Book Description
"A lively, up-to-date account of the basic principles of astronomy and exciting current field of research."-Science Digest
For a quarter of a century, Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide has been making students and amateur stargazers alike feel at home among the stars. From stars, planets and galaxies, to black holes, the Big Bang and life in space, this title has been making it easy for beginners to quickly grasp the basic concepts of astronomy for over 25 years. Updated with the latest discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics, this newest edition of Dinah Moché's classic guide now includes many Web site addresses for spectacular images and news. And like all previous editions, it is packed with valuable tables, charts, star and moon maps and features simple activities that reinforce readers' grasp of basic concepts at their own pace, as well as objectives, reviews, and self-tests to monitor their progress.
Dinah L. Moché, PhD (Rye, NY), is an award-winning author, educator, and lecturer. Her books have sold over nine million copies in seven languages.
Customer Reviews:
Astronomy: A self teaching guide.......2007-06-15
I have always been fascinated with astronomy but the language/references have been a bit over my head sometimes. I am looking forward to becoming a more savvy "star gazer". The book seems to be what I have been looking for.
good introduction, but...........2006-03-11
This book is a good introduction to astronomy, but, they put the answers for all the tests right next to (and often directly underneath) the questions. That makes it very hard to take the tests sincerely because it's so easy to accidentally glance at the answers.
a nice little book for intro to astronomy.......2001-12-18
Obviously there are no people who are completely clueless about astronomy since we all were taught as children (at least I was) about the planets in our solar system and about other galaxies. Beyond that most people would not know much about astronomy; which is where this nice little book comes in handy. It has enough information on astronomy subjects without mathematics and without being textbook-like. I think the value of this book is the combination of illustrations and text that stimulate an interest to explore the topics (in another, more extensive book) if this is so desired. And if not, then it is still a good overview of astronomy. Good book for the price!
Yet another deceptive book..........2001-07-04
Wanting to teach myself a little astronomy, I purchased this book, since it somehow had acquired a noble status among similar literature. Upon receiving the book and looking through it, I simply wondered "how?". It seems that most books of this type suffer from similar defects. The design seems to be based off a children's activity book. Wide margins, plentiful empty, white space, and text that is big and ugly. Is it possible to publish a book of this purpose with a crisp, small font, several paragraphs per page, and clean, sharp diagrams/illustrations? Apparently not. Perhaps I'm alone in desiring an efficient, textbook-like layout. It seems possible that the complete text of this book could have been printed on 50 pages. Anyway, there's more. The book has been reprinted several times due to its popularity. Again, I'm at a loss for why. Though the cover, perhaps, has changed, the photos that litter its pages, seem to have not. Imagine for a moment taking a photo of Jupiter through a sheet of black tracing paper. Now imagine the resultant sharpness and resolution. Breathtaking, no? The overall quality of diagrams, illustrations, and photos is woeful. Lastly, this book, in sharing the rudiments of astronomical science felt compelled to discuss the wonderful world of SETI!!! SETI is a money-sucking escapade in speculative failure. This book, as most others do, discussess the pseudo-scientific merits of the SETI program, complete with reproductions of the diagrams we've sent along into outer space of a generic ( though peaceful looking), naked man and woman. Hmmm... You will find some science in this book, but if you hope to master the basics of astronomy and take part in an honest discussion regarding the limited understanding we still have of many things universal, I recommend looking elsewhere.
An armchair guide to the cosmos.......2001-01-23
I'm an armchair astronomer. While I save up to buy that telescope, I read books like this, attend star parties (dark sky gatherings where amateur astronomers let wannabes like me peek through their scopes) and daydream about the day when my future telescope sees first light.
This is a great book for people like me. It's the equivalent of a very thorough undergraduate "Introduction to Astronomy" class. The author makes good use of illustrations throughout the book to explain difficult concepts like stellar spectra, distances to astronomical objects, and how astronomers determine the temperature, mass, and composition of stars.
