine what the up-to-date version of this book has to offer, but the first published one i bought was great.

An entertaining outline, 11 Jan 2007
On first reading this book it appears to be a fairly exhaustive account of the Universe from the big bang, through the present day and on to the ultimate end of the Universe. Consider it a little further however and you realise it is only scratching the surface of what is known or believed about the origins and ultimate destiny of the Universe. I found the treatment of Hawking radiation, for example, cursory to say the least, and caused me to ask obvious questions not dealt with in the text.

This isn't a bad thing, however. It is an accessible summary that completely avoids the use of mathematics. It provides sufficient detail to capture one's interest and provides a solid foundation from which you can begin to consider the more obscure details.

Starmaking Machinery, 31 Dec 2006
It has taken 13.7 billion years, but the Universe has finally produced a coffee-table quality book to commemorate the Big Bang and its consequences. _Bang! The Complete History of the Universe_ (Carlton Books) by Brian May, Patrick Moore, and Chris Lintott is not massive, as coffee-table books go, but its big format is perfect for the dramatic sorts of pictures that the Hubble Space Telescope or the larger Earth-bound telescopes can give us. It isn't just pictures, however. The text does an exemplary job of covering a huge amount of information. Necessarily, in 190 pages laid over with photos, details are skipped; on one page are both the disaster of the Permian Extinction 250 million years ago and the Cretaceous Extinction (wiping out the dinosaurs) 65 million years ago. There is the most detail in the earliest pages of the book, dealing with the events before around 700 million years ago, when there started to be discrete objects like galaxies that we could have actually seen, had we been there at that time. (In a sense, we do see them at that time, as the Hubble's lovely deep field images can show.) This is also the part of the book that makes the least sense to those of us who are stuck in a Newtonian world. There are books with fuller explanations of the strangeness of the Universe immediately after the Big Bang, but none quite so much fun.

For fun is obviously part of the trip the three authors have taken, and it starts right on the cover, which above the book's title shows a huge, glowing, fragmented fireball, obviously the Big Bang in progress. "Our cover artwork is for fun only. There is no suggestion that any part of the Big Bang ever looked like this." Not only that, but it could never have been seen at such a distance, because there was no such distance; space did not exist except within that Bang. There are still gaps in our understanding of the Big Bang and how it produced all we are and all we see. "We must remember that it is impossible to prove a theory, and all one can hope to do is ensure it is consistent with all the available evidence." The evidence isn't all in, and they remind us, "...we would be amazed if in a few years time our book would not need to be substantially re-written." Given all the confirmatory data, it is hard to imagine that the big picture given here would be in error in any large way. After the main text of the book, there are a useful glossary, capsule biographies of the modern astronomers and cosmologists who have added to our understanding of the Big Bang, and a basic primer on practical astronomy that includes good directions about the topic "How to become an astronomer". This is upbeat, compared to the final chapter which has to do with the end of the Universe.

Much has been made in the British press about the personalities who produced the book, although _Bang!_ would easily stand on its own without famous authors. The least known is Chris Lintott, a working astrophysicist who assists Sir Patrick Moore in presenting a famous monthly BBC show _The Sky at Night_, which is now the longest-running science program in the world. Moore himself, because of his show and his hundreds of fiction and nonfiction books, is possibly the world's best known astronomer. The surprise author, for those who do star-gazing of the celebrity rather than astronomical type, is Brian May, who as a kid was inspired by one of Moore's books to take up astronomy. He was a founding member of the famous rock group Queen and a guitarist of some note. May was doing his PhD studies in interplanetary dust when Queen took off (he wrote such songs as "We Will Rock You"). He is currently updating and completing his thesis in between musical activities, although he does already have an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. If a little celebrity power gets people interested in the book, and interested in the huge amount of scientific thinking it reflects, I think it makes up for the additions to our culture made by, say, Britney Spears. _Bang!_ is a wonderful summary for adults and would be a terrific book for any reading young person.

I Learned So Much From This Book !, 25 Dec 2006
I am a Creationist who knew nothing about astronomy, physics and the history of the universe. Brian May's input into this book was very helpful to me because he wrote about very profound topics in a manner that I could understand. For that matter, Bang has helped me to remain a Creationist while finally becoming open to evolution and scientific theories in reference to space, time, and the beginning and the lurking end of the universe. Bang is a book for scientists and normal people who want to learn about the universe and our planet. Brian May is amazing. He is a guitar virtuoso, wildlife conservationist, animal welfare activist, a scientist and a fantastic author. The people who helped him with this book also merit plaudits. They are very cerebral luminaries.

