Hardcover. Actual size of book: over 9" x 12"; all photographs in full color. Color on every page.
An Up-To-Date Book on Stars and Stellar Evolution
Age Level: 9 and Up
Now in its Second Printing
Description
Good Reviews: 11
Bad Reviews: 0
Read an excerpt from THE LIVES OF STARS!
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Description--THE LIVES OF STARS
A huge cloud of gas and dust...The Orion Nebula is a nursery where thousands of stars have been born.
A brilliant blue-white star...Rigel will live fast and die young.
A wispy cloud of beautiful colors....The Crab Nebula is where a huge star has exploded.
An invisible black hole, tearing apart a nearby star...Nothing can escape Cygnus X-1, not even light.
The wonders of the stars are yours in this spectacular explosion of deep space. Using the most beautiful
photographs available, Harvard-trained astronomer Ken Croswell leads a tour of the stars--the young, the
living, the aging, and the dead. He also describes how the stars made life possible on Earth--and perhaps
on planets throughout the cosmos.
"Ken Croswell's THE LIVES OF STARS is a wonderful astronomy book
for young people--for anyone, for that matter. Well written,
beautifully illustrated, it takes sophisticated modern
concepts and makes them clearly accessible. I wish I could have
had a book like this one when I was young."
--Dr. James Kaler, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
author of Stars and Stars and Their Spectra
"A terrific book. I am enjoying The Lives of Stars
immensely. It is very well written, aimed with precision at
young readers, and is filled with inspiration to get these
readers to enjoy the stars. I would not be surprised if a
whole generation gets inspired to study astronomy after
reading this wonderful book."
--David Levy, discoverer of 22 comets
"This is a great book for the astronomy enthusiast. If
you're beyond the basics and want to talk about astronomy
the way astronomers do, then this is the book for you."
--Dennis Schatz, Senior Vice President, Pacific Science Center
Award-winning astronomy educator and children's book author
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE
|
|---|
| The Lives of Stars | 4
|
| Star Light, Star Bright | 6
|
| The Birthplace of Stars | 8
|
| A Star Is Born | 14
|
| The H-R Diagram | 16
|
| Main-Sequence Stars | 20
|
| Brown Dwarfs | 22
|
| Red Giants | 24
|
| Planetary Nebulae | 26
|
| White Dwarfs | 32
|
| Supergiants and Supernovae | 34
|
| Cepheids | 40
|
| Neutron Stars and Pulsars | 42
|
| Black Holes | 44
|
| Double Stars | 46
|
| When Little Stars Explode | 48
|
| Star Clusters | 50
|
| Origin of the Elements | 54
|
| Extrasolar Planets | 58
|
| Life in Space? | 60
|
| Glossary | 62
|
| Index | 72
|
Large, outstanding images--all in color:
NGC 346 in Small Magellanic Cloud
Galactic Bulge
Orion Nebula
Horsehead Nebula
Lagoon Nebula
Eagle Nebula
Cone Nebula
T Tauri
Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
SCR 1845-6357 (red dwarf and brown dwarf)
Mira
Ring Nebula
Helix Nebula
Dumbbell Nebula
Eskimo Nebula
Cat's Eye Nebula
Sirius
Orion
NGC 3370 (spiral galaxy)
Crab Nebula
Cassiopeia A
Veil Nebula
Crab Pulsar
Cygnus X-1
Albireo
SN 1994D in galaxy NGC 4526
Pleiades star cluster
Quintuplet cluster
M80 (globular cluster)
Extrasolar planet around red dwarf
Earth
Good Reviews--THE LIVES OF
STARS
Science Books and Films:
This excellent book for young people
who are interested in astronomy and
want to go beyond the basics is very well
organized, with each section leading
nicely into the next. For example, a
section on nebulae leads into a section
on the birth of stars, which in turn
leads into a section on main-sequence
stars. All types of stars are discussed,
from red giants to white dwarfs, and
clear explanations are given as to
how these stars came to be. There are
numerous exquisitely produced color
photographs throughout the volume,
but the real strength of the book lies in
the excellence of the writing. The author
does not shy away from discussing
complicated ideas such as the formation
of black holes and the spinning of
pulsars, and the explanations should be
very understandable to young readers.
There is a two-page depiction of the
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, which
classifies stars on the basis of their surface
temperature and luminosity. A chart of
the elements shows their abundances and
how the elements were formed. These
charts contain a wealth of information
in an easy-to-understand and interesting
format. A comprehensive glossary of all
of the terms and specific astronomical
objects mentioned in the text, complete
with more color photos, appears at the
end of the book. All in all, this book
succeeds in explaining complicated
processes in an understandable and
enjoyable manner. I recommend it
highly for anyone with an interest in
astronomy.
--Robert N. McCullough
Science News:
Brilliant images and comprehensive text present the basics of
stellar astronomy in an engaging fashion.
Analog:
Long ago, when the world was young and I was a precocious
pre-teen proto-SF-reader just discovering Tom Swift and Tom
Corbett, Space Cadet, I had two favorite nonfiction books:
All About the Planets by Patricia Lauber and Life
in Other Solar Systems by Frederick I. Ordway III. I
checked both of
those out from the library so often that my parents were
forced to buy me copies of my own. Both books had a very
strong influence on my developing interest in astronomy,
science in general, and science fiction. The fact that I
remember them more than forty years later shows you how much
of an impact they made on me. I’ll bet you have a book or
two like that from your own childhood.
If you have a similarly precocious pre-teen in your life,
you might want to give them a copy of The Lives of Stars.
This is a big, beautiful, full-color book chock full of
gorgeous Hubble images and in-depth text that should be
easily accessible to any bright third- or fourth-grader.
The book discusses (and illustrates) the life cycle of
stars, from nebulae to main sequence to supernova, neutron
star, or black hole. This is all the latest state-of-the-art
information, as up-to-date as any book can be.
The Lives of Stars doesn’t shy away from hardcore science:
it explains the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, Cepheid
variables, and the origin of elements, and is full of all
sorts of interesting facts (for example, the Milky Way
Galaxy gives birth to about ten new stars per year, and
tin is primarily formed in red giants rather than supernovae).
In addition, there are a few chapters that lead nicely into
science fiction territory, discussing extrasolar planets and
extraterrestrial life.
Ken Croswell is a Ph.D. in astronomy who has written other
astronomy books for kids; your precocious pre-teen will be
in good hands. But before you give this book to the kid
(or kids) in your life, take some time to look through it
yourself--you’re sure to enjoy it, and you will probably
learn something you didn’t know. Much fun indeed.
--Don Sakers
Kirkus Reviews:
A veteran stargazer pairs a meaty disquisition on stellar types
and life cycles to page-filling photos and artistic visions of
stars and nebulae. Using the H-R (Hertzsprung-Russell) Diagram
as his framework, he devotes spreads to heavenly bodies from
main-sequence stars to Cepheid variables, neutron stars and
black holes--exploring along the way in some detail exactly how
scientists determine or deduce stellar luminosity, mass, and
chemical composition. He closes with a look at extