Folk:

I had the pleasure of hearing Rocky Kolb (Dr. Edward W. Kolb of University of Chicago and of Fermilab) speak recently (great lecture). I decided to re-read his book, "Blind Watchers of the Sky". It was hillarious in many places and gave me a detailed picture of the development of astronomy. (Incidentally, Rocky Kolb considers himself as a "blind watcher of the sky.")

One of my favorite chapters was the one about Johannes Kepler, including Kepler's ideas concerning astronomy leading to his three famous laws upon which modern astronomy was developed. The best part of the chapter about Kepler was Rocky Kolb's hillarious description of Kepler's life (which was far from what one would expect of a genius such as Johannes Kepler). It is difficult to believe that a man with such a sad early background (unbelievable family) would become one of the greatest astronomers of all time. The rest of us all owe a great deal to Kepler for his insights about elliptical planetary motion.

I had a difficult time putting down Dr. Kolb's book. I took time out for working, eating, and sleeping. The book has a complete section at the back which explains a lot of astronomical ideas in a manner which makes them understandable to a novice.

"Blind Watchers of the Sky" is OUT OF PRINT but can be purchased "used" on the web or ordered through a bookstore. It might be on the shelves in your local public library (if you have a local public library). Sadly, my public library does not have this book. Grrrr...

Then again. There are many, many books which have grabbed my attention. For the layman, this book is one of the best. Of course, Bad Astronomer's book, "Bad Astronomy," is also one of the best. I am looking forward to BA's next astronomical offering (hopefully sooner than later). Regardless, I will wait patiently. I do not know how BA can find the time to write with his busy schedule.

ljbrs =D>

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"There is in the universe neither center nor circumference." Giordano Bruno Born 1548. Torched 1600.

I would second this. It's a great book.

And your next tome is due out when? (hint hint hint)

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"If a tree is cut down in the rainforest, and is used to make paper to print a book, and the book is really bad, and there's nobody that will read it, do you still hear a sucking sound?"
Charlie in Dayton, A.AsC.

ljbrs & BA,
Thanks for the recommendation. This one is on my "Xmas List." ;-)

Yep. No question Blind Watchers is one of the best.

Here's Rocky's home page, which has links to pdf files for selected talks he's given and all sorts of good stuff.

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Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

You might want to check out the recommended reading as suggested by our BA located in the back of his book. No doubt, several good selections.

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board!

George:

Oh, definitely, I shall try to visit them again. With my stupid (very busy) schedule, I am sometimes home too late (as I shall be most of this next week) and unable to go online because of the need to get a good night's sleep. At my age, one needs enough sleep to make up for the ravages of time. I attend a lot of lectures (mostly astronomy and physics) and have a lot of activities requiring participation (including my wonderful astronomy organization). When I come to BABB, it is usually to read the writings of others here on BABB. (Somebody needs to read them, and I really love reading them.)

ljbrs =D> [/quote]

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"There is in the universe neither center nor circumference." Giordano Bruno Born 1548. Torched 1600.

I’d like to make another recommendation. I just finished reading “T.rex and the Crater of Doom” by Walter Alvarez. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It discusses the origin of the Impact theory of dinosaur extinction and follows the process by which the evidence for the theory was accumulated and how the Chicxulub crater was eventually identified as the prime suspect. It also discusses some of the various missteps that occurred along the way. The book is readable and well paced and you don’t have to be a scientist to understand it. Altogether, a fun and informative read about an interesting subject.