New discoveries are being made every day in astronomy,and of course it's impossible for a book to be as current as today's newspaper. Readers of this book will want to update themselves on certain topics, such as extrasolar planets, human spaceflight, SETI, the explosion of CCD photography in amateur astronomy, among others. A list of resources to do just that is provided in the back of the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to be entertained and enlightened at the same time. If you're like me, preparing to morph from armchair to amateur status, this book provides an excellent foundation.
Book Description
“This volume represents a landmark in Moche studies.”—George Bankes, The Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute
Centuries before the rise of the Inca, the Moche created impressive monumental architecture and precious metal objects (c. A.D. 100–800). New discoveries about this ancient coastal civilization have recently been uncovered at several sites in Peru—including the richest unlooted tomb ever discovered in the New World. This fascinating book examines these records and analyzes connections between the visual arts and political representation in Moche culture.
Book Description
The Moche culture, which flourished on the north coast of Peru between 100 and 800 B.C.E., has been known to art historians and archaeologists for over a century. Only recently, however, with the discovery of the fabulous Royal Tombs of Sip·n, have the Moche become as well known to the public as the Inca, who appeared several centuries later. This book traces the fineline painting tradition from the beginning to the end of the Moche culture. Although the Moche had no writing system, they left a vivid artistic record of their beliefs and activities in beautifully modeled and painted ceramics. Because of their complexity and wide range of subject matter, these paintings provide a wealth of information about Moche civilization.
Customer Reviews:
An incredible resource.......2002-03-21
This is one of the most informative and beautifully published books I have seen in a long time. Chrsitopher Donnnan's writing and explanations of the Moche Fineline ceramics are clear and easily understood and Donna McClelland's illustrations are incredible. There are wonderful illutrations not only of the fineline paintings but of the techniques used to make the ceramic pots. It is obvious that a lot of work went into this publication and I would highly reccommend it to anyone with an interest in the Moche.
Book Description
"Overall, I find this to be an extraordinary book, filled with excellent observations about Moche iconography and world view.... Bourget's arguments [are] extremely interesting, thought-provoking, and potentially of great importance. They will undoubtedly cause other researchers to look at the material in a new way and to test and refine the observations presented in this volume in the years ahead."
—Christopher B. Donnan, UCLA, author of
Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru
The Moche people who inhabited the north coast of Peru between approximately 100 and 800 AD were perhaps the first ancient Andean society to attain state-level social complexity. Although they had no written language, the Moche created the most elaborate system of iconographic representation of any ancient Peruvian culture. Amazingly realistic figures of humans, animals, and beings with supernatural attributes adorn Moche pottery, metal and wooden objects, textiles, and murals. These actors, which may have represented both living individuals and mythological beings, appear in scenes depicting ritual warfare, human sacrifice, the partaking of human blood, funerary rites, and explicit sexual activities.
In this pathfinding book, Steve Bourget raises the analysis of Moche iconography to a new level through an in-depth study of visual representations of rituals involving sex, death, and sacrifice. He begins by drawing connections between the scenes and individuals depicted on Moche pottery and other objects and the archaeological remains of human sacrifice and burial rituals. He then builds a convincing case for Moche iconography recording both actual ritual activities and Moche religious beliefs regarding the worlds of the living, the dead, and the afterlife. Offering a pioneering interpretation of the Moche worldview, Bourget argues that the use of symbolic dualities linking life and death, humans and beings with supernatural attributes, and fertility and social reproduction allowed the Moche to create a complex system of reciprocity between the world of the living and the afterworld. He concludes with an innovative model of how Moche cosmological beliefs played out in the realms of rulership and political authority.
Book Description
When Toronto antiques dealer Lara McClintoch finds herself in possession of authentic artifacts of the Moche--an ancient people whose civilization predates the Incas--she soon realizes that she is an unwitting link in a chain of blackmarket collectors. Now she must journey to Peru and do battle with an army of grave robbers as ruthless--and deadly--as the Moche warriors themselves...
"Richly woven descriptions...fascinating and vividly presented... [an] artfully crafted plot... a passport to adventure"-- Booklist
Customer Reviews:
A Textbook would be a livelier read.......2005-11-14
This review is for the Berkley Prime Crime (a Penguin Putman imprint) paperback edition published in January 2000, 321 pages of story. THE MOCHE WARRIOR is one of nine novels in the Lara McClintoch Archaeological Mystery Series. None of them has appeared in USA Today's list of 150 best selling books.
