“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.”
― Aristotle
Decades ago when email was unheard of and books reigned I joined an astronomy book club. One enticement was the 3 volume set of Burnham's Celestial Handbook. I had heard others speak highly of it as a reference and so it seemed like a sound choice.
What I got was an amazing piece of work, an encyclopedia of astronomy presented by way of in depth information about each constellation. It was like having this remarkable guide to the homes of the Hollywood stars, detailing every juicy detail of their abode. While it had a couple of chapters at the start to introduce the newcomer to some of the terms and concepts of astronomy the beauty of this work was you could jump in anywhere - just pick a constellation to begin your journey. Constellations are a marvelous creation - they are ancient and derived from the lore of our ancestors. Just as people today are still drawn to a good story about mythological beings, amateur star gazers often take a fancy to a particular constellation for an observing session. "Cassiopeia is returning to the sky again, maybe I'll go check it out tonight!". With Burnham's book you could open up to Cassiopeia and get lost among the wealth of information about that corner of the universe. It was so...complete!
It was both interesting and painful to come across an account of the author, one Robert Burnham, Jr. of Arizona. Here was a man who clearly was afflicted with painful shyness, tenacity, inability to interpret the true nature of his situation. Beloved and yet unrecognized, wanting recognition yet refusing to grasp it. As the article puts it, "He led an extraordinary, but ultimately tragic, life. He also was a bundle of contradictions". His quixotic nature probably explains why it has never been updated or duplicated because you'd have to be a bit crazy to rise to that challenge. It truly was his life's work.
The article is long but well worth reading to understand the perfect storm that gave us Burnham's Celestial Handbook.
― Aristotle
Decades ago when email was unheard of and books reigned I joined an astronomy book club. One enticement was the 3 volume set of Burnham's Celestial Handbook. I had heard others speak highly of it as a reference and so it seemed like a sound choice.
What I got was an amazing piece of work, an encyclopedia of astronomy presented by way of in depth information about each constellation. It was like having this remarkable guide to the homes of the Hollywood stars, detailing every juicy detail of their abode. While it had a couple of chapters at the start to introduce the newcomer to some of the terms and concepts of astronomy the beauty of this work was you could jump in anywhere - just pick a constellation to begin your journey. Constellations are a marvelous creation - they are ancient and derived from the lore of our ancestors. Just as people today are still drawn to a good story about mythological beings, amateur star gazers often take a fancy to a particular constellation for an observing session. "Cassiopeia is returning to the sky again, maybe I'll go check it out tonight!". With Burnham's book you could open up to Cassiopeia and get lost among the wealth of information about that corner of the universe. It was so...complete!
It was both interesting and painful to come across an account of the author, one Robert Burnham, Jr. of Arizona. Here was a man who clearly was afflicted with painful shyness, tenacity, inability to interpret the true nature of his situation. Beloved and yet unrecognized, wanting recognition yet refusing to grasp it. As the article puts it, "He led an extraordinary, but ultimately tragic, life. He also was a bundle of contradictions". His quixotic nature probably explains why it has never been updated or duplicated because you'd have to be a bit crazy to rise to that challenge. It truly was his life's work.
The article is long but well worth reading to understand the perfect storm that gave us Burnham's Celestial Handbook.
