This is a remarkable book in the excellence of its writing and illustrations. The author, who is a Professor of Astronomy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA, has brought the knowledge of the solar system right up‐to‐date. Information is enhanced by the most recent series of exploratory missions into space. Although written for high school and undergraduate studies, this book must surely be the most comprehensive and understandable compilation of knowledge to date about the Sun, its planets and their moons. Notably, the wealth of facts and figures, backed up by excellent photographs and diagrams, remain in eminently readable form. I am sure that even sophisticated astronomy experts would want this book as a point of reference on their bookshelves.
There are five parts to the text – Part 1 dealing with changing views and fundamental concepts; Part 2 which covers the inner solar system including our own planet Earth and its moon; Part 3 which looks at the giant outer planets and their rings; Part 4 entitled Remnants of Creation – Small Worlds in the Solar System and which covers asteroids and meteorites; and lastly, Part 5 discusses the origin of the solar system and extrasolar planets. It is all fascinating stuff and very readable, even for amateurs like your reviewer. Much comparative information is contained in coloured boxes – blue for statistics and tables and yellow for summaries of important points on a particular subject.
The hardback book in A4 format and consisting of 475 pages, is enhanced by a comprehensive index and a related website at www.cambridge.org/solarsystem which gives further insight into this wide‐ranging subject. Priced at £35 in the UK, better value for money would be hard to find. The book is printed on good quality art paper and exceedingly well‐illustrated. It is most certainly one for the reference shelves and for general reading on the subject.
