Product Description

On July 20th 1969, in one of the most iconic moments of the twentieth century, Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon. The distant object that had fascinated mankind for millennia suddenly got much closer. The Book of the Moon is an utterly original and absorbing account of all things lunar, a book that celebrates the physics that created the moon and the technology that took us there, as well as its magic and mystery. From Babylonian astronomers to the scientists who paved the way for the Renaissance, to the astronomers and astronauts of our time, Rick Stroud delves into the mythology and astrology that have inspired civilizations and cultures the world over, alongside the scientific and medicinal advances that have come from our lunar connection. Packed with original lists, intriguing statistics, and compelling images, this book will take you as close to the moon as you can get without actually standing on it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21584 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Review
'Erudite, elegant, and entertaining. Rick Stroud flies you to the moon and lets you play among the stars'
--Ben Schott

Review
A miscellany with attitude that's great for dipping in and out of...If you learn everything in here you might even be able to hold your own in an argument with Aldrin.

Review
For stargazing on a distant beach, The Book of the Moon by Rick Stroud provides the perfect balance of lunar fact and fancy.

Customer Reviews

A nice source of information about the moon
Forty years have passed since a man set foot on the moon. With a lot of celebration going arround this year people feel even more interested in the moon and want to know everything about it. This book can be an option and I'll try to review it giving as much information as possible to help you decide if this is what you want.

First of all, this is not a photography book, i.e., if you are looking for nice moon pictures this is not the book for you.

As written by another reviewer this book contains a lot of information regarding the moon, its influence on earth, its interpretation by different people, the symbology of the moon in different cultures and lunar eploration. Let us take a look on the index:

Chapter 1 - Facts and Figures - A chapter about the scientific facts regarding the moon: gravity, atmosphere, influence on earth tides, eclipses, its formation, geology and geography.

Chapter 2 - Astronomers - A brief account on the several astronomers which devoted their attention to the moon and on the main principles of telescopes; lunar mapping, etc.

Chapter 3 - Gods and Myths - Description of moon gods and goddesses worshiped in different cultures; the myths section contains several stories (folk stories I think) from different countries and regarding the moon, e.g., from England comes the tale "When the moon was kidnapped".

Chapter 4 - Gardening and the Weather - Moon influence on gardening and weather is discussed. Is it really true? Some methods are described which might improve gardening, for example.

Chapter 5 - Astronauts, Cosmonauts and Lunar Exploration - This is a very interesting chapter as it contains an overview on all the Apollo missions: who were the astronauts (and their photograph), what were the main goals of the mission, the callsigns for the command module and lunar module on each mission (starting on Apollo 9), the time they remained on the moon and some other mission related details. This chapter also deals with the moon race, and several details on the Soviet Union Luna programme to study the characteristics of the moon.

Chapter 6 - Magic - The occult, astrology, alchemy, prophecy, fortune-telling, spells and superstition related to the moon.

Chapter 7 - Medicine, Madness, Werewolves and Science - How the moon was seen by doctors in different periods of history ranging from Hippocrates time to current days including middle-ages and the enlightenment period.
Account of werewolves and some reports on their appearance.

Chapter 8 - Miscellany - Here you'll find a discussion arround moon related subjects. Do you know what is a moonpie? Did you ear about the moon hoax (i.e., people say that man has never set foot on the moon and that it was all staged)?

I think this gives a good idea of what you'll find on this book.
This is an interesting book with a lot of information about the moon and I rate it as four stars.

I do not award five stars only because I think it could have more color photos (most of them are black and white). But this, I guess, also helps keeping the price lower.

And, by the way, the book is not heavy and can be confortably taken everywhere.

For all things lunar
I was given The Book of the Moon by my father who told me it would inspire, entertain and enlighten me. He was absolutely right. I especially loved the chapter on Gods and Myths which is full of wonderful vignettes like that of Huitaca the goddess of pleasure and drunkenness for the South American Chibicha people. Apparently she was thrown into the sky by her steadfast, sober and hardworking husband, Bochica, where she became the moon. (With a husband like that she was probably jolly glad to get away.)
Then there are the multitude of facts. I didn't know, for example, that the moon's distance from the earth varies. Or that the surface of the moon changes so slowly that Neil Armstrong's footprint will be visible in thousands of years and that equipment left there will last for millions of years. Then there's the bit on astral projection ...
I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who's ever gazed at the moon - which, I expect, is just about everyone

the book of the moon
An astounding book . Like a Pandora's box . Wherever you dip into it it holds you. Great picutres. Shows how little I know about the moon. But I now know quite alot. My husband homed in on the manly bits - the Russian and US race for space, the apollo missions , the moonwalking heros. I instead went to the power of the moon bits and the effect it has on the tides and the soil and when to plant and how I feel. This is a brilliant book for all our grandchildren too. They will love the mythical and magical bits. A rich mix of wonder in a great tome .