A must buy, 09 Nov 2008
I would definitely recommend this book to a novice astronomer. It explains in simple terms what you're looking at in the sky, and how to find the most infamous star constellations. I discovered a lot of things that I had no idea existed. It even gives advice on what telescope to buy, which is a big help if you're looking to buy a telescope for the first time.

A plain and simple guide to the stars in the sky. A must buy!

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Perfect for Amateur Astronomers, 22 Jun 2008
The Planisphere is the perfect tool for any amateur astronomer.
It comes with full instructions on its use, so you can have a quick look at it and be out inspecting the night sky in only a few minutes.

It also explains how to find the major planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), sunrise and sunset as well as the positions of the constellations, season by season. Luckily, many of these instructions can be found on the back of the Planisphere itself (along with a Key to map symbols) so that you can always flip it over if you get stuck.

The Planisphere itself is sturdy, flexible and laminated so it won't be affected by wet surfaces - which is useful if you find yourself outside and there's a change in the weather. This makes it superior to any cardboard version.

I recieved my first Planisphere at the age of ten, and I still buy updated versions every few years, simply because they are useful for locating the major planets (it covers their positions, month by month for ten years). Those who have just started stargazing will find the Planisphere a useful tool.


Great tool for the occassional astronomer, 29 Dec 2007
Every now and then in the winter when Orion is visible in the skies I dig this out and use it to work out what else I can find in the night (or early morning) sky.

It is very easy to use and can also be explained to kids. I have used it in the West of Ireland and Southern England to remind myself of the night sky I was so fascinated by as a teenager.

Straightforward, useful and accurate, 03 Dec 2006
I got the Planisphere a while back and found it to be a fabulous astronomical companion. The larger format makes it easy to see outside in the dark and it's plastic construction means it won't be affected by night dew. On the back is a handy planet finder which is accurate and I quickly found Saturn in the area it computed.
I prefer the Planisphere to the laptop version as it doesn't run out of batteries, crash or damage easily. I wouldn't be without it.

A book by an ordinary guy meeting ordinary guys...who did extraordinary things, 13 Oct 2008
I was a real spaceflight geek when I was a kid - I think I still am, deep down. But I'd had my fill of cutaway-diagrammed, statistic-filled glossy coffee-table books about the Apollo Missions and, at the age of 30, wanted to read something a bit more human.

Some of the reviewers here have criticised the book because it's more about Andrew Smith's journey than it is about the astronauts themselves. But that's the point. He starts out being this schoolkid, wowed by the Apollo landings on TV, and as an adult decides to track the pilots down before they're lost forever. It's about his personal mission as much as theirs. And if their missions changed their lives, their lives certainly changed Smith's mission. The long, friendly chat with Alan Bean, still cheery and talented at the age of over 70, is pivotal to this. For these people are more than just astronauts: They're flesh and blood people with families, just like the rest of us. Smith is one of the few spaceflight authors who deals with this aspect of things head-on.

This book was fascinating, sometimes hilarious, often profoundly moving. Very few books tell the story of Apollo from this perspective, because they're books for the brain. This is a book for the heart, and needs to be read as such.


in search of the moon men, 07 Sep 2008
between 1969 and 1972, six spacecraft landed on the moon. Twelve men in total walked on the surface of another heavenly body. all came back to earth afterwards. nine of them are still with us. so what was it like to walk on the moon?

in this book, which runs for roughly 350 pages, of nine chapters and has a biblography and an index at the back, the writer sets out to ask them that. some are easier to find than others, as neil armstrong for instance does not give interviews. but can each of them tell us what the experience was like? and how if affected their subsequent life?

added to which, the writer considers the wider context. the history of america at the time and since, and the effect that the whole thing had on the nation. the mood of optimism and interest at the time and how things have changed since. this he does via personal recollections and historical notes. thus, as other reviews say, a lot of the book is about the writer rather than the astronauts, but in the context of what he is trying to achieve this approach works fine.

and the astronauts, when spoken to, are all very interesting to read about as well. it affected each in different ways, and the stories of what they've done since and why make fascinating reading. nobody can explain something like the feeling of a moon walk to those who haven't done it, but what they say makes you think, and it's absorbing reading as a result.

a good, different approach to the whole subject, and a really good read.

Too much subjective speculation and not enough about the astronauts!, 01 Jul 2008
This book tells more about Andrew Smith's quest to meet the nine men remaining from the twelve who walked on the Moon than it does about the men themselves. It is fascinating, much of the time. It's frustrating, too, when Smith waxes lyrical about his own memories, clearly forgetting that it's not his memories we want to hear about.

