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"...provides a rare treat for the patient reader...[a] well-told tale...Perhaps the biggest thing this book contributes is its efforts to build a desire on the part of readers to go look at the night sky for themselves. And surely that is worth a lot." -- Science Books & Films, April 1, 2008.
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For many centuries observers of the night sky interpreted the moving planets and the surrounding starry realms in terms of concentric crystalline spheres, in the centre of which hung the Earth - the hub of creation. But with the discoveries of Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton, astronomers were suddenly struck by a momentous truth: the solar system was neither small nor intimate, but extended an unfathomable distance toward countless even more distant stars. The endless possibilities of these astounding developments fired scientists' imaginations, leading both to further discoveries and to flights of fancy. While newly discovered facts are important and interesting, the quaint curiosities and spectral "ghosts" that led scientists astray have a fascination of their own. This is the subject of astronomer Richard Baum in this elegant narrative about the mysteries and wonders of celestial exploration. The fabled "mountains of Venus", a "city in the moon", ghostly rings around Uranus and Neptune, bright inexplicable objects seen near the sun, and the truth behind Coleridge's "Star dogged Moon" in his famous poem about the Ancient Mariner - these are just some of the intriguing twists and turns that astronomers took while investigating our starry neighbors. Baum vividly conveys the romance of astronomy at a time when the vistas of outer space were a new frontier and astronomers, guided only by imagination and analogy, set forth on uncharted seas and were haunted for a lifetime by marvels both seen and imagined.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I am biased, but .....,
By
This review is from: Haunted Observatory: Curiosities from the Astronomer's Cabinet (Hardcover)
I am the author's son, so obviously I am biased!However, for anyone who doesn't know the work of Richard Baum and who may be considering the purchase of this book, I thought I would provide a little more balanced help. B. S. Synnott's review is itself misleading and written out of context. 'The Haunted Observatory' is not an introduction to astronomy; it was neither written as one nor advertised as such. The synopsis above should offer sufficient clues to the nature of this book. There is no denying the book is academic in its content and detail, and as such represents many years of original research on some of the curious tales that populate the darker corners of the history of astronomy. To the scholar, the student and anyone who delves into the history of a subject with more than a little curiosity, the style, content and sheer detail of this book will be far from boring, and very far from misleading and bewildering. For a full assessment, it's worth seeking 'Sky and Telescope' magazine's full-page review, now available as a PDF - do a search for the magazine's site and find the review in the archives. To the seeker of more basic astronomical knowledge, there are many fine introductions to the subject to be had from Amazon and elsewhere, and which are advertised as such. If the history of science, and especially astronomy, is your thing, then 'The Haunted Observatory' is definitely for you. One final thing - of course I rate the book with 5 stars! But I do so, as well, having seen all the emails and letters and published reviews that Dad has received following publication of his much-anticipated book. I hope you enjoy it, and for some, persuades you to delve even deeper! Julian Baum.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It pays to be curious,
By
This review is from: Haunted Observatory: Curiosities from the Astronomer's Cabinet (Hardcover)
This is an interesting book, but it is not a course book, rather it is a collection of essays that I would describe as the 'harvest of a quiet eye'. It is good to have these intriguing stories gathered together in one place. But, being a collection of essays, it has some elements of a random walk rather than a purposeful journey. Anyone who is interested in the history of astronomy and who buys and reads history books will enjoy this collection.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A scholarly yet riveting contribution to astronomical literature,
By Julian Day (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Haunted Observatory: Curiosities from the Astronomer's Cabinet (Hardcover)
This is a truly splendid contribution to the literature of astronomical history. It is scholarly but accessible, indeed thoroughly enjoyable. The elegant prose style entices the reader to join its author in what turns out to be a fascinating journey of exploration into a series of neglected corners of the scientific past. What's more, it does so from an entirely new angle, covering relatively unknown episodes in a thoroughly approachable and revelatory way. At times, it reads almost like a detective novel, and its author describes events with a painter's eye for telling detail. This book is not, and does not purport to be, an "introduction to astronomy". It is emphatically not a text book. I dislike commenting on other reviews, but, with the greatest of respect to B. S. Synnott, I have to say that his unjust review could not be wider of the mark. I simply do not recognise Baum's charming book from Synnott's description of it. Any worthwhile book demands some minimal effort from the reader, but one would have to be completely lacking in intellectual curiosity to find this volume dull. I should add that it contains an excellent glossary of technical terms, so there is no need for any reader to struggle. Personally, I found it a gripping read, and I cannot recommend it too highly.
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