TEXTBOOK REVIEWS

The following 'reviews' are more along the line of comments. Anyone can contribute to these by visiting the Clearinghouse Feedback Pages.

Bennett, Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology
Bennett, The solar System

(Larson) I've used Bennett for probably 2 years now. They do a great job in the initial chapters, especially the basic physics. The chapters relating to stars and ism are OK. I've had to slow down considerably during the evolution chapters as not enough information is included. The chapters on galaxies and cosmology have been sorely lacking and too compact. I believe the authors have addressed most of these shortcomings in their new versions that separate stars, galaxies, and cosmology from the solar system. I plan on using this text for my 101 classes through the remainder of this school year, at least.

Chaisson, Astronomy

(Larson) I used this text for only 1 or 2 quarters a number of years ago. TOO MUCH CONTENT. It's more like an encyclopedia.

Fix, Astronomy

(Armstrong) This is an extensive, and expensive, astronomy text designed primarily for semester style 101 course. In other words, there is a lot of content that won't be covered in ten weeks.

Fraknoi, Voyages

(Larson) I use Voyages to the Planets for my 150U class. It works fine, and the students seem to enjoy it. It is of a very basic nature, but offers a good foundation upon which to expand.

Seeds, The Planets

(Armstrong) This book is one of the few my students actually recommended to me as easy to read and interesting. It is much less expensive than some other general astronomy texts (as it only includes the planets) and the chapters are laid out well for a ten week course in the planets. However, it doesn't do as much comparative planetology as I would like (except Mars and Earth) and the study questions are pretty poor.

Wood, The Solar System (Armstrong) This is a small, inexpensive text on the solar system, somewhere between a textbook and a popular level book. It contains a number of useful graphs and concepts, is easy to read, and is a good intro for students. However, it lacks a lot of material that needs to be made up for in extensive lecture notes, lab book, or another text.