A Field Book of the Stars

by William Tyler Olcott

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Nonfiction, Astronomy, Reference

115 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

William Tyler Olcott (1873–1936) was an American lawyer and amateur astronomer.

In 1909, after attending a lecture by Edward Charles Pickering, he developed an interest in observing variable stars. In 1911, he founded the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). Olcott also published several books to popularize the field of amateur astronomy.

Reviews

[Richard Raw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little gem of a book

I loved this old book, a hundred years old, but most of it, at least the description of the celestial map, remains relevant today. I loved the detailed descriptions on where to find the stars, and the part at the end which gave star names. I also loved the fact that we were given accounts of how ancient peoples saw the constallations, the Inuit, the Arabs, the Egyptians and the Greeks.

[Bernice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting information regarding the planets, zodiac, and constellations. It's fun reading through it.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting introduction to the stars and constellations visible from the northern hemisphere. It's very difficult to read on a kindle because the screen is too small to display the images and you are constantly flipping back and forth between the pages with text and the one with the image.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a basic introduction to astronomy.