Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for Beginners
Review: I have always been a huge fan of Astronomy, but never did much outside of watching a few TV specials and visit a planetarium or two. Sometimes I would just stare up at the skies in wonder on a dark night wishing I knew more about what was out there to see.Recently I have decided to purchase a telescope so went on an Astronomy book buying spree before making the big purchase. The first night I had this book I took it out with my Celestron Ultima (7x50) Binoculars. With Turn Left's simplistic but precise directions I was able to find M31 Andromeda Galaxy, M36 Open Cluster, M41 Open Cluster, M42-M43 Orion Nebula, M44 Beehive Cluster, M45 Pleiades Cluster. The only one I tried but did not find was M35 and I have a feeling that has to do with Jupiter being so close to the area I was supposed to see it in. All in all, I am extatic with the results and I can imagine how much more effective this book can be on that first night out if I had a telescope. A basic knowledge of the constellations helps but a star chart will guide you just fine. I definitely recommend this book, to anyone who wants to see deep sky objects with Binoculars or a small telescope. There are so many things to see and this book will really help you find your way.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best guides around for small telescope owners
Review: I have an 8" Dob and admittedly I found Turn Left at Orion somewhat less than challenging to use. It's really designed for 4" scopes or even smaller. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every page. The viewing guides for the moon and planets are outstanding! The scale and depth of the maps is perfectly suited for the difficulty level of this book. I went through many of the tours presented in this book and enjoyed them thoroughly. In my opinion, it's the best tour of the "showpiece" objects around for small telescope owners. I was delighted to find the "Winter Albireo" mapped and described on one of the tours. The book even has a section on objects best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, so those of you in Australia aren't ignored. Highly recommended!! Once you've "graduated" from this work, you can try Garfinkle's "Star-Hopping: Your Visa to the Universe" or MacRobert's "Star-Hopping for Backyard Astronomers". Both are well-done, with my personal preference for bang-for-the-buck going to Garfinkle.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Highly recommended
Review: I like the format of the book. It makes it easy to use while you are at the telescope. I especially like the section that describes "what you are looking at." So many observing guides tell you how to find an object yet omit interestin facts about it. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: The Missing Element!
Review: I thought of _Turn Left At Orion_ the other day while browsing, during Christmas season, at a local discount store. Several families were pushing shopping carts with $225.00 telescopes in them, and I envisioned those instruments, two months hence, languishing in closets. If only they had the book! It's truly the missing element that can turn an unexpected present into a lifelong hobby - if not preoccupation. Without a book like this, you look at the moon. If you're lucky you find Jupiter and Saturn. They're great. What next? Well for anything else, you require a mentor... or this book. Contrary to conventional wisdom, computer controlled telescopes are not the answer. In practice, you have to know star names to use them, and most of them don't center objects reliably - especially in the hands of a neophyte. If anything, frustration with these devices is apt to drive beginners away from astronomy, rather than encourage them. _Turn Left At Orion_ is written for lone users of small telescopes. It provides the reader with seasonal guide stars to use in locating more obscure objects, and in so doing it conveys the skill and the joy of star hopping. Perhaps I should emphasize the joy aspect, because joy emerges clearly from the narrative. So many astronomy books are written from the standpoint of cold science, but experienced amateurs are in it for the beauty, the awe, and the wonder. That is, they are in it for the joy. To share in this aspect, you have to find objects in the sky. To do that, you have to know where they are, and you have to want to find them. Consolmagno et al tell you where to look, and they make you want to look. Those are the two missing elements in every new telescope. Those are the elements the book provides. I do have two complaints about the book, however. My primary complaint is that a few of the dimmer guide stars are invisible in light polluted skies. For example, I can see the star, Gamma Sagittae, only in binoculars, and that star is used to locate the Dumbbell Nebula. Similarly, Wasat is used to locate the Clownface Nebula, and that too is not visible to the naked eye from my viewing site. In these cases, I am forced to look up the right ascensions and declinations for the guide stars or for the objects themselves. (These are available in the back of the book.) The objects are typically too dim for the finder scope, and are difficult to find if they do not, by chance, appear in the field of the telescope after such dead reckoning. This, of course, it is exactly the problem with GoTo telescopes, particularly those with narrow fields of view like the Meade ETX90. The guide stars from the book, however, are always visible in the finder scope, and dead reckoning or GoTo invariably gets them within its precincts. The book takes me the rest of the way. My second complaint is that the book is hard to read in the dark, where it is meant to be read. I get around this imperfection by choosing my objects ahead of time. In the light and warmth of my house, I read the instructions into a multi-message digital recorder. Then I simply play them back as I need them. _Turn Left At Orion_ is an outstanding selection for any astronomy enthusiast, regardless of experience or equipment. Most importantly, though, it is the missing element for the lone neophyte. Buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Useful for Beginning Astronomers
Review: I've recently added this book to my collection. I would recommend it for those new to astronomy more so than seasoned amatuers. It's great for learning the night sky and making the most out of your small telescope and/or binoculars. Having only been into the hobby for a year I feel as I have outgrown the book somewhat, and I'm seeking more detailed information. For what it is intended though, it is very good.
