The Sun: Beginner’s guide to our local star, including solar and lunar eclipses

A highly accomplished work by Dr French, it is hard to believe that this is his first book as he writes with the skill of a seasoned author. He has a an excellent writing voice and provides clear, succinct and easy to understand explanations of complicated topics, bringing a sense of fun and fascination to the world of solar physics. I picked this up and hardly put it down before I had finished it.The pitching is excellent, making the text accessible to those who are new to the world of astrophysics or those who already have an solar physics background.My only complaint is that I wished the book had been longer!I am definitely looking forward to reading Dr French's future works.

Very interesting book on this topic.

Everything you need to know about our nearest star. Nice quality of paper with lots of charts, colour photos and illustrations.Well worth buying.

Here's a book all about the Sun. Our star. That big glowing ball in the sky. Which you really shouldn't look at directly. Which gives us all the heat and light we need.It looks at first glance like something self published, but it is quite well printed. Has colour images. And does look nicely professional.Although it's a beginner's guide, it can get very very technical at points. So you really need to be very serious about astronomy to get into this. So might go over the heads of younger readers.It has one hundred and nine pages in total. It's divided into five parts. Plus an introduction and a glossary and notes at the end. Each of the parts is divided into smaller sections. I can't really call these chapters because the layout makes them more sections than chapters.As it will tell you at the start. Don't look at the sun directly. That can't be said often enough. It will among other things tell you how you can look at it safely though.Part one is the history of humanity's relationship with it. This does a very good job of laying all the ground work for the whole thing.Part two is the science of the sun. This is the longest section. And where it gets the most technical. And how.The other parts are all about observing it. And how you can do that safely. What to look for on the sun. And special solar events.Some of this is absolutely mind blowing stuff. Show the parts about solar weather to those who query space spending, and it should set them to rights. Because what the sun does in this respect can cause problems to the planet.There are lots of photos and diagrams and extra bits of info. Some of the colour are really mind blowing. Absolute sense of wonder moments. The feeling of having that triggered - in a good way - is amazing.I did learn some things from this. I never realised before that the Kuiper belt is on the plain of the planets. And that is amazing to think about, given the scale of it.This is a very quality production that does what it sets out to do. If you really want to get into the subject, get this. Totally worth it.

As a long time passion-hobbyist of astrophysics with a good understanding of the sun and the forces and features surrounding it, there was great pleasure in reading this book. The chapters at the beginning talking about the history of humanities relationship with our local star are fascinating and the later chapters around what to look for on the sun had a great deal of learning for me.Absolutely love this book and would thoroughly recommend picking up a copy.

Ryan makes the science interesting and easily understandable - I felt the echoes of A level Physics from somewhere deep within my brain! He really brings the sun to life as his passion for his subject shines through the words on the page. Beautifully illustrated with amazing photos too. Already looking forward to his next book!

Funny, engaging, and full of fascinating insights, this short book packs in a lot of serious science as well as history, great photography and lively touches of humour. The idea read for a sunny day on the beach!

Dr French has a real talent for explaining a highly complex subject matter in an understandable way. A really beautiful book.

I am the Chinese translator of this book, and the English writing is actually very wonderful. The only problem is that the words and pictures in the layout are a little crowded. If there are readers from the Chinese-speaking world, you can also buy the Chinese version in Taiwan.

I like the book, esp. the historical information, but the "meat" of the topic is a bit too basic for what I'd consider a GOOD book on the sun. Covers the topic as a good intro to solar physics and the trend to understanding our nearest star. Did ship quickly and nice size.An excellent choice for a younger or middle aged student looking to study this for a report or review. Otherwise, I'd rate it as a bit too basic in some areas with less technical info than I'd prefer. Thanks...

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I was so excited for this book about the sun. The amount of information in it is straight to the point and easy to understand. The basic science of the sun as well as the history of solar observation are included in this book! I enjoyed reading this! Thank you for writing a phenomenal book!

It is technical but they try to explain what they mean. I read it with my computer dictionary open. I'm a space nut!!