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Synopsis
Ancient observations and folklore provide the basis for an exploration of astronomical nomenclature.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is filled with ancient and classical literary references and catalog designations of the stars. At the price, it's an outstanding bargain. Greek, Latin, Persian, Arabic, Chinese, and European lore are all there. I think it's a"must have" for anyone interested in historical astronomy.
The book loses 1 star because the original text was written in 1895: before the constellation names and boundaries were fixed by the International Astronomical Union in 1930. So a beginner could get confused by references to a star being in one constellation whereas the IAU put the star in another.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this book. I always wanted to know the history of the stars and constellations and this book explains it well. I found the explanations scholarly and authoritative. A good read all around. 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you are interested in the subject, then books just don't come any better than this; it's pure magic. I admit the style takes a little getting used to at first but, once you are into it the detail and information available is amazing. Mr Allen must have had a classical education and then some!
It covers all the constellations and the Milky Way in consummate detail and the information isn't just regurgitated piecemeal. It's interspersed with items of poetry which, for me, really brought the descriptions to life. Bear in mind however that it was written in 1899 and some of the statements Allen makes may refer to constellations that are no long extant, and search as I might I found nothing about the teapot or the steering wheel :-) But this is to nitpick, if you want to know the meanings of the names of the stars and constellations, never mind that at the finish we aren't really sure whether the names are based on tales from Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Arabic or the 16th / 17th centuries, this is the book, it's a journey in itself.
It covers all the constellations and the Milky Way in consummate detail and the information isn't just regurgitated piecemeal. It's interspersed with items of poetry which, for me, really brought the descriptions to life. Bear in mind however that it was written in 1899 and some of the statements Allen makes may refer to constellations that are no long extant, and search as I might I found nothing about the teapot or the steering wheel :-) But this is to nitpick, if you want to know the meanings of the names of the stars and constellations, never mind that at the finish we aren't really sure whether the names are based on tales from Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Arabic or the 16th / 17th centuries, this is the book, it's a journey in itself.
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