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The Book of the Moon
To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of man's first steps on the moon, a visually striking cornucopia of everything worth knowing about our closest neighbor in space.
Can you remember where you were on July 20, 1969, when, in one of the iconic moments of the twentieth century, Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon? The distant object that had fascinated mankind for millennia suddenly got much closer. Rick Stroud has been obsessed with the moon since childhood, and here provides the culmination of that passion―an utterly original and absorbing account of all things lunar, a book that celebrates the physics that created the moon and the technology that took us there as much as its magic and mystery. Opening with the debatable story of how the moon was formed (scientists still don't agree on this), Stroud then turns to the stories of mankind's fascination with Earth's satellite―from Babylonian astronomers thousands of years before Christ, to the Greek, Roman, and Arab scientists who paved the way for the Renaissance, to the astronomers and astronauts of our time. He delves into the mythology and astrology that have inspired civilizations and cultures the world over, alongside the scientific and medicinal advances that have come from our lunar connection. Filled with original lists, intriguing statistics, and compelling images, The Book of the Moon draws us closer to the rocky orb that may hold the secrets of our own Earth's beginnings.
Can you remember where you were on July 20, 1969, when, in one of the iconic moments of the twentieth century, Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon? The distant object that had fascinated mankind for millennia suddenly got much closer. Rick Stroud has been obsessed with the moon since childhood, and here provides the culmination of that passion―an utterly original and absorbing account of all things lunar, a book that celebrates the physics that created the moon and the technology that took us there as much as its magic and mystery. Opening with the debatable story of how the moon was formed (scientists still don't agree on this), Stroud then turns to the stories of mankind's fascination with Earth's satellite―from Babylonian astronomers thousands of years before Christ, to the Greek, Roman, and Arab scientists who paved the way for the Renaissance, to the astronomers and astronauts of our time. He delves into the mythology and astrology that have inspired civilizations and cultures the world over, alongside the scientific and medicinal advances that have come from our lunar connection. Filled with original lists, intriguing statistics, and compelling images, The Book of the Moon draws us closer to the rocky orb that may hold the secrets of our own Earth's beginnings.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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111 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 16, 2016
The first chapter is the formation and geology of the moon, and there are errors... "syzygy" is misspelled, facts like the temperatures of permanently shadowed craters are
misreported, and things feel generally imprecise. Here's hoping the reporting improves in later chapters...
--
Well, it's not getting much better. It reads like a book report, a loose collection of facts not really understood by the writer. He lists nuclear magnetic spectroscopy alongside x-rays and infrared radiation as if he understands it as part of the electromagnetic spectrum. And here's a paragraph on lenses that's typical of the skin-deep research he's put together:
"Lenses have existed for a long time. Examples have been found in Crete and Asia Minor which are thought to be 2000 years old. A lens dating from 650 BC was found in an archaeological dig at Nineveh. The Greeks and Romans knew about and probably used lenses. The word itself comes from the Latin for lentil."
I think I am still reading only because the dust jacket's promise of, essentially, a Moon Almanac hooked me. I should probably look elsewhere for that book though...
misreported, and things feel generally imprecise. Here's hoping the reporting improves in later chapters...
--
Well, it's not getting much better. It reads like a book report, a loose collection of facts not really understood by the writer. He lists nuclear magnetic spectroscopy alongside x-rays and infrared radiation as if he understands it as part of the electromagnetic spectrum. And here's a paragraph on lenses that's typical of the skin-deep research he's put together:
"Lenses have existed for a long time. Examples have been found in Crete and Asia Minor which are thought to be 2000 years old. A lens dating from 650 BC was found in an archaeological dig at Nineveh. The Greeks and Romans knew about and probably used lenses. The word itself comes from the Latin for lentil."
I think I am still reading only because the dust jacket's promise of, essentially, a Moon Almanac hooked me. I should probably look elsewhere for that book though...
