Yearbook of Astronomy 2023

Yearbook of Astronomy 2023 written by Brian Jones and published by

White Owl Books - £18.99 - Softcover - Pages 336

Maintaining its appealing style and presentation, the Yearbook of Astronomy 2023

contains comprehensive jargon-free monthly sky notes and an authoritative set of

sky charts to enable backyard astronomers and sky gazers everywhere to plan

their viewing of the year’s eclipses, comets, meteor showers and minor planets as

well as detailing the phases of the Moon and visibility and locations of the planets

throughout the year. To supplement all this is a variety of entertaining and informative

articles, a feature for which the Yearbook of Astronomy is known. Presenting the

reader with information on a wide range of topics, the articles for the 2023 edition

include, among others, The Incomparable Sir Patrick Moore; Shining a Light on

Jupiter’s Atmosphere; A Brief History of the End of the Universe; The Closing of

Historic Observatories; The Ability to Believe: Bizarre Worlds of Astronomical

Antireality; Optical SETI at Harvard; The Future of Spaceflight; and Male Family

Mentors for Women in Astronomy: Caroline and William Herschel.

This iconic publication made its first appearance way back in 1962, shortly after the dawning of the Space Age. Now into its seventh decade of production, the Yearbook continues to be essential reading for anyone lured and fascinated by the magic of astronomy and who has a desire to extend their knowledge of the Universe and the wonders it plays host to. The Yearbook of Astronomy is indeed an inspiration to amateur and professional astronomers alike, and warrants a place on the bookshelf of all stargazers and watchers of the Universe.

I must say from the beginning of this review, that I am not an expert on Astronomy so this is purely from an amateur viewpoint but someone who appreciates the awe and beauty of space. So I should start from the end of that comment, this book contains a number of beautiful pictures of various parts of space, informative maps, charts and diagrams. There is also a huge number of articles and information presented by quite a few astronomical experts and leaders, which also seem very interesting and intriguing. There is also a monthly guide for the amateur astronomy expert for both the northern and southern hemispheres. This is where the best thing about this book happens, it appeals to both the beginner and regular astronomer, it is so informative but not too technical. A really fantastic book for all those interested in Astronomy.

The Greatest Explorers in History

The Greatest Explorers in History written by Michelle Rosenberg and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 208

This is a book about one of the first recorded pilgrims who climbed Mount Sinai; it’s about Amelia Earhart, the famous American aviator whose story and disappearance continues to capture the world’s imagination. It’s the story of a doomed expedition to discover the North-West Passage, and the tale of Marco Polo, who remained at the court of the Kublai Khan for an incredible 17 years.

The Greatest Explorers in History brings to life the pioneers in aviation flying thousands of miles with the most basic of maps in open cock-pits, exposed to the elements and the unrelenting smell of petrol fumes. They travel by steamboat, on horseback, by rickshaw, motorbike, train, swim with piranhas, embark into black nothingness in new spacecraft, explore by jeep, yachts, tea boats and elephants, disguise themselves as men, take canoes and use innovative, advanced technological scuba equipment.

Going where in many cases, no man or woman had ever gone before, some women featured in The Greatest Explorers in History were often denied respect, acknowledgement or recognition and they determined to break the ‘men's club’ mentality of global exploration from which they were excluded.

Marco Polo:

“This desert is reported to be so long that it would take a year to go from end to end, and at the narrowest point, it takes a month to cross it. It consists entirely of mountains and sands and valleys. There is nothing at all to eat.”

It's unfortunate that more publicity or writing goes doesn’t go to renowned explorers because when you read some of the stories and adventures these men and women attempt is truly staggering. In a number of cases, you could say that what some of these people try to attempt is like certain death, so there has to be a little admiration that these people attempt these feats. This book is divided into separate chapters for each explorer, and what is actually a nice thing is that the women and men are split up, I personally think this helps put both on a par with each other rather than the women being overshadowed. I also liked the fact that the ‘space’ explorers and ‘South Pole’ explorers were put into separate sections too. 

It is surprising how many of these explorers are easily recognisable such as Amelia Earhart, Ernest Shackleton, Meriwether Lewis, David Livingstone, Nellie Bly, Marco Polo & Neil Armstrong to name just a few. It was also nice to see such an array of names going back a couple of thousand years right up to the 20th century. A subject that gets little converge, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was a really good read, with some examples for further reading. A book I would recommend to others.