( 7 reviews )
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Posted: Jul 13 2009
A wonderful introduction to the love of star gazing by the world's foremost amateur astronomer, Leslie Peltier, discoverer of a dozen comets. The reader is treated to not only the night sky, but also the agricultural life and connections to nature of the farmer at the turn of the 20th century, decades before rural electrification. The book is a compelling read with insights and lessons for the 21st century world.
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Posted: Mar 2 2009
As other reviewers have noted, this book really captures the essence of growing up on a farm around the time of WW1 and reaching adulthood in the years before WW2. Unfortunately, the book lacks a good introduction and the basic chronology of Peltier's life is very hard to follow, on one page he has just bought his first telescope and just a few pages later someone gives him a 6-inch telescope to sight comets. Mmmmm, there must have been an in-between! The only education alluded to is his completing 11th grade and having a few astronomy books, and yet he's corresponding with major observatories almost from the first. So buy this book for the charm and slice-of-life, especially if you own a telescope, but better look to Wikipedia or something to understand where Peltier fits into the rest of the world.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Mar 30 2007
This book is a straightforward telling of Leslie Peltier life as an amateur astronomer. Although it is a simple story without much drama it draws you into his world and never gets boring. The dark night sky is a free resource we need to preserve. Our ancestors gazed up on the same stars we see today. When you go out at night you can be the latest in a long line of humans who have looked up to the heavens and wondered about their place in the universe. If this book doesn't inspire you get out and observe, nothing will.