April 5, 2016
ეს უფრო reference book-ია, თხრობის ერთიანი ძაფის გარეშე შეკრებილი ფაქტები და ამბები, ვიდრე სამეცნიერო არამხატვრული ლიტერატურა სადაც წიგნის სტრუქტურა და შეჯერებული თხრობა იგრძნობა. მიუხედავად იმისა რომ ბევრი საინტერესო ინფორმაციაა მთვარეზე, მაინც ძალიან ზოგადია და ზერელე. ძალიან ბევრია მთვარესთან დაკავშირებული არაფრის მომცემი მაგიური რიტუალების და შელოცვების აღწერა. ჩემი აზრით საინტერესოა მსგავსი თემები, არა იმ ფორმით როგორც წიგნი წარმოგვიდგენს, არამედ როგორ შემოდის მთვარე ადამიანის წარმოდგენაში და მაგიურ აზროვნებაში. როგორ შევასრულო კონკრეტული შელოცვა და მთვარის რომელი ფაზის დროს დავთესო კარტოფილი სრულიად უინტერესოა ჩემთვის. წიგნი სავსეა ამ უაზრო "პრაქტიკულ" ტრივიალური რჩევა დარიგებებით. რაც შეეხება წიგნის დიზაინს, სავსეა საინტერესო ილუსტრაციებით ხარისხიან ქაღალდზე (მაგარ ყდიანი გამოცემა Walker) მაგრამ ამ ილუსტრაციებზე მწირი ინფორმაციაა, არ აწერია საიდან მოდის ვინ შექმნა და ა.შ. ასევე ზოგიერთ ადგილას ტექსტის ფონზე გამოსახულია სხვადასხვა დიზაინის ელემენტი რის გამოც ტექსტი კარგად არ იკითხება. იმედი მაქვს მთვარეზე უკეთესი წიგნები არსებობს.
May 16, 2020
This book wasn't great from the beginning, but I had to stop when I got to chapter 4 and read the ridiculous pseudo-science that this guy wrote with exactly the same tone that he used to describe the working of the tides.
One Example: "A very effective biodynamic weedkiller can be made by diluting with water the ashes of the seeds of the weed you want to control.
What an absolute crock. If you want to learn about the moon, go elsewhere.
One Example: "A very effective biodynamic weedkiller can be made by diluting with water the ashes of the seeds of the weed you want to control.
What an absolute crock. If you want to learn about the moon, go elsewhere.
June 6, 2025
Disappointing. So much filler. Moon pies, witchcraft, moon poems, astrology... I was looking for more about the actual moon
August 13, 2013
I only read through half of The Book of the Moon, before I put it down. The dust jacket describes the author, Rick Stroud, as an acclaimed television director; but good directing has little to do with writing a book, and I think the author would have benefitted from stronger editorial direction.
I liked the first chapter on facts and figures, but I felt the text started to deteriorate soon thereafter. Some sections feel padded with extra facts, while others seem incomplete, especially some of the lists and timelines. For example, read this description of Johannes Kepler from page 78:
“Kepler was an astrologer, astronomer and mathematician. He worked for a time in Tycho Brahe’s observatory. Kepler’s most important work was his Epitome of Copernican Astronomy, in which he described his three laws of planetary motion. In 1615 his mother was tried and imprisoned for witchcraft. She was released after fifteen months.”
What do the last two sentences have to do with astronomy and the Moon? Nothing! Why should we even care about Kepler’s mother? Why not use some of that space to explain something about Kepler’s laws or what made them so important? If you only have a few sentences to describe a person or topic, make them count. Also, the portrait of Kepler following the description takes up over half the page, appearing much larger than the portraits of Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei found earlier in the section. So with Kepler, we get more illustration than information.
The occasional pull-quotes in the text serve only to pad it; the text does not have the density or complexity to warrant using them. The pull-quotes appear too close to the original text, making them feel repetitive. The pages have wide outside margins, resulting in less actual information/text per page.
I finally gave up after reading the Chapter 3: Gods and Myths. The author glosses over some deities and offers misleading or erroneous information about others. Take this poorly written description of Thoth from page 126:
“Thoth is the god of the moon and wisdom. His images are to be found in sculpture, stone reliefs and wall paintings from 3000 BC to the end of Egyptian history in AD 400. Writing about him can be found in pyramid texts and coffin texts. He was born from the head of the god Seth. He is depicted variously as part human, part ibis; all ibis; or as a seated baboon. He wears a crown of a crescent moon surmounted by a moon disc. Generally benign, as the scribe of the gods he is responsible for entering the record of the souls who pass into the afterlife. He is the inventor of arts and science and the master of magic. If angered, he will decapitate the adversaries of truth and tear out their hearts.”
Where to start? The author takes the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts out of context, ignoring the chronological import of these texts. The Egyptians generally considered Thoth as self-created and taking part in the formation of the universe, certainly not originating from Set. However, the last sentence surprised me the most, as none of the material I’ve read about Thoth mentions an angry, violent side of the god. While I do not doubt that a mythological basis for this manifestation could exist, the idea does not appear in any common mythological or archeological accounts of Thoth that I have encountered.
On the next page, another zinger concerning Hecate:
“She has been adopted by neo-pagans as the patron of witchcraft and evil, and her plants included hazel, black poplar and willow.”
