|
Astronomer's Computer Companion
 |
Author: Ron LaFon, Jeff Foust
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 1886411220
Publisher: No Starch Press (07 November, 1999)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 151,868
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 out of 5
|
Customer ReviewsRating: 4 out of 5
The Computer Companion is Aging Well...
To be honest, I really didn't WANT to write a good review of this book. In my experience a book that does anything to overview the WWW does itself and its readers a disservice since reality will make it quickly out of date.Surprisingly, the "Astronomer's Computer Companion," written in late 1999, is actually aging well. A good majority of the web sites it references still do exist and are helpful. Jeff & Ron's writing style is easy to understand and also easy on the mind without crossing the line into outright fluff. This book is most useful for the armchair astronomer who has good access to a computer and the internet and who doesn't want to waste a lot of time aimlessly going through search engines. Jeff & Ron have done the work for you and again, surprisingly, the work still stands up well even in the face of a very quickly changing field. They did a very credible job with a rather difficult environment to work with.
Rating: 5 out of 5
a must for any student of astronomy
For anybody with an interest in astronomy, and owns a pc or mac, this book is a must have. At first, I thought it would be rather "dry" reading. But, I soon found it to be written in very easly understood language that even a laymen like myself could understand and enjoy. It has a wealth of info. on web addresses on almost any aspect of astronomy; I was amazed at how many there are! And, it has lots of pictures of stars and galaxies, which I personally like.
Rating: 5 out of 5
It's About Time!
It's about time this book was published. There are so many really neat things an amateur astronomer can do with his computer. This book finally explains what and how a desktop computer is an astronomer's best friend. The included CD has some great programs and the book is a wealth of URLs and WEB addresses for all sorts of things astronomical. If you're into astronomy and have a destktop (Windows or Apple) get this book!
|