In THE MOCHE WARRIOR, Lara McClintoch, half-owner of an antique shop in Toronto, buys an odd lot of supposedly not too valuable stuff at auction. The lot includes three artifacts, marked as replicas, from the Moche culture, which thrived on the North Coast of Peru from 100 AD to 500 AD, according to the author. (Some researchers have found evidence of the Moche well into 800 AD.) Soon after Lara acquires the pieces, someone breaks into her shop, seriously beats her employee and torches the shop's storage room, which has a dead stranger in it. The only item missing is one of the Moche artifacts. The police suspect that Lara had her employee torch the shop to collect insurance, an accusation that is about as improbable as the rest of the plot.
Lara, although initially unaware of the Moche culture, realizes the three artifacts are not replicas, but authentic and valuable pieces that were illicitly smuggled out of Peru. To save her reputation and prove her innocence, Lara goes to New York City where she finds another man murdered, then to Mexico City to obtain a false identity, and finally to Peru to solve the archaeological mystery.
Listless writing makes this mundane and often improbable plot duller. Superficially drawn characters talk about Peru and the Moche in long, speech like dialogues, which illustrate only that the author did considerable research but was incapable of weaving it into her story. I have researched the Moche and traveled in Peru for a novel I am writing. The author's information on Peru and the Moche are accurate. If you want to learn about the Moche, however, a textbook would be a livelier read.
A bit of a yawn.......2003-10-12
Not a particularly interesting or captivating read. The characters were not engaging and mostly unbelievable. The pace was slow and at times rather difficult to grasp and mostly unrealistic. I'd recommend Clive Cussler, Dan Brown for a far far better read.
Entertaining.......2003-05-15
THE MOCHE WARRIOR is the third entry in Lyn Hamilton's Lara McClintoch series. I read the first two, THE XIBALBA MURDERS and THE MALTESE GODDESS, several years ago. I was lukewarm on the former, but somewhat disappointed in the latter. Sufficiently disappointed that I had no particular inclination to purchase this third book. Finally, though, time triumphed over memory. Recollections of the reasons for my disenchantment with THE MALTESE GODDESS faded to the point where I decided to give THE MOCHE WARRIOR a shot. I'm glad I did. While I will agree with others who find it a bit incongruous for a character to just take off at the drop of a hat on a lengthy and costly expedition to Mexico and Peru (anyone else ever notice how money is rarely a consideration for fictional characters, whether in movies, TV, or books), it's hard to say how any of us would react if we thought our life was in imminent danger, and credit cards do make it possible to postpone costs. Nevertheless, I found the plot engaging enough to keep me turning the pages despite the improbabilities. To be fair, what work of fiction doesn't have some improbabilities in it? Further, I found the setting interesting (the arid Peruvian coast) and the archeology intriguing. All in all, I enjoyed this book. More than I expected to, in fact. As a result, I already have the next book in the series, and I'm giving THE MOCHE WARRIOR four stars. If you like nice little mysteries, consider giving this one a try.
What Happens When You Try To Spite Your Ex Husband.......2002-07-14
Antique dealer, Lara McClintoch learns that revenge does not pay when she spitefully outbids her ex husband for a box of artifacts then discovers that someone is willing to murder for the contents. This archaeological mystery takes us to Peru where connections to grave robbers, the black market and drug runners place Lara in danger. The plot is tight with an assortment of potential bad guys that kept me guessing at the connections. But though Hamilton's books have exotic settings, her writing doesn't really give me the feeling that I've been there--and I have been to several of the countries she writes about. That said, I enjoyed the book anyway and laughed out loud at her wrap-up with the ex in the ending.
Moche Warrior.......2000-12-04
I read Lyn Hamilton because I like mysteries with an archaeolical background. Her three books so far have made that part interesting, however she lacks the 'good story' ability. I loose interest in her characters. This story was too hard to believe. Anyone who would just fly off to New York, then Mexico and then Peru after the loosing the profit capability of her business (believe me I know the cost of one-way airfares) has to have an income that makes the reasons was going off on this jaunt seem ridiculous. All the characters were set up well enough, but very little they did seemed real. Example: the wife of the customes inspector from Peru with three births to her body being able to attract a very successful French smuggler and be able to wear the 'teen' styles of barely a silk slip. Her endings are neat, but that's fine with me. It suits the genre.
