Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning, R.H.Allen, Dover Books,
1963
The classic star-name bible. This is
where you look up a star's name.
In Quest of Quasars, Ben Bova, Cromwell-Collier, 1969
Want to know about quasars? Somewhat
outdated but still quite useful.
Black Holes, White Dwarfs & Superstars, F.M.Branley,
Cromwell, 1976
Good place to start for information on the
animals in the celestial zoo.
The Amazing Universe, Herbert Friedman, National Geographic
Society, 1976
A general, very interesting treatise for the
beginner.
Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Robert Burnham Jr., Dover
Books, 1978
Its three volumes are an absolute "must have"
for any stargazer.
The Messier Album, Mallas & Kreimer, Sky Publishing
Corp, 1978
A bit outdated but an excellent introduction
to the Messier objects.
The Practical Astronomer, Colin A.Ronan, Macmillan, 1981
A general text for the beginner.
The Restless Universe, Henbest & Couper, Philip &
Sons, 1982
An interesting introduction to cosmology.
Armchair Astronomy, Patrick Moore, W.W.Norton, 1984
Give this as a gift to anyone who can spell
"astronomy".
The Quest For SS433, David H.Clark, Viking, 1985
A spellbinding look at the day-to-day world
of the astronomer.
Stargazing - Astronomy Without a Telescope, Patrick Moore,
Barron's, 1985
A shocker to the idiots who look down on binocular
astronomy.
Stephen Hawking's Universe, John Boslough, Wm Morrow &
Co, 1985
You will think about this stuff for the rest
of your life.
Sky Catalog 2000, Vol 2, Alan Hirshfeld et al, Sky Publishing,
1985
A fine catalog on double stars, variable stars
and nonstellar objects.
Deep Space, Colin Ronan, Crescent Books, 1987
Very interesting reading of a general nature.
The Beginner's Guide to Astronomy, Brian Jones, Gallery
Books, 1987
Very useful to the beginner.
Uranometria 2000, Wil Tirion et al, Willmann-Bell Inc,
Vol I & II, 1987
A fine, two-volume atlas. One of the
"must haves".
NGC 2000.0, Roger W.Sinnott, Sky Publishing, 1988
The data catalog of all the nonstellar objects
in sight.
Deep Sky Objects for Binoculars, John Kozak, Sky Publishing,
1988
A very good, serious work on binocular astronomy.
Norton's 2000.0 Star Atlas and Reference Handbook, 18th
Edition, 1989
A classic.
The Big Bang, Joseph Silk, Freeman & Co, 1989
Probably the best general description of the
Big Bang theory.
Stars and Their Spectra, James B.Kaler, Cambridge
University Press, 1989
The bible of stellar evolution, classification,
structure and spectra.
Cosmic Mysteries, Time-Life Books, 1990
Great as an introductory text.
Red Giants and White Dwarfs, Robert Jastrow, W.W.Norton,
1990
This is a really good book; it is recommended
to anyone.
Touring the Universe through Binoculars, P.S.Harrington,
Wiley, 1990
If you own decent binoculars then you must
own this book.
Sky Catalog 2000, Vol 1, 2nd ed, Alan Hirshfeld et al,
Sky Publishing, 1991
A fine catalog on stars down to magnitude
8.0; a "must have".
Fireside Astronomy, Patrick Moore, Wiley & Sons, 1992
Give this as a gift to anyone who can spell
"astronomy".
Patrick Moore's Passion for Astronomy, Patrick Moore,
W.W.Norton, 1992
Give this as a gift to anyone who can spell
"astronomy."
Binocular Astronomy, Craig Crossen & Wil Tirion, Willmann-Bell,
1992
I consider this to be a classic of its genre.
A book to be asbsorbed.
The Great Copernicus Chase, Owen Gingerich, Sky Publishing,
1992
Thirty-six episodes in the history of
Astronomy.
Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000, Cragin et al,
1993
Necessary hard data to complement Uranometria's
two volumes.
Meteors, Neil Bone, Sky Publishing Corp, 1993
A carefully researched treatise on meteors
by a British authority.
The Star Guide, Robin Kerrod, Macmillan, 1993
A glitzy gift to anyone thinking about astronomy;
lots of pictures.
Star-Hopping, Robert Garfinkle, Cambridge University Press,
1994
A "must have" for the owner of a small telescope.
Monthly Star Charts, Lovi & Blow, Sky Publishing,
1995
One of the best star charts.
Stars and Planets, Donald Menzel, Houghton Mifflin, 1995
Great general reading.
The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations, M.E.Bakich,
1995
A very interesting, solid, and useful reference
work.
Turn Left at Orion, Consolmagno & Davis, Cambridge
Univ Press, 1995
The beginner with his (or her) first telescope
must have this book.
The Exploding Suns, Isaac Asimov, Penguin, 1996
Absolutely fascinating, as only Isaac Asimov
can do it. Worth reading.
Planet Quest, Ken Croswell, Free Press, 1997
The history (so far) of extra-solar planets.
Soon to be outdated.
The Deep Sky, An Introduction, P.S.Harrington, Sky Publishing,
1997
A "must have" for any stargazer with a telescope.
Cosmic Bullets, Roger Clay & Bruce Dawson, Addison-Wesley,
1997
Interesting book on the physics of the truly
weird stuff out there.
Observer's Handbook, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
(RASC), 1998
Published every year. Probably the best
annual handbook of them all.
The Ultimate Universe, David A.Levy, Simon and Schuster,
1998
For the beginner.
The Constellation Guidebook, Antonin Rukl, Sterling Publishing,
1998
Excellent book. Gives important data
regarding all 88 constellations.
Celestial Harvest, James Mullaney, Dover Books, 1998
An absolute "must-have" book for any
observer.
The Night Sky Observer's Guide, Kepple & Sanner,
Willmann-Bell, 1998
Probably the best deep-sky observer's
guide currently available.
The Cambridge Planetary Handbook, M. Bakich,
Cambridge Univ Press, 2000
Facts, facts and more facts about
our solar system.
Asteroids, A History, Curtis Peebles,
Smithsonian Press, 2000
The first definitive (and good) historical
approach to the vermin of the skies.
Observer's Handbook, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
(RASC), 2000
As you can see, I get this book every few
years.
Observing the Caldwell Objects, David Ratledge, Springer,
2000
An early bible of the Caldwell objects.
Field Guide To The Deep Sky Objects, Mike Inglis,
Springer, 2001
Worth the price as a desktop quick reference
book.
Bright Star Atlas 2000, Wil Tirion, Willmann-Bell
Inc., 2001
A 10-map atlas of the night sky.
What you see up there is what you get.
Celestial Objects for Modern Telescopes, M.Covington,
Cambridge Univ Press, 2002
A desktop reference written by an experienced
observer for the practicing observer.
Galaxies and The Cosmic Frontier, W.Waller &
P.Hodge, Harvard Univ Press, 2003
A survey of what's known and what's
unknown about galaxies to date. Heady stuff.
Star Clusters, Brent Archinal & Steven Hynes,
Willmann-Bell Inc., 2003
The latest catalog of open clusters
and globular clusters. Intense stuff.
Up There, Roger Ducharme, published privately,
2004
For more information, click
on Up There in the introduction on the main page.
Archives of the Universe, Marcia Bartusiak,
editor, Pantheon, 2004
A treasury of Astronomy's
historic works of discovery.
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