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Stars and Planets
An introduction to astronomy with emphasis on the characteristics and interrelationship of the stars and planets in our galaxy.
Hardcover
First published August 1, 1984
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About the author
Robin Kerrod
378 books6 followersRobin Kerrod writes for young people on all aspects of science and technology, and on astronomy for a wider audience. A former winner of the COPUS (Committee on the Public Understanding of Science) Junior Science Book Prize, he was a major contributor to the DK Science Encyclopedia. He has also co-written The Way Science Works for DK, and is one of the authors of The Way the Universe Works.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 7, 2020
I want to start off with a disclaimer. This book does not appear to be the same one I read; at the very least, it is of a markedly different edition. The book I read was simply titled Stars and Planets. It was not in a Q&A format.
That being said, it was a good introduction to the night sky for neophyte observers. It's a convenient pocket size, it's not too abstruse for youngsters, and is informative and interesting enough. The author has written dozens of science-oriented guidebooks with the goal of interesting students in the sciences, and if they're all of this quality, then he has succeeded in drawing quite a few toward the STEM disciplines.
It's not perfect, but its imperfections are minor enough that they shouldn't dissuade anyone from checking it out. The biggest quibble I have is a factual error in the opening chapter, which provides a timeline of significant scientific discoveries and advances. Kerrod reverses the dates of Einstein's two papers on Relativity (the Special theory came first, in 1905, a decade before the General). Outside of that, the issues are simply a matter of subjective taste: what you might take exception to being omitted from an introductory book. Since I have a handful of more advanced books on the subject close at hand, I don't really take exception to anything else.
That being said, it was a good introduction to the night sky for neophyte observers. It's a convenient pocket size, it's not too abstruse for youngsters, and is informative and interesting enough. The author has written dozens of science-oriented guidebooks with the goal of interesting students in the sciences, and if they're all of this quality, then he has succeeded in drawing quite a few toward the STEM disciplines.
It's not perfect, but its imperfections are minor enough that they shouldn't dissuade anyone from checking it out. The biggest quibble I have is a factual error in the opening chapter, which provides a timeline of significant scientific discoveries and advances. Kerrod reverses the dates of Einstein's two papers on Relativity (the Special theory came first, in 1905, a decade before the General). Outside of that, the issues are simply a matter of subjective taste: what you might take exception to being omitted from an introductory book. Since I have a handful of more advanced books on the subject close at hand, I don't really take exception to anything else.
Displaying 1 of 1 review