Radio-Sky's Amazon.com Associate Page - Radio Astronomy Titles

As we have mentioned, we are trimming back the number of book titles we currently sell so we can focus on a few original products. I know that many of you would be interested in obtaining a wider selection of books, but would like some guidance in doing so. This page contains a selection of books and my personal observations about them, good and bad. I recommend no books which I haven't read or used. Many of the titles were previously stocked by us. The books can be ordered from Amazon.com via the links provided here. If you use these links, we get a small commission from Amazon that is invisible to you, (that is, it doesn't cost you anything). My personal experience with purchasing books from Amazon.com has been very good. They usually ship quickly and give good discounts, often more than enough to pay the postage.

Looking for electronics related books?

Radio Astronomy

Boffin: A personal Story of the Early Days of Radar, Radio Astronomy, and Quantum Optics

by Hanbury-Brown.
This is Robert Hanbury Brown's autobiograghy. It is one of my favorite books covering the early days of radio astronomy. His accounts of the WWII quest for an effective radar are stirring. Hanbury-Brown's early days at Jodrell Bank provide fascinating reading for anyone interested in Radio Astronomy. He discusses the invention of the intensity interferometer and how it led him to an application in optics measuring the diameter of stars in Australia.

$41.00 / 184 pages / hardback.
Buy Boffin.

Radio Science Observing

by Joseph Carr
Carr is a well known author among radio-electronics enthusiasts. This book showcases simple projects with the common theme that all are related to the observation of radio and magnetic phenomena. This book would be a great starting point for someone interested in getting into radio astronomy, but lacking in the experience to dive into the more challenging projects seen elsewhere. Build a sensitive magnetometer and see how the Earth's magnetic field is disturbed by solar flares. Build a VLF receiver and detect solar flares more directly.Listen to Jupiter's noise storms. There are enough ideas here to keep you busy for quite a long time. The only objection I have to the book is the substantial amount of wasted space due to the page style.

$27.96 / softcover
Buy Radio Science Observing.

An Introduction to Radio Astronomy

by Burke and Graham-Smith
I was really excited when this book was first announced. It has been quite a while since a new technical introduction to radio astronomy has been published. In many ways, this is a very nice book. It is concise and well organized. Unfortunately, I found it hard to follow the mathematics at times. I am admittedly a mathematically challenged individual, but even though John Kraus's Radio Astronomy 2nd Edition is more filled with equations, I found Kraus much easier to follow. Burke and Graham-Smith's book lack the worked problems and derivations needed by someone like me. Still, An Introduction to Radio Astronomy is a fine and beautifully presented work. It devotes attention to items such as Fourier transforms and aperture synthesis, self-calibration and other modern tools. I recommend this book for serious new students of radio astronomy and suggest you supplement with Kraus's book.

$34.95 / 297 pages / softcover
Buy an Introduction to Radio Astronomy (softcover at $34.95).

Buy An Introduction to Radio Astronomy (hardcover at $74.95).

The Invisible Universe Revealed: The Story of Radio Astronomy

This is a general, non-mathematical introduction to radio astronomy. You won't know how to build a radiotelescope after reading Verschuur's beautifully written and illustrated book. You will, however, gain an appreciation for the fascinating discoveries which radio astronomy has brought us. I think this is the best book of its type for the general reader who wants to find out more about radio astronomy.
$44.95 / 262 pages / hardcover
Buy the Invisible Universe Revealed.

Radio Astronomy Handbook

by Bob Sickels
The author of this book passed away a few years ago, and amateur radio astronomy felt it's greatest loss ever. Bob was an extremely productive amateur and developed many techniques and circuits which amateur radio astronomers have found invaluable. His Handbook has set many newcomers on the road to successfully setting up their own radio observatories. If you would like to do the same, this book is for you.
$35.00 / spiral bound
Buy The Radio Astronomy Handbook.

History of Radio Astronomy

Classics in Radio Astronomy

by W. T. Sullivan
Only the truely serious student of the history of radio astronomy is going to purchase this book, however, I feel compelled to make reference to here for those who qualify. Here are the original papers as submitted to various journals, by Jansky, Reber, Ryle, Hanbury-Brown, and the other legends of radio astronomy. Through these milestone works, radio astronomy was elevated from a technological curiosity to a respected science.
$165.00 (ouch!) / hardcover
Buy Classics in Radio Astronomy.

The Evolution of Radio Astronomy

by J. S. Hey
It's hard to believe that this book is still available, but according to Amazon, you can get a copy for cheap. This was the first book I read on the history of radio astronomy. Hey was one of RA's pioneers. His perspective is that of a participant. Read this book and soon you will find yourself wanting to learn more about this most productive development in the ancient science of astronomy.
$8.95 / softcover
Buy The Evolution of Radio Astronomy.

The History of Radio Astronomy and the NRAO Observatory: Evolution Towards Big Science

by Ben Malphrus
As a yearly visitor to the NRAO in Green Bank,WVA, I was very interested in reading Ben Malphrus's book about the development of this world class radio astronomy observatory. The book begins with a good background history of radio astronomy in general, and proceeds to Green Bank, the USA's successsful attempt to acheive parity with England and Australia in the field. There is an intriguing story about the connection with the nearby top secret Sugar Grove military listening facility and the failed attempt to build a 600 foot dish. Each of the major telescopes at GB is featured with excellent documentation of the engineering involved. Ben's book is heavily illustrated. I wish this book was a little less expensive so that more people would read it, but such is book publishing to small markets. $49.50 / large format / hardcover
The History of Radio Astronomy and the NRAO Observatory.

The Westerbork Observatory, Continuing Adventure in Radio Astronomy

by Raimond and Genee
I don't own a copy of this book (yet!), but I spent a long time poring over the copy in the NRAO library. I honestly can't find my notes about the book, but I remember it as being well illustrated and written. When I get a copy I promise a thorough review. If you beat me to it, send me your comments and I will publish them here.
$95.00
The Westerbork Observatory, Continuing Adventure in Radio Astronomy.

Beyond Southern Skies: Radio Astronomy and the Parkes Telescope.

Peter Robertson
This a book I don't own, but have familiarity with. The official description is: "Tells the story of the planning and construction of the Parkes Telescope in rural New South Wales,Australia, and surveys its achievements over the past thirty years. Around this central theme Peter Robertson presents a broader history of radio astronomy, describing its rapid rise to become the respected partner of traditional optical astronomy. " I have a copy of it's cousin "Parkes: Thirty Years of Radio Astronomy" but it doesn't seem to be available. I think it is important to represent Australia in any history of radio astronomy library.
$80.00 / Hardcover
Beyond Southern Skies: Radio Astronomy and the Parkes Telescope.

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