Book Description
The Moche civilization was created by the people who lived in the arid coastal regions of Northern Peru from around AD 100 to AD 700. This civilization had long been known for the great mud-brick pyramids that tower over the river valleys, for the splendor of its art and for its agricultural prowess. However, the social organization and political history that underlay these achievements remained generally obscure. At the end of the 1980s our vision of Moche society was suddenly and irrevocably altered. A series of discoveries on the North coast of Peru revealed stunning artistic and technological achievements and caused a dramatic revision of the sophistication and power of Moche society. This is the first book to describe this ancient civilization in the light of the new evidence. In the first part of the book the author examines the integral relationship between the Moche people and their physical world, their economy, and everyday life at all levels of society. He describes the symbols of religion and myth and shows how these were vital participants in rituals, often involving human sacrifice, that served to maintain balance with the unpredictable forces of nature while at the same time reinforcing the power of the rulers. In the second part of the book the author investigates the origins of Moche society in the first two millennia BC, the emergence of Moche society and the evolution of its cultural and political pre-eminence. The picture that emerges is of a brilliant manifestation of Andean culture within whose society diversity and tension were as evident as unity and whose development and decline were shaped by the attributes of its own peculiar history and by the region in which it flourished. This vivid evocation of an ancient civilization is both enlivened and deepened by the author's sympathetic understanding of customs, rituals and myths which to modern eyes may seem both strange and terrible. It will be widely welcomed by scholars and students of South American archaeology and history, and by those curious to know more about a civilization that for thirteen centuries was largely forgotten.
Customer Reviews:
Not the best guide on the Moche.......2006-10-14
Garth Bawden does an adequate job detailing the people known as the Moche. In his book: Moche (The Peoples of America) he takes you through the beginning of these people lost. They built huge and bizarre pyramids that still dominate the surrounding countryside; some well over a hundred feet tall. Many are so heavily eroded they look like natural hills; only close up can you see they are made up of millions of mud bricks. Several of the pyramids, known as 'huacas', meaning sacred site in the local Indian dialect, contain rich collections of murals depicting both secular and sacred scenes from the Moche world. Others house the elaborate tombs of Moche leaders. Out in the desert, archaeologists have also found the 2,000-year-old remains of an extensive system of mud brick aqueducts which enabled the Moche to tame their desert environment. Many are still in use today. Indeed there are signs that the Moche irrigated a larger area of land than farmers in Peru do now.
But who were the Moche? How did they create such an apparently successful civilization in the middle of the desert, what kind of a society was it, and why did it disappear? For decades it was one of the greatest archaeological riddles in South America. But now at last, scientists are beginning to come up with answers. As archaeologists have excavated at Moche sites they've unearthed some of the most fabulous pottery and jewelry ever to emerge from an ancient civilization. All very well illustrated in Joanne Pillsbury's Moche Art and Archaeology in Ancient Peru. The Moche were pioneers of metal working techniques like gilding and early forms of soldering. These skills enabled them to create extraordinarily intricate artifacts; earrings and necklaces, nose rings and helmets, many heavily inlaid with gold and precious stones.
But it was the pottery that gave the archaeologists their first real insight into Moche life. The Moche left no written record but they did leave a fabulous account of their life and times in paintings on pots and vessels. Many show everyday events and objects such as people, fish, birds and other animals. Others show scenes from what, at first sight, look like a series of battles. But as the archaeologists studied them more closely they realized they weren't ordinary battles; all the soldiers were dressed alike, the same images were repeated time and again. When the battle was won, the vanquished were ritually sacrificed; their throats cut, the blood drained into a cup and the cup drunk by a God-like deity. It was, the archaeologists slowly realized, a story not of war but ritual combat followed by human sacrifice.
