An excellent astronomy reference book for the intelligent layman or advanced amateur by a distinguished Italian astronomer. Most notable: Maffei should be praised for correcting misinformation about the meteorite-like stones called "tektites." The author includes research results from aerodynamic studies made by the late Dean R. Chapman of NASA Ames Research Center. Chapman was a genuine scientific Sherlock Holmes; he showed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the mysterious Australasian-class of tektites originated on the Moon. Few books include this information about tektites. Many scientists still claim tektites were formed by terrestrial impacts. (Aside: research supporting evidence of the lunar-origin of tektites is rarely published--the so-called 'impact mafia' seem to control the peer review of such papers.) This book is out of print but used copies are readily available. The reviewer hopes it is republished.