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The Stars |  | Author: H. A. Rey
Publisher: HMH Books
List Price: $11.99
Buy New: $6.95
as of 11/20/2009 19:08 CST details
You Save: $5.04 (42%)
New (32) Used (15) from $5.79
Seller: sbd-
Rating:  72 reviews
Sales Rank: 6048
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5
ISBN: 0547132808
Dewey Decimal Number: 523.80223
EAN: 9780547132808
ASIN: 0547132808
Publication Date: October 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Containing star charts, a guide to the constellations, and details about seasons and the movement of the objects we see in the sky, this classic book makes H. A. Reyâs passion for astronomy evident on every page.
Second edition updates concentrate on the planetary and solar system information in the latter half of the book. Facts and figures for each planet have been revised, and new scientific information has been added, including sections on earth-asteroid collisions, black holes, supernovas, the Kuiper Belt (asteroid belt beyond Neptune), Plutoâs reclassification, and how the moon was formed.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 72
Brilliant and Fun October 11, 2009
Roland A. Heinrich (Boston, MA USA)
I have had the book for about 15 years and just re-read it cover to cover. I am a casual star-gazer, and couldn't keep my interest if it were not for H.A. Rey's incredible intuitive constellation maps. Making a lion appear out of the constellation stars and designing similar mnemonic pictures for almost all constellations is brilliant. I find his introduction to astronomy - though very fundamental - quite good and easy to understand. I give the book frequently as a gift and will continue to do so. It is a lot of fun to work with.
Note that my paperback version shows some bad print quality in some of the star maps, an annoyance.
 Astronomy June 17, 2009
D. Barber (Tacoma.Wash.)
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
I was looking for a good star guide. I wanted something with the history and naming origins of the major stars and perhaps a bit of science. Say, they're spectral properties, and so on. Nothing like that here. Since I didn't want to spend a lot on a book unseen, I looked for one of Amazon's great bargains in a used book. Just as well I did. This book is simply awful.
Why did so many give it a 5-star rating? It's copyrighted 1952 and I doubt that there has been one bit of update. The author saw fit to illustrate the star-maps with crude handmade drawings. You've seen the type. It's basically a book for your local library's Children's Section.
Anyone who has seen a very dated, and hand-drawn book dealing with astronomy will know this kind of work. Pass it up. I'm a packrat and even at that, this book is going straight into the trash. Too bad, every book should have a home, but I just wouldn't feel right offering this book to anyone, not even my local library's book donation bin.
Outstanding learning tool. June 11, 2009
Edmund J. Vallecorse
If you want to learn the constellations the easy way this is the book to purchase. The stick figure approach that author Rey uses is so much easier to visualize the various constellations than the way the "ancients" did makes looking up at the night sky a wonderful learning experience. Even with the "Go To" technology on today's scopes it is a pure joy to be able to point out a star and be able to identify it and the constellation to which it belongs. An absolute must for the beginner, or even the advanced stargazer for that matter.
A Book to Wear Out March 14, 2009
Karen Vedder (Friday Harbor, WA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Our family has gone through two copies of this wonderful book. The first one wore out years ago and is held together with a rubber band. I spent ten years trying to identify the constellations in the night sky using a variety of books that compared the stars to complex drawings of Greek Gods. Then I discovered H.E. Rey. Rey turns the sky into a set of line drawings that make it easy to identify the constellations. When our daughter was about 8 we spent a wonderful winter going outside on new moon nights and learning a new constellation each night. By the end of the winter we were amazingly at home in the night sky. Even now that she is grown when my husband and I head out for a vacation outside of a city, we check the calendar. If there will be a full mooon we plan a moon walk (sans flashlight). If there is no moon or a late rising moon we pack up H.E. Rey and plan an evening of star watching. Because we live in the northwest some of the southern constellations are not visible to us. One of our treasured surprises was star watching at Joshua Tree in early spring and finding the spring constellation, the "hare", known in legend to everyone as the Easter Bunny. I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you actually want to be able to find and remember the stars in the night sky.
Albert Einstein liked it¡¡¡ February 10, 2009
Bertah Elena Delgado Salinas (Mexico City)
Written in a fun and understandable way, The Star's is a highly regarded book by many Astronomy enthusiasts since the late 50's, even Einstein himself praised it highly.This edition is totally updated and a good addtion to your library.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 72
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