March 21, 2011

Two New Books

Here are two recent books for beginning lunar observers. Each is written by an enthusiast
to share their knowledge with others. Tammy Plotner's Moonwalk book has a chatty and
peppy approach, constantly offering encouragement. The book includes dozens of images
from Damian Peach, Peter Lloyd, Wes Higgins, Dierdre Kelleghan and others familiar to
LPOD readers. One of the most valuable parts of the book is the acknowledgement section,
which includes a paragraph about various contributors - finally, we learn about the lives of
people who take such wonderful images; but it is a little peculiar that the author includes
herself in this section! Although the author is an experienced writer she talks too often of
craters spanning so many kilometers (i.e. that is their diameter), and powering up (increasing
magnification). Don Spain's Six-Inch Lunar Atlas was a labor of love. His audience is the
person manning the telescope at a star party who needs to show the public interesting fea-
tures. He divides the Moon into 60 regions with three photos of each. The photos are of low
quality and most have been processed to add contour-like lines. Although in some cases
this appears painterly, mostly it makes the images less useful. The descriptions in both of
these books include few interpretations of the features seen, and both include some errors
of understanding, but their enthusiasm is infectious.

Chuck Wood

Technical Details
A favorite intro level book is Discover the Moon by Lecroux and Legrand.

---