The Backyard Astronomer's Guide
by Alan Dyer, Terence Dickinson
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Book Reviews of The Backyard Astronomer's Guide
Book Review: Must-Have Volume for your Astronomy Library
Summary: 5 Stars
Terry Dickenson is a force of nature when it comes to astronomy literature. His writings are prolific and polished, without ever seeming to be ponderous or pretentious. I've owned a first edition copy of TBAG (the white cover version) for years, and had heard that this newer version had quite a bit of material added and updated to reflect changes in technology.
Boy, they just weren't kidding! I'd estimate the Third Edition is 1/3 again as large as the original! While it comes packed with information and images, Terry keeps it all very approachable with his writing style. If you're just getting into the hobby, before you consider buying a telescope, get this volume as well as Dickenson's other great volume, Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe [NIGHTWATCH 4/E]. They both have great sections on helping you decide on which scopes are best suited to you and your lifestyle.
The Backyard Astronomer's Guide is one substantial volume, both in terms of the data it contains, as well as its sheer physicality...it's a true "coffee-table" book that visitors will find themselves thumbing through just for the vibrant images (many of which were captured by Dickenson himself, as he's become quite an accomplished astrophotographer.) If there was one book that could rightly be called "the amateur astronomer's bible", then this one would be it.
Book Review: Everything you need to know!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, almost everything...this shows a beginner everything he needs to know about astronomy, from equipment to nebulae to satellites, however, it doesn't show you how to find anything in the sky. the book has some beautiful charts of the milky way in the back but no indication of how to use them or what are the good targets. a few pages describing what targets to search for and how to find them would be very useful to a beginner. "left turn at Orion" would be a good choice for something like that.
It does a fantastic job informing you about everything you need to know about telescopes which i think is the hardest part to getting into star gazing. i just wanted to get a telescope and look in it and nothing else, but i soon realized that you must know your equipment. All good astronomers know their equipment and a lot of times create their own equipment. this is where this book excels. it provides a great, up to date, overview of everything that's out there. having a good reference about equipment isn't "necessary", having the internet and all, but it is VERY convenient. in fact i would say it is necessary. this along with the beautiful pictures,the fun info about planets and the sky and the history of astronomy, this would be a great purchase.
Book Review: Buy this before anything else as an Astronomy beginner
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a beginner in astronomy as a hobby so I have looked at all the resources I thought I needed like internet sites and forums, reviews and the like. If you are looking to purchase equipment and seriously get into this hobby buy this book. I was fortunate and purchased the right telescope for me but I really wish I had purchased this book first. It covers everything you need to know to get started or improve in the hobby. It is a great coffee table book that is not only informative but has incredible pictures. I use it as a reference for all purchases and it has great observing tips. It is up to date with 2010 information that is as valuable as anything you'll find on the internet and often less confusing. Used along with the best hobby forums out there it is a wealth of information. Knowledge is power and this book gives you the power to make great choices and enjoy astronomy. The Backyard Astronomer's Guide is the best investment a beginner in the hobby could make it should be your very first purchase even before any equipment.Book Review: My favorite Amateur Astronomy Guide
Summary: 5 Stars
The Backyard Astronomer's Guide really breaks down what the amateur astronomer needs to know in order to get started, practice and excel at the hobby.
Prior to owning this book, I read several astronomy guidebooks and handbooks but none compare to the information that is readily available here. Sure, a few other books had great information and I learned much from them but I think if I had just purchased this book from the get-go, I wouldn't have had to spend my time browsing through other books looking for the information already contained in the Backyard Astronomer's Guide.
This book is expensive if you buy it off of the shelf so I recommend you buy it off of amazon.com like I did. For $32, you can't beat the value in any other amateur astronomy textbook. I fully recommend to any person that wants to get started, is practicing and wants to improve their knowledge, that they buy this book immediately.
Book Review: Great Place to Start
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a well organized book that would be an excellent starting point for any beginner. I especially enjoyed the "eyepiece views" as they give the beginner a realistic sense of what they can expect to see as opposed to the "hubble-like" pictures in magazines and websites. The chapter on astrophotography is excellent and I have read and re-read it numerous times due to all the useful information in it. My only minor issue with the book is that I believe the author understates the cost of some of the equipment -- in the same breath mentioning equipment that is miles apart in terms of cost. I think a different approach to organizing some of this information would be warranted; perhaps a better approach would be to organize by rough price range rather than mentioning high-priced, premium names like Takahashi and Televue in the same breath as mass market names, such as Celestron and Meade.