Paul Cohn conveyes in Shelee and Me an awareness of the complexity of relationships and communities. This book raises important questions about relationships--how we build them and how we subvert them.

-Sara Goulde

The foreword is really fascinating, and worth dawdling over. There is a helpful little chart detailing the way star names have come down to us from so many ancient civilizations -- Babylonia, India, Greece, Rome, Arabia... The names we use today for most stars seem to have originated, by and large, in Greece or Arabia. Both these groups of names were filtered through the Islamic world during the Dark Ages, when learning and scholarship were almost totally lost causes in most of Europe, and the Muslims, Jews, and Irish kept the old traditions alive.

In light of recent events, I'd just like to point out that basically EVERY major constellation contains at least a few stars that were originally named by Arab shephards. Somehow it seems like that little fact should have at least a slightly calming effect on people who have taken up hating all Muslims as a hobby, since the events of Sept. 11. Anyway, it's probably better not to get too political. This is a very interesting, scholarly, readable little book. To compare it to Allen's "Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning," I'd have to point out that Kunitzsch's book focuses exclusively on the history of the names we use in the West today, which makes it a lot more focused and to-the-point. Allen's book has many intriguing digressions into the folklore of bygone days, but this book rarely succumbs to the temptation to digress. Just terrific stuff. Two thumbs up.