When he gets down to business and talks to Ed Mitchell, who has subsequently set up an organisation to unify science and religion, or `Buzz' Aldrin, who hit the depths of despair after his return, and found his way out of the mire again, or even why he's trying to get Neil Armstrong to describe his feelings at being the first man on the Moon, the book's compelling.

It's also the story of Apollo, and the ex-Nazi, Wernher von Braun, who was instrumental in its success. Smith details the many contradictions and conundrums of Apollo, setting it against the background of the 1960s counterculture - the 60s ended, he says, in December 1972, when the last man left the Moon.

It's a book filled with memorable encounters and observations, but at the end just two stuck in my mind. The first was from Bill Anders, who was aboard Apollo 8, and so never set foot on the Moon at all. Anders points out that the whole point, the only point, of putting a man on the Moon, was to beat the Russians, "to demonstrate American technological pre-eminence." NASA, however, was a civilian organisation, so "they started pushing exploration as the motive - and soon... began believing their own PR. When Neil Armstrong and `Buzz' Aldrin planted the American flag on the Moon, the programme was over and NASA didn't realise it."

The other, more chilling comment, came from John Young, who was on Apollo 16, and who comes over as a curious, eccentric, genius. "The chance of a civilisation-ending event occurring in the next hundred years is 1 in 455. Very high risk," he warns. "You're ten times more likely to get killed in a civilisation-ending event than you are of getting killed on a commercial airline flight." Console yourself with that next time you take off for sunnier climes!

Overall, a patchy book, often fascinating, but equally often frustrating, and certainly not the final word on these astronauts.

Doesn't every product appeal to a different market?, 05 Feb 2008
This book appealed to me straight away, dealing with a subject that I have long been fascinated in- Man landing on the moon- but that I have not yet had the inclination to wonder about any further than the fact that this amazing event happened 5 years before I was born (my wife would debate this latter point, but anyway. . .)

Therefore I would have to say that, with the added concept of interviewing the last remaining humans to have walked upon another celestial body (literally a dying breed), I enjoyed this book like no other I have read in a long time.

The writers style is relaxed, he injects just enough technical detail into his writing to make you want to find out more and I think it was great to have his own experiences linked to the unfolding story of Mankinds greatest achievement.

Overall, a triumph. The wife even read it after me. . .

Houston, we have a problem., 14 Jan 2008
Despite a stellar launch describing the agonising suspense of the first moon landing, Moondust soon plummets disappointingly back to earth. Awkwardly caught between biography and travelogue and between accurate description and personal reflection, Andrew Smith's first book suffers from the same lack of direction that has evidently plagued the space programme in recent decades.

Putting aside the occasionally sloppy writing style, tricky phrasings and an irritating "I would later discover..." narrative device, Moondust has the feel of a distended "Where are they now?" magazine article, which may be an inevitable consequence of Smith's journalistic background. Sadly, many of the interesting observations, reflections and revelations in this account are second-hand - borrowed honestly from third-party sources, the masses of existing literature on this well-trodden subject, and rarely from the nine surviving moonwalkers themselves.

Nevertheless, the informality of this book may appeal to those who cannot stomach a more factual analysis of the Apollo programme - Smith's hazy recollection of his childhood and an ongoing commentary on the political situation of America in the late 1960's certainly sets the scene for mankind's `giant leap' into the unknown. As this is forced to prop up an increasingly skimpy collection of anecdotes from each astronaut however - not to mention a disappointing no-show from the elusive Neil Armstrong - one cannot help wondering whether other accounts of the moon landings (many of which Smith teasingly references) would provide a more fulfilling exposition of this fascinating subject.

Shocking..., 16 Jan 2008

Mind blowing. I chanced upon this gem in a bookstore & couldn't believe it was just £9.99. I've toyed with the idea of various other expensive pictorial guides but it's always a bit of a risk to buy without seeing. One flick through this one however and I was convinced.

After buying the first copy as a gift, I swiftly bought 2 more from Amazon (at an amazing price) - one for me, and one as another gift.

I have just put it down (reluctantly) after a 45 minute sitting, my imagination and wonder stoked and my mind struggling to comprehend what i have just seen and read.

The combination of beautiful, quality images and minimal intriguing text explanations are a perfect match. My only frustration was that I wanted to know more technical info on each object, though in reality they have done the image/text balance well, and it serves to feed my thirst to find out more.

