J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 107, 6, 1997, p. 305
Cambridge University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-521-57407-2 (hbk), 0-521-57430-7 (pbk). Pp xiii + 400, £55.00/£18.95.
reviewed by Martin Mobberley
This second edition of Advanced Amateur Astronomy is an improved and revised version of the original Edinburgh University Press edition published in 1991 (reviewed in the Journal 102(1), 59, 1992 February). There was a time when little would have changed in six years, but in the 1990s amateur astronomy experienced the CCD revolution and much has changed. Gerald North's book takes account of these changes and explains the new technology in an easygoing style which is a characteristic of the whole book. Essentially the book covers sufficient ground to turn anyone educated to GCSE level into an advanced amateur astronomer, ready to make observations and hopefully send them in to the BAA.
It must be difficult to know how to pitch a book intended to educate and inspire potential observers. Try to cover everything and you can end up with an unwieldy, heavygoing and expensive book, or even a two-volume set. Alternatively, a slim volume may be less daunting but will not cover the subject in sufficient detail. North's four hundred page single volume strikes a happy medium. This is an attractive book, well illustrated and with a noticeably British slant. The drawings, photographs and images within are all taken by British amateurs battling with our indifferent climate, not by a few privileged folk with access to crystal-clear mountain sites.
The book comprises sixteen main chapters plus a seventeenth containing a host of useful references to articles of interest. An appendix contains useful spherical co-ordinate geometry formulae. Although the Internet is briefly mentioned in chapter 17, I would personally have preferred a few URLs of the most interesting Web sites to be included as they are such a fascinating and up-to-date source of data. The sixteen main chapters comprehensively cover telescopes and eyepieces, astrophotography, CCD imaging and almost every category of observing from the Sun, Moon and planets to comets, variable stars and meteors. There is even a chapter on radio astronomy. North is an experienced amateur astronomer and BAA member and his knowledge of the subject is evident in every chapter.
Advanced Amateur Astronomy has to compete with a number of rival books in the marketplace, some larger and more comprehensive, some slimmer and less informative; but none that are more educational or easier to read. I would not hesitate in recommending it to any beginner with aspirations of becoming an experienced observer.
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