Rating:
Summary: Very Useful for Beginning Astronomers
Review: I've recently added this book to my collection. I would recommend it for those new to astronomy more so than seasoned amatuers. It's great for learning the night sky and making the most out of your small telescope and/or binoculars. Having only been into the hobby for a year I feel as I have outgrown the book somewhat, and I'm seeking more detailed information. For what it is intended though, it is very good.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Any Sky Gazer
Review: If I were to choose between buying a computerized GOTO system or this book as an accessory to my scope, I'd choose this book. Two reasons: low cost, and wealth of information. This book will help any budding amateur astronomer to navigate the sky with skills and confident. One will learn the constellations, the messiers, and how to identify them with confident. I used this book myself, aside from developing skills to identify, I also developed (throughout time) the ability to estimate the star magnitude. I'd recommend this book together with Chet's "Night Sky" and Terrence Dickinson's "Night Watch". I give this book 4 stars due to: 1) lack of beautiful illustration which might not very helpful if you want to introduce astronomy to young children 2) lack of intellectually stimulating essays (unlike Chet's book) Other than that this book is a very good book for amateur astronomy.
Rating:
Summary: New? Get it!
Review: If you just bought a scope (no matter how small), get this book. It will make your life easier.
Rating:
Summary: The only book you'll need
Review: If you're a beginner with a new telescope, buy this book. It's all you need for hundreds of hours of enjoyment viewing the heavens. (If you haven't bought that telescope yet, buy Phil Harrington's "Star Ware".)
Rating:
Summary: Batteries not included...
Review: In an astronomical world that's becoming increasingly dominated by computerised 'goto' telescopes, here's a book that shows the budding amateur that the old method of 'star-hopping' is still a valid and satisfying alternative: Turn left at Orion. Many budding observers are daunted by the prospect of 'learning the sky' well enough to find their way to those elusive deep sky objects. And even when the desired target is perfectly centred in the eyepiece, it's often so difficult to recognise that the search resumes unnecessarily. When a positive identification is finally made, one wonders if the exercise was worth all the effort. Why? Because, visually, they don't look anything like their flattering portrait photographs. The end result is frustration and disappointment. Well, here's the book that changed my astronomical life: it taught most of the major constellations, and plenty of minor ones to boot; it showed me how to star-hop to the more interesting deep sky objects within them; and it also changed my expectations of what I would see when I got there. Literally, this is a 'star-hopping made easy' bible. The book works on the assumption that the reader is prepared to learn up front just a few of the major constellations. The Big Dipper, (or Plough to the Brits, or 'Pluff' to them southerners), is one that most people can recognise straight off. But it helps to be able to spot the big square of autumn's Pegasus, winter's unmistakable Orion the hunter, spring's sickle-necked Leo the Lion, and the big cross of summer's Cygnus the swan. These are all good starting points, and won't cost much effort to learn beyond a cricked neck. The book feels like it's been written from copious notes acquired during many years of practical observing. There's a section per seasonal, with two pages devoted to each particular object. And the objects really are a good primer for the northern deep sky: nebulas, globular clusters, open clusters aplenty of course, some galaxies, and a good sprinkling of those oft neglected double stars. On the left page you'll find a typical upside-down finder-scope view of the target area, plus a description of which stars to use to guide you there. On the right page is a typical left-to-right telescopic view of the object itself, plus good textual descriptions. And here's the clever bit: all of the illustrations are beautifully hand-drawn to show truthfully how they appear at the eyepiece; none of those misleading full colour observatory-type photographs here: what you see is what you, er, see. Fear not if an illustration fails to take your fancy; keep turning the page until one catches your eye. So how does it work under the night sky? Well, it works beautifully. Turn to the correct page, and locate the general target area using your (ahem) marginal knowledge of the constellations, then visually hop from star to star as advised. Aim your telescope, then switch to the finder-scope to identify the exact location. Slip in an eyepiece of about the recommended magnification, and the object's usually 'just there', or at the very least within easy reach. For those objects requiring high powers, the book recommends using a less powerful eyepiece first to properly centre the target. Really, I and countless others have followed this advice to good effect. Okay, it'll take you a year of observing to learn your way around. It takes that long for each season's constellations, and their hidden treasures, to come around. Time enough to learn the stars a little better, and time enough to gain confidence. In a way, one will learn the more obscure constellations for free; "What's that? Oh yes, it must be Delphinus, so that funny arrow below is, er, Sagitta...right?" (flick, flick of the page) "I was right!" And anyway, it'll take you at least a year to get bored with the selection that this book offers. What do I have against this book? Not much... well, it's a shame there isn't a sequel for next year. Oh, and batteries are not included.
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