An amazing book, which could just change your perspective. Buy it! you won't be disappointed.


Interesting, 03 Apr 2007
Firstly, I hate astrology but I loved this book. I only bought it because of the images, and I have even defaced the book and have cut some of the photos out and framed them. I'll tell you why, I use them when I place my orders to the cosmos. I look at the images and it makes me realise what a big place the universe is, and yet we are still able to control our destiny.

so much better, 30 Aug 2006
I've been searching the book shops trying to find the best book for pictures in astronomy. I've looked through 'Beyond' which is suposed to be the best out there, didn't think it was near worth the money, and i looked through all the others i could find,visions of the universe, hubble:mirror of the universe, etc. I already owned this one and while looking at all the others which are alot dearer i couldn't find one i thought was better. I think this book is beautiful and i'm very suprised at its price.

Low price but high production values !, 19 Jan 2006
I bought this book cheaply but have been very presently surprised by both the quality of the pictures and the of the accompanying writing/captions.

The format is that of a full page picture each with a short explanatory paragraph of text. This text is written for a general audience but with a wonderful eye to both the lyrical beauty and the scientific significance of the of the images.

I also found the steady progression from pictures of the solar system out to the far reaches of the universe very helpful in putting all those beautiful Hubble telescope pictures into a context.

This is among the most interesting astronomical writing I have read.

All in all I highly recommend this book for anyone with a general interest in the Universe we all live in.

Excellent Reading, 18 Sep 2008
As soon as I saw this book and read the reviews I had to buy it, On receiving the book you can tell immediately a lot of hard work and thought has gone into it, the book itself is beautifully put together the front cover has a striking hologram on the front, it's a well executed graphical representation of the Big Bang and is a really nice bonus.

I liked how the book puts forward fairly complicated astronomy and science in an easy and enjoyable way, without the feeling you're being spoken down to.

The book is ideal for a younger audience too as it's layout is striking while at the same time being useful and intuitive, there seems to be a very good reason for everything in this book. The science, the layout, the graphics and the stunning illustrations are all top class.

five stars, 29 Nov 2007
this book is basically a history of the universe, starting from the planck time-length through to 13,700,000,000 years later and the present day, which is where the speed of light limits its scope.

it's told in language that is easy to understand, although it does skim over the details a little (i'm actually quite interested in the maths of molecule-making), and all-in-all is a thoroughly fascinating read.

the pictures, photos and diagrams are highly informative and gorgeous to look at. i can't imagine what the up-to-date version of this book has to offer, but the first published one i bought was great.

An entertaining outline, 11 Jan 2007
On first reading this book it appears to be a fairly exhaustive account of the Universe from the big bang, through the present day and on to the ultimate end of the Universe. Consider it a little further however and you realise it is only scratching the surface of what is known or believed about the origins and ultimate destiny of the Universe. I found the treatment of Hawking radiation, for example, cursory to say the least, and caused me to ask obvious questions not dealt with in the text.

This isn't a bad thing, however. It is an accessible summary that completely avoids the use of mathematics. It provides sufficient detail to capture one's interest and provides a solid foundation from which you can begin to consider the more obscure details.

Starmaking Machinery, 31 Dec 2006
It has taken 13.7 billion years, but the Universe has finally produced a coffee-table quality book to commemorate the Big Bang and its consequences. _Bang! The Complete History of the Universe_ (Carlton Books) by Brian May, Patrick Moore, and Chris Lintott is not massive, as coffee-table books go, but its big format is perfect for the dramatic sorts of pictures that the Hubble Space Telescope or the larger Earth-bound telescopes can give us. It isn't just pictures, however. The text does an exemplary job of covering a huge amount of information. Necessarily, in 190 pages laid over with photos, details are skipped; on one page are both the disaster of the Permian Extinction 250 million years ago and the Cretaceous Extinction (wiping out the dinosaurs) 65 million years ago. There is the most detail in the earliest pages of the book, dealing with the events before around 700 million years ago, when there started to be discrete objects like galaxies that we could have actually seen, had we been there at that time. (In a sense, we do see them at that time, as the Hubble's lovely deep field images can show.) This is also the part of the book that makes the least sense to those of us who are stuck in a Newtonian world. There are books with fuller explanations of the strangeness of the Universe immediately after the Big Bang, but none quite so much fun.