Interesting and boring.......2006-06-10
Garth Bawden starts to point out that a civilization does not have a certain date at which it starts nor ends. The Moche people also had their ancestors and evolved into a new civilization. This all happened in different timeframes in the northern, middle and southern part of their reign. Garth has little concern for ceramics but has many theories to prove his view. The book is devided in the social part of the moche and the second part about their origins (shouldn't this be the way around?). In all there are many dublicates in both parts. This means that the book is rather hard to read. The end of the book is also less elaborate, as if he wanted to end this torture. Certainly not suited for your first aquitance with the Moche, but it has some interesting chapters. The photo's are of very poor quality.
Not for the general public.......2005-08-26
Bawden is often quoted for his archaelogical studies of the North of Peru, so I bought his book in advance of my tourist trip to the Moche sites, of which I knew next to nothing. I spent many disappointing hours trying to study this book but I was not able even to finish it. The book is terribly dry and while it is not strictly limited to a list of archeological finds, that is clearly the forte of the author. The style is way more awkward than the average scholarly text, the photos of which there are many are absolutely substandard (this must be the fault of the printer). But more substantially, I came out of my struggle with this book without even a half way understanding of what distinguished the Moche from the previous civilizations, from the contemporary ones, and from those that followed it. If you are serious in wanting to study the Moche, I am sure that this could be a useful addition to your text list, but if you want to read just one book, choose something else.
Average customer rating:
- One of the best books I've ever read!
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Astronomy Today (Random House Library of Knowledge)
Dinah Phd Moche
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Astronomy
| Astronomy & Space
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Astronomy
| Astronomy
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Teens
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0394844238
Release Date: 1982-10-12 |
Book Description
From the Random House Library of Knowledge comes a brand-new edition of the backlist favorite Astronomy Today. With a totally updated text, additional photos, and a fresh new cover, this beautiful, basic astronomy book incorporates the latest discoveries and ideas about our solar system and what lies beyond. The workings of telescopes, rockets, astronaut missions, and robot spacecraft are explained, and there are easy-to-read star maps for beginning stargazers.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best books I've ever read!.......1998-02-11
This is the first astronomy book I ever read, and it is so through that I still read it today. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a simple-but-scientific way to learn about astronomy.
Book Description
"This book is as close as we can ever come to seeing the Moche people—and to having a basis for understanding the society that produced such remarkable works of art."
—Craig Morris, Senior Vice President and Dean of Science, American Museum of Natural History
"By presenting the Moche artists and the people who have been portrayed by them, Donnan brings us to a level of understanding and proximity, so to speak, that I would have never considered possible just a few years ago. . . . Believe me, this book is going to be a bestseller."
—Steve Bourget, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Texas at Austin
Of all the ancient civilizations that flourished in the Americas, only one perfected true portraiture of living people and produced it in quantity—the Moche who inhabited the north coast of Peru between approximately AD 100 and 800. Using the medium of three-dimensional ceramic vessels that could have contained liquid, Moche artisans typically formed the heads of the individuals they wished to portray, though sometimes they presented full figures with realistic portrait faces. Depicting an astonishing range of physical types, these portraits now allow us to meet Moche people who lived more than 1,500 years ago and to sense the nuances of their individual personalities.
This pathfinding book presents the first wide-ranging, systematic study of the Moche portraits. Drawing on more than 900 examples from museums and private collections around the world—some 300 of which are illustrated here in full color—Christopher Donnan documents how the portrait tradition evolved, how the portraits were produced and distributed, who they portrayed, why they were made, and how they were used in Moche society. His analysis is supported by extensive archaeological evidence, which provides the context for portraits found in Moche tombs and midden deposits, as well as useful information for identifying the headdresses and ornaments worn by the individuals portrayed.
Books:
- Baltic States Insight Guide (Insight Guides)
- Barbed Wire: An Ecology of Modernity
- Basic Geometry of Voting
- Blood Justice (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
- China Cross Talk: The American Debate Over China Policy Since Normalization: A Reader
- Citizens and Kings: Portraits in the Age of Enlightenment
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
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- Day Of The Dragon-King (Magic Tree House 14, paper)
- Embracing History's Lessons: What Every College Graduate Should Know
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