My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simply put, this is pure, unadulterated book porn. A fabulously put together large volume that includes wonderful images, biographical sketches of many of the authors of the books described and tidbits about the books and their receptions. And, of course, it is a scrupulously detailed bibliographic reference for these astronomy-related texts from the San Diego State University collection. In one volume, this work pulls together two of my favorite interests, astronomy and books. It is a perfect compliment to another book I have on my list, Rara Arithmetica,

The short introductory essay by Owen Gingerich, from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, was very good. One set of books I enjoyed were the ones that illustrated the battles between the earth-centric and heliocentric models of the solar system. It was nice to see a 1640 book by John Wilkins, the Bishop of Chester (item #208), seeking to defend the sun-centered solar system to the masses. He illustrates a policy of tolerance between science and faith, something that was novel then and, sadly, is a struggle we still have today. The book was entitled “A Discourse Concerning a New Planet Tending to Prove that ’Tis Probable Our Earth is One of the Planets”.