For fun is obviously part of the trip the three authors have taken, and it starts right on the cover, which above the book's title shows a huge, glowing, fragmented fireball, obviously the Big Bang in progress. "Our cover artwork is for fun only. There is no suggestion that any part of the Big Bang ever looked like this." Not only that, but it could never have been seen at such a distance, because there was no such distance; space did not exist except within that Bang. There are still gaps in our understanding of the Big Bang and how it produced all we are and all we see. "We must remember that it is impossible to prove a theory, and all one can hope to do is ensure it is consistent with all the available evidence." The evidence isn't all in, and they remind us, "...we would be amazed if in a few years time our book would not need to be substantially re-written." Given all the confirmatory data, it is hard to imagine that the big picture given here would be in error in any large way. After the main text of the book, there are a useful glossary, capsule biographies of the modern astronomers and cosmologists who have added to our understanding of the Big Bang, and a basic primer on practical astronomy that includes good directions about the topic "How to become an astronomer". This is upbeat, compared to the final chapter which has to do with the end of the Universe.

Much has been made in the British press about the personalities who produced the book, although _Bang!_ would easily stand on its own without famous authors. The least known is Chris Lintott, a working astrophysicist who assists Sir Patrick Moore in presenting a famous monthly BBC show _The Sky at Night_, which is now the longest-running science program in the world. Moore himself, because of his show and his hundreds of fiction and nonfiction books, is possibly the world's best known astronomer. The surprise author, for those who do star-gazing of the celebrity rather than astronomical type, is Brian May, who as a kid was inspired by one of Moore's books to take up astronomy. He was a founding member of the famous rock group Queen and a guitarist of some note. May was doing his PhD studies in interplanetary dust when Queen took off (he wrote such songs as "We Will Rock You"). He is currently updating and completing his thesis in between musical activities, although he does already have an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. If a little celebrity power gets people interested in the book, and interested in the huge amount of scientific thinking it reflects, I think it makes up for the additions to our culture made by, say, Britney Spears. _Bang!_ is a wonderful summary for adults and would be a terrific book for any reading young person.

I Learned So Much From This Book !, 25 Dec 2006
I am a Creationist who knew nothing about astronomy, physics and the history of the universe. Brian May's input into this book was very helpful to me because he wrote about very profound topics in a manner that I could understand. For that matter, Bang has helped me to remain a Creationist while finally becoming open to evolution and scientific theories in reference to space, time, and the beginning and the lurking end of the universe. Bang is a book for scientists and normal people who want to learn about the universe and our planet. Brian May is amazing. He is a guitar virtuoso, wildlife conservationist, animal welfare activist, a scientist and a fantastic author. The people who helped him with this book also merit plaudits. They are very cerebral luminaries.

Brilliant. Could not put it down., 01 Sep 2008
I was 20 years old when Neil Armstrong stepped on to the Lunar susface.
I have been interested in NASA and the space program ever since.
I always wanted a single book or film that would cover the whole Apollo program from 1 to 17.This is it.You dont have to be technically minded to be captivated by this book, it is very easily readable, I was unable to put it down and I will surely read it again in the future it is that type of book.
I can not recommend it highly enough for anybody even remotely interested in the space program.
10 out of 10 Super

These Men dared to sit on top of Rockets!, 27 Aug 2008
This is a comprehensive book about the Apollo space program that does an exceptional job of capturing one of the most incredible times in human history. It was a time when the belief was that we could do just about anything we set our minds to.

Andrew Chaikin does an amazing job of capturing the courage, the commitment, the sacrifices, the driving motives and vision of the astronauts, supporting crews, wives and more. This 600+ page book hardly wastes a word. The book was so good it was turned into a mini series by HBO.

It is clear that Chaikin has a deep passion and respect for the space program and the people in it. He brings the truth to this writing without much dirty laundry being exposed.

This book deserves a place on any space buff's book shelf. It is also a great read for anyone interested in true life adventure of men who dared to sit on the top of rockets and go where no one had gone before. Highly recommended!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers)

The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space


Too good for words, 26 Jul 2008
I must have read this about seven or eight times now, and I just know I will again in the future. The author took on a real challenge when it comes to the chronological events of Project Apollo, and was able to condense it perfectly into an easy narrative, thankfully dodging the absolute minefield of unnecessary technical details. This is still the one I recommend to the conspiracy theorists as well...!

Beautiful,Stunning,enthraling., 15 Apr 2008
Only read 31 pages so far but I know that this book is just a classic,so descriptive that you feel as if you are there during all of the events,it enhances my feelings about those pioneering,heroic supermen of my youth.I have also ordered the updated version which is the 5oth anniversary edition, it is so good.

Simply the best book I've ever read, 30 Dec 2007
Which includes a lot of books about the Apollo program. It really is that good.