None of the neo-pagans I know have adopted Hecate as the ‘patron of witchcraft and evil’. The author’s statement seems tainted with Judeo-Christian superstition that confuses darkness (an important aspect of Hecate) with evil.
I skimmed through the next chapter, Gardening and the Weather. The gardening section mostly describes Rudolf Steiner’s Biodynamics. The weather section gives a brief history of theories on if/how the moon affects our climate that ends around 1850 and then simply glosses over all modern attempts to answer the question as inconclusive. Surely meteorology and climatology have advanced sufficiently in the last 150 years to offer more evidence to consider! And here, I deemed the book not worth more investment of my time and attention and put it down. The rest of the book looks interesting, but not enough to endure issues with accuracy and layout. Very disappointing and not recommended.
I liked the first chapter on facts and figures, but I felt the text started to deteriorate soon thereafter. Some sections feel padded with extra facts, while others seem incomplete, especially some of the lists and timelines. For example, read this description of Johannes Kepler from page 78:
“Kepler was an astrologer, astronomer and mathematician. He worked for a time in Tycho Brahe’s observatory. Kepler’s most important work was his Epitome of Copernican Astronomy, in which he described his three laws of planetary motion. In 1615 his mother was tried and imprisoned for witchcraft. She was released after fifteen months.”
What do the last two sentences have to do with astronomy and the Moon? Nothing! Why should we even care about Kepler’s mother? Why not use some of that space to explain something about Kepler’s laws or what made them so important? If you only have a few sentences to describe a person or topic, make them count. Also, the portrait of Kepler following the description takes up over half the page, appearing much larger than the portraits of Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei found earlier in the section. So with Kepler, we get more illustration than information.
The occasional pull-quotes in the text serve only to pad it; the text does not have the density or complexity to warrant using them. The pull-quotes appear too close to the original text, making them feel repetitive. The pages have wide outside margins, resulting in less actual information/text per page.
I finally gave up after reading the Chapter 3: Gods and Myths. The author glosses over some deities and offers misleading or erroneous information about others. Take this poorly written description of Thoth from page 126:
“Thoth is the god of the moon and wisdom. His images are to be found in sculpture, stone reliefs and wall paintings from 3000 BC to the end of Egyptian history in AD 400. Writing about him can be found in pyramid texts and coffin texts. He was born from the head of the god Seth. He is depicted variously as part human, part ibis; all ibis; or as a seated baboon. He wears a crown of a crescent moon surmounted by a moon disc. Generally benign, as the scribe of the gods he is responsible for entering the record of the souls who pass into the afterlife. He is the inventor of arts and science and the master of magic. If angered, he will decapitate the adversaries of truth and tear out their hearts.”
Where to start? The author takes the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts out of context, ignoring the chronological import of these texts. The Egyptians generally considered Thoth as self-created and taking part in the formation of the universe, certainly not originating from Set. However, the last sentence surprised me the most, as none of the material I’ve read about Thoth mentions an angry, violent side of the god. While I do not doubt that a mythological basis for this manifestation could exist, the idea does not appear in any common mythological or archeological accounts of Thoth that I have encountered.
On the next page, another zinger concerning Hecate:
“She has been adopted by neo-pagans as the patron of witchcraft and evil, and her plants included hazel, black poplar and willow.”
None of the neo-pagans I know have adopted Hecate as the ‘patron of witchcraft and evil’. The author’s statement seems tainted with Judeo-Christian superstition that confuses darkness (an important aspect of Hecate) with evil.
I skimmed through the next chapter, Gardening and the Weather. The gardening section mostly describes Rudolf Steiner’s Biodynamics. The weather section gives a brief history of theories on if/how the moon affects our climate that ends around 1850 and then simply glosses over all modern attempts to answer the question as inconclusive. Surely meteorology and climatology have advanced sufficiently in the last 150 years to offer more evidence to consider! And here, I deemed the book not worth more investment of my time and attention and put it down. The rest of the book looks interesting, but not enough to endure issues with accuracy and layout. Very disappointing and not recommended.
August 25, 2010
So so
June 19, 2011
It was ok, it was nicely laid out so you could skip ahead to sections of more interest. I really enjoyed reading about all of the different missions to the moon.
August 10, 2011
I loved this book. Accurate and fun to read. I am glad my bf got it for me. :)
November 17, 2011
Very good book! Very thorough. I enjoy fiction more!
July 3, 2012
Fantastic !
January 19, 2013
very informative. haven't read a book so quickly for years.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews