Stargazing with a Telescope

When I started thinking (at age 60) of fulfilling my boyhood dreams of stargazing, this was one of the books I purchased, and I have no regrets. It's written extraordinarily well, and anitcipates and addresses nearly all the questions a newbie who is thinking about getting a telescope would ask. Not only the text and the overall layout of the book, but also the backmatter, are extraordinarily helpful. My only gripe: In the introduction, the author states that the goal is not "to make assumptions about what [we] know already." That approach is fulfilled in about the first half of the book. Thereafter, that notion seems to have been forgotten, or at least was not articulated as well as it was in an earlier chapter. I'd recommend that the above would be fixed. I'd recommend that the next edition includes a glossary of common and pertinent terms. Nonetheless, a great book, a very helpful one; and the price is right.

I bought this for my star gazing hubby. He liked it so well it is dog eared now!

This is an appealing digest-sized guide that tells you everything you need to know before buying your first telescope. It presents the technical information you need to understand in plain English.What's more, it's profusely illustrated and up to date. It has info on the latest scopes and the advantages and disadvantages of the different types (refractor vs. reflector etc.).So why didn't it earn the fifth star? I wish the pages were larger. It's designed along the lines of a field guide but you're not going to read this book in the field. You're going to read it in your easy chair amidst a stack of Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines. In that venue a more traditional book size would be more appropriate.Don't let that put you off though. If you're contemplating buying a good scope and you don't have a knowledgeable friend to lean on for advice, buy this book.