( 4 reviews )
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Posted: Jan 8 2009
The Stargazing Year: A Backyard Astronomer's Journey Through the Seasons of the Night Skyisn't about astronomy, even though astronomy is definitely its theme. It's really about one man's love of astronomy and his dogged determination to build a backyard observatory in the harsh winter of Connecticut. It's a true story and accurate story right down to pounding the last bent nail into the roof, or coffin, depending on the weather and your personal perspective. The book is easy to read, and the author deftly sidesteps the sticky scientific facts in favor of the main objective, which is building the observatory. In the end, it chronicles one man's fight to twist and turn and prod and shape the harsh, cold environment into his personal observational platform. It's proof once again that hard work and determination will always win out. I recommend the book to anyone who ever dreamed about building his or her own backyard observatory. In fact, it should be required reading. Who knows? It could change your mind!
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Posted: Oct 25 2007
Calia rediscovers his early love of stargazing, and takes us along for the ride. Targeted more to the general public than astronomy buffs, it seemed to me this book tried to cover too many angles. Some topics are likely to be of more interest to the individual reader than others. On one front, this is the story of his reawakened interest in astronomy, acquisition of a few telescopes, and his ambitious effort to build a backyard observatory. It's also monthly compendium of the constellations in the night sky and the legends surrounding them. Thrown in are a few highlights of what to observe in and around the constellations. Finally, there's the family interactions around this endeavor involving his wife and daughters. All in all, I enjoyed the book.
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( 1 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 15 2006
I found Calia's book interesting a first, but quickly tiresome. The writing is a bit amatuerish, with sachrine prose more likely found in a romance novel, almost, as Calia would say, "desperately so." All in all, I found it a bit too fluffy. It constantly runs off on romantic or nostalgic tangents dotted with a little history or science to hold it together, but never enough to be satisfying in my opinion. And some of the true comedy of being an astronomer is completely lacking. I can't say that I would truly recommend this book.
