Astrophysics is Easy!: An Introduction for the Amateur Astronomer (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)

The book promises to present a treatment of astrophysics which can be understood at a reasonably deep level while keeping the mathematics in the background. To a large extent, the author succeeds in doing this. The main text has almost no mathematics, while for those who wish to go a little deeper into the subject matter, there are boxed paragraphs which explain the topic in more detail. All in all, this is a good book to read, but unfortunately there are many typographical mistakes, which can in some cases confuse the reader. For instance, in box 1.3 on p8, the word "distance" in the first line of the third paragraph from the end should read "luminosity". In Table 1.2 on p9, the very last entry in the right hand column should be 100,000,000 and not 10,000,000. On p19, the statement that temperature is proportional to temperature is incorrect. It is, as the author states a few lines above, proportional to the fourth power of temperature, which is not the same thing. Clearly the author is trying to simplify matters for the non-mathematical reader, but this is not license to make incorrect statements. Many of the coordinates given for various objects are incorrect. An observer using a goto telescope and the author's coordinates to point to the famous double-double in Lyra would end up with the telescope pointing deep into the southern hemisphere. Same comment about 61 Cygni, NGC 891 etc, etc. If the author is contemplating a second edition, it should be thoroughly proof-read before publication. I would also suggest that footnotes, rather than end of chapter notes would be less disruptive when reading the book. It is a pity that a book of such promise looks to have been produced in a rush. I still have no hesitation in recommending it, but the reader should not necessarily accept everything in it as correct.