On Astronomy (Coronet Books) (edition 1976)

Slightly too mathematical for me in places, but his style and wit more than make up for the occasional mind-boggling sections of equations and given that the articles were written in the 1960s and the collection was published in 1974, the ideas have stood up exceptionally well, especially since knowledge is always on the move. So we can forgive him for still calling Pluto a planet. ( )

Surprising enjoyable and informative read.

This is a collection of 16 essays that were individually published in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction between 1959 and '66. Which is an odd source for them as they are all non-fiction. This book was first published in '74 and has a few corrections to the initial essays in the light of new discoveries. It is surprising how little else has needed to be corrected since then - the biggest issues being the number of satellites of the main planets and the demotion of Pluto from planet status.

Each essay covers a few of the details of astronomy. More than just star gazing, this is why the night sky looks like it does with reference to how it could look if things were different. The invitable maths is kept very simple, though the reader should have a grasp of the basic principles involved. There are no complexities to follow, though one hopes somewhere that Asimov's sums were checked as he claims one or two unique data points.

Fascinating. ( )

Asimov had the most wonderful faculty for making the difficult accessible to the masses. In days before the great swamping of the marketplace by series of "X for Dummies" or "Complete Idiot's Guide to Y", Asimov had the charm and facility to explain the difficult in terms that laymen could understand. Even Rocket Science was not too much for him. ( )

A collection of astronomy essays written by Asimov in the 1960s. Although quite dated, he uses footnotes to make corrections, which is nice. It gets a little bit mathematical at times, but Asimov makes it easy to understand and writes in a way to keep you interested. ( )