Suitable for avid amateur astronomers and first-time star gazers, this book contains charts, photos and information about stars, planets and moons. It also has a comprehensive section suggesting where more information about astronomy can be found.

This field guide is intended for the amateur or beginning star gazer. It begins with "backyard astronomy", including astrological topics that are visible to the naked eye. The text provides numerous sky charts, categorized by season and optimal time of use. After providing a guide to the purchase of a first telescope for the budding astronomer, the content moves toward that which can only be seen with increasingly powerful telescopes. The inclusion of more detailed star charts is consistent with the first half of the book's format. While there is at times an overwhelming amount of information included in addition to the step-by-step processes, it is helped by the author's inclusion of personal experiences stargazing. ( )

Dickinson writes about the heavens with the infectious passion of an expert tour guide. The sky charts are beautiful and clearly explained. An exceptional book for someone who's been kind of thinking about learning more about the night sky.

My one minor criticism is in the section on telescopes and binoculars. While it contains clear and useful advice, I felt like the technical details Dickinson gives were beyond me. (This comes around again in the astrophotography section.) Presumably, Dickinson sacrificed a couple of pages of Optics 101 for length, focus, and style - but it would've helped me. Of course, maybe the point is that you can enjoy stargazing without the investment of money which requires you to understand the equipment better. Which, again, is a fantastic point for a newbie considering a WalMart trash scope. ( )