The Cambridge Guide to Stargazing with your Telescope

Rating:
Summary: Nifty little guide to buy before you buy your first scope
Review: This is an appealing digest-sized guide that tells you everything you need to know before buying your first telescope. It presents the technical information you need to understand in plain English.

What's more, it's profusely illustrated and up to date. It has info on the latest scopes and the advantages and disadvantages of the different types (refractor vs. reflector etc.).

So why didn't it earn the fifth star? I wish the pages were larger. It's designed along the lines of a field guide but you're not going to read this book in the field. You're going to read it in your easy chair amidst a stack of Astronomy and Sky and Telescope magazines. In that venue a more traditional book size would be more appropriate.

Don't let that put you off though. If you're contemplating buying a good scope and you don't have a knowledgeable friend to lean on for advice, buy this book.