The Backyard Astronomer's Guide

This is the most complete book for amatuer astronomers. I have read many good books on the subject and have a decent library but The Backyard Astronomer takes first place. Many interesting facts and bits of information are found nowhere else besides the complete knowledge on the subject and its equipment.

Well, almost everything...this shows a beginner everything he needs to know about astronomy, from equipment to nebulae to satellites, however, it doesn't show you how to find anything in the sky. the book has some beautiful charts of the milky way in the back but no indication of how to use them or what are the good targets. a few pages describing what targets to search for and how to find them would be very useful to a beginner. "left turn at Orion" would be a good choice for something like that.

It does a fantastic job informing you about everything you need to know about telescopes which i think is the hardest part to getting into star gazing. i just wanted to get a telescope and look in it and nothing else, but i soon realized that you must know your equipment. All good astronomers know their equipment and a lot of times create their own equipment. this is where this book excels. it provides a great, up to date, overview of everything that's out there. having a good reference about equipment isn't "necessary", having the internet and all, but it is VERY convenient. in fact i would say it is necessary. this along with the beautiful pictures,the fun info about planets and the sky and the history of astronomy, this would be a great purchase.

This book is absolutely the best written and most information guide I have in my library. The authors are incredibly knowledgable and share their experience in a very understandable manner. The book is very current in terms of technologies, and they've included the latest and greatest technoliges and what to do with them. I particularly like their direct approach to many topics - "While many do it this way, we don't. Here's what we do..." This book is an absolute requirement in every astronomer's library.

To the point: Buy no other. This is THE best book on the subject. Amateur? Professional? Intermediate? Just starting? STOP. This is the book to buy. PERIOD. Is this simple enough?

When I become interested in a topic, I typically go looking first for a good introductory book. I'm fussy, though. I want one that is broad but not shallow, as timeless as possible without ignoring major technology and trends, well-written, and good quality from a publishing perspective. This book meets my needs on all. Astronomy, like many activities with an enthusiast audience, is flush with books that are all but worthless - compendiums of articles, volumes thrown together based on the whims and news of the moment, etc. By contrast, this is a nicely balanced book that covers virtually all major topics of interest related to telescopes and basic observing for a new amateur astronomer. Having looked through more intro books than I care to admit, I believe this is the best out there, and it's a good one. Informative and enjoyable reading.