General Astronomy

Abstract

TO deal in any adequate sense and in an elementary manner with the whole subject of astronomy requires both inclinations and aptitudes which are not altogether common. It is a field in which the greatest success may fairly be claimed for English and American writers. Thus in France, in spite of a genius for scientific romance which serves admirably in an allied and more restricted domain, the pen of Arago has found no conspicuous successor. Similarly in Germany the continued success of “Newcomb-Engelmann “is not merely a tribute to the original American masterpiece, but also betrays a native inability to create a serious rival. In one case we may suspect a natural impatience in tracing detail over a vast region, in the other a lack of that discriminating power which is needed in order to keep the detail in its due subordinate place. A nice sense of proportion and construction is as necessary as a sufficient technical equipment, and modern specialism is scarcely conducive to the combination of these qualities.

General Astronomy.

By H. Spencer Jones. Pp. viii + 392 + 24 plates. (London: E. Arnold and Co., 1922.) 21s. net.