Don't bother with this book. I used it for an intro-level astro course, along with Frank Shu's Physical Universe. In the exact words of my professor, the only reason we even had to buy this book was because Shu's was written 20 years ago and is slightly out of date.... we used Shu for important concepts and this for basically nothing other than revising what is in Shu with more up-to-date information. This book is kind of expensive to be simply a tool for updating Shu (which, btw, is a great book)... also, the high number of errors and typos really make this book a "don't bother"

This book is a good compromise between the less analytical texts and some of the books geared toward astonomy majors. It is not a great book but I felt it was up to date and comprehensive. One note though, the authors assume you have a good grounding in undergrad math and physics. On several occasions I had to pull out one of my math or physics texts to review a subject so I could understand the material being presented.

This is not a MEATY text. It is a good INTRODUCTORY text that provides a decent overview of general astronomy, including: basic celestial mechanics, the solar system, absorption/emission, stars, H-R diagram, galaxies, interstellar medium, evolution, Hubble's law, active galaxies, cosmology. The level of detail seems appropriate for a survey course. For example, the authors do a good job of describing basic spectral issues (absorption, emission, line broadening, Boltzmann, the Saha equation, optical depth, etc), but they do not provide a detailed discussion of stellar atmospheres. If you have had an introduction to astronomy and want more depth, then look at Bohm-Vitense's books, Elmgreen's Galaxies & Galactic Structure, etc.

I got a prerelease copy of this book, and read it in two nights. It was very suspenseful, and a very god read. After reading it, I went and found all of the other Stephen White books and read them. The only unfortunate thing is that he has only written five books. But, they are very good. They remind me of my favorite series, the Dismas Hardy books of John Lescroart. Very good, highly recommended

Could Stephen White have written any more twists into this book? Would it be possible for more characters to be in jeopardy? The book starts out with Emma, the daughter of an assassinated politician, and her quest for privacy. Did Lauren, in an attempt to defend Emma's privacy, shoot someone? Lauren is arrested for what may become capital murder, and the complications from her MS are quickly threatening her life. Alan must not only battle the system to get Lauren to the hospital, but also find a way to solve the crime and get her out of jail. Unfortunately, his own culpability prevents him from being completely honest with his police friend Sam, who might be able to help. This book is full of thrilling legal maneuvering, and White uses a type of flashback writing that really keeps your interest going and your brain working to sort out the events. This book is not as good as some of White's others, but it is definitely worth the read for White's avid fans.

I have read all of Stephen White's books, and this is the best one yet. I could hardly believe it when I reached the end. I began reading the book and then "boom" it was over and I don't think I had taken a breath during the whole thing. The main characters were all familiar from his previous books, but this time they were like old friends and not just names on a page. The plot of the book, which involves high tech use of computer and the abuse heaped by the press on celebrities, is timely and intriguingly combined. Hats off to White and I hope that he hurries his next Allen Gregory book along.

Tried to get interested but I find the character of Alan Gregory just a bore. There are some fine sequences in this book but I felt like I was reading one of those parlor mysteries where the ramblings of the main characters were more important than the mystery itself. When the villian is revealed at the end I found myself not buying it. Maybe because of the lack of real character development or the lack of empathy for Alan Gregory. This is the third Alan Gregory novel by Stephen White that I have read and this time I have asked myself 'is that all there is? I think that this series is worth the effort to read but I warn you not to start with this entry. You may be put off and ignore others from this author which are very good reads. Also be aware that some books of the series shift the main character emphasis from Alan Gregory to Lauren Crowder, his girl firend/wife.

Found this offering a little slow and somewhat hard to follow. I found it slow for a 100 pages then it picked up and dropped me again. I really think that it was somewhat of a confusing story and never really brought together. I will read others as I try never to base my opinions on one book and it seems that his earlier books rated higher.

[...] Having read enough cozies in my life to still be able to count them on one hand, I have come to the probably erroneous conclusion that the main difference between the cozy mystery and the hard-boiled detective novel is that the investigator in the cozy is never in quite as much immediate physical danger as is the hard-boiled chap. Even if the chap in question isn't too hard-boiled.

Such is the case with Boulder, CO psychiatrist Alan Gregory, the hero of Stephen White's open-ended series of mystery/thrillers. regory spends his time getting shot at, beaten about the head, henpecked, and otherwise threatened by a bevy of adversaries and never enjoying it much. The best kind of detective-- an amateur who gets too wrapped up in his cases.

In this case, it's hard to avoid. The victim is Gregory's next door neighbor, a woodcraftsman who was designing sets for a theatre production in town. The murder is similar in some ways to a previous murder in Denver, and so the local police start thinking "serial killer." Gregory's PD pal Sam Purdy hires him on as an amateur profiler, and away we go.

Stephen White is a solid writer of thrillers, easily as good as any of the A-list names working in the genre today. His lack of widespread readership continues to baffle me. Harm's Way is of a piece with the rest of the Alan Gregory novels, and comes just as highly recommended from this camp. *** 1/2

No surprises here this volume was not worth the money I paid for it. As plain and colorless as a textbook can be. I recommend Richard Marius "A Short Guide to Writing About History" instead.