Patrick Moore: 80 Not Out - The Autobiography [Hardcover]

I got this autobiography as a present from my wife and read it in the space of 1 weekend. This is easy to do, as Patrick is a witty racounteur and fills the book with anecdotes, often making me laugh out loud (look forward to his description of the 1991 IAU conference in Argentina!) He attempts to steer a path of describing all parts of his life, without just describing developments in Astronomy, which I found quite welcome. So as well as the well-known Sky at Night tales (e.g. the bluebottle), which one might expect and which most people have heard, we get his cricketing career, his xylophone playing, his early career as a schoolmaster, and his later game-playing with stuffy civil servants. Obviously the astronomy career remains the main thread of the book, but all is told with a definite lack of pomposity, in fact the general air is self-depreciating. He is also fond of certain phrases: "And thereby hangs a tale".

It's a pity Patrick chooses to gloss over his earliest years, as these were clearly formative of the rest of his life. There is scant mention of his early ill-health which meant he did not enjoy a conventional school career, and thus was able to indulge his interests; and of his time in the RAF during the war which taught him to fly a turboprop and also, it seems, to look after himself in a fight. There are also only brief mentions of Lorna, the girl who died in the War and who still clearly leaves a sadness within him which prevented him from marrying anyone else. One gets the impression that this will always be too painful for him to say much about. At the other end of his life, his deep affection for his mother comes through as well, she seemed a remarkable woman, and if Patrick lives as long as she did, he'll be around for a little while yet.

Patrick comes into his own when describing his early moon-mapping days, leading through to the start of the space programme and a long involvement with NASA as a BBC reporter. He is always at pains to emphasise his amateur status among the professionals (he never took a degree), although it's clear later on, such as with the fight to stop the closure of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, that he has considerable influence with official bodies and is not afraid to try and swing things.

In other areas Patrick is his usual forthright, and occasionally political, self. He devotes small chapters to his opposition to bloodsports like fox-hunting, and to a attack on political correctness, and European integration. You will either agree or disagree with him depending on your age and outlook. I am in my thirties, and so while agreeing with every word of his bloodsports chapter, I find use of casually racist terms far more offensive than use of anglo-saxon swear words. However, Patrick is of my Dad's generation, and the situation there is reversed. You won't see any swearing in this book, but there are are areas where I have to remind myself that this is an 80-year old white English man, with the attitudes prevalent of his generation. For this reason alone I have to dock a star from this review.

Having said all that, it's the warmth and humour in Patrick that shines through this book. He never comes over as self-important, he's still obviously fascinated by astronomy and was lucky to make a career in the subject he loves. He's a one-off character and has had a unique life. Buy it and enjoy.

The book starts by charting Patrick's early years, then into his war time years and from then on his career within the BBC and The Sky at Night.

There are loads of funny and sad stories has Patrick re-tells in his own down to earth way which makes the book addictive reading and not easy to put down once youv'e started to read it.

As you progress through the chapters a sense of sadness hits you as you Patrick has realised he is on "his final lap" and realises that his days of world travel are nearly over.

I urge anyone to buy this book who has even a passing interest in astronomy or Patrick Moore