Book Review: The Moon- Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

[baggywrinkle]

I guess I should not have been surprised that this got a 5 star rating in the Sky At Night magazine as Dr. Aderin-Pocock is a regualr contributor.

Not sure this would even fall into a popular science category....

For me it was too full of exclamation marks and a feeling of 'gosh', 'wow' etc etc. Some good facts were well presented but on the whole a book aimed at beginners. The illustrations were mostly line drawing and not good ones at that, no photographs. So it gets a 3/5 rather than the S@N 5/5

[bish]

Thanks for that. I considered buying it but didn’t think it would add anything to books or articles I have read in the past. I do like Maggie though.

[Alfian]

I've just bought this too and although I've only just skimmed it I think the review is a tad harsh. Maggie makes reference to the TV program she did on the moon and it is clearly a much expanded rendition of that. Her writing style is very much a representation of her self confessed passion for the moon and that might be irritating to some but its hard to condemn. The book is advertised at £9.99 but I bought it on line for much less than that so I didn't expect glossy pictures and given that its a well presented hardback I reckon its very good value for money. Given the Sky at Night connection its no great surprise that its written to be accessible by " beginners"  so again I'm not going to condemn it for that, but I think from what I've perused so far,  non-"beginners" might enjoy it too.

[johninderby]

Had the impression that it was intended to be a beginners introduction to the moon rather than a reference work. However sounds like it might be an enjoyable read though. £4.99 for the kindle edition isn’t much to pay anyway.

Like the title of the opening chapter. Why be a lunatic. ?

[Stub Mandrel]

Sample page on Amazon looks good, I enjoy human stories alongside the science*. On my Christmas list :-)

 

*But not in the awful tabloid style of the awful 'Mars' by Heather Couper, one of the few books I really couldn't finish.

 

[johninderby]

Bought the Kindle version so will be having a read later.  ?

[Moonshane]

I have not seen the book but she is very passionate about the moon. And why not!? Good for her.

[ronl]

I also bought the Kindle edition, and I found it refreshing, and a new way to present a Moon book.

Well done Maggie.

[FLO]

Just read the sample on iBooks. Thought it good so bought it. Only £4.99 ?

Steve 

[steppenwolf]

On 04/10/2018 at 08:03, baggywrinkle said:

I guess I should not have been surprised that this got a 5 star rating in the Sky At Night magazine as Dr. Aderin-Pocock is a regualr contributor. 

So cynical! Shaoni Bhattacharya is a freelance writer and I suspect that like me she won't give a hoot whether there is any connection between the writer and the magazine! ?