Welcome to the first of regular monthly book reviews. It is the
intention of this book reviewer to provide reviews of astronomy
related books and publications to aid you in selection and tracking
down copies of the books you are interested in.

PETERSON FIRST GUIDE TO ASTROMOMY
A simplified field guide to the stars, planets, and the universe
Jay M. Pasachoff (Monthly Sky Maps and Atlas Charts by Wil Tirion)
Houghton Mifflin Company - Boston
QB46.P376 1988  522  87-26143
ISBN 0-395-46790-X (pbk)

A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS
Second Edition, updated through 1994
Donald H. Menzel and Jay M. Pasachoff
Monthly Sky Maps and Atlas Charts by Wil Tirion
Houghton Mifflin Company - Boston
QB64.M4 1983  523  83-8392
ISBN 0-395-34835-8 (pbk)

A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS includes a series of 72 Monthly Sky
Maps and 52 detailed Atlas Charts of the entire sky to help you
identify stars and consellations down to magnitude 7.5, planets,
nebulae, galaxies, and other objects. A "field guide" implies usage at
the observing site and many a person has argued the utility of a
compact (4.75 by 7.5 inches) atlas which can be carried in a large
pocket. There is a great amount of detail in the small scale star
charts which is not something you're likely to want to deal with at a
dark site with a red light. This guide and almost every other star
atlas I have ever worked with are best used in planning an observing
session as opposed to any kind of detailed use at the site.  I
personally own Tirion's Sky Atlas 2000.0, Uranametria Vols. 1 & 2,
Norton's 2000 in addition to these two guides. I usually turn to A
FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND PLANETS as a quick reference before turning to
the detail that the larger atlases offer.  A FIELD GUIDE TO STARS AND
PLANETS has graphic timetable charts showing a year at a time for the
planets, double stars, open and globular clusters, galaxies and nebulae
each allowing you to quickly assess what you can see on any given night
of the year.

PETERSON FIRST GUIDE TO ASTROMOMY is an abridged version of its
predecessor intended as a beginner's guide with clear and concise
descriptions of the major constellations, the planets, the sun, the
moon, the stars, comets, meteors, black holes, galaxies, and other
celestial objects--with information on how, when, and where to find
them in the sky. I was personally seduced by the very fine monthly star
maps. The value of monthly star maps is their freedom from the
distortion found on star wheels (Jack Troeger's exception noted!).

                                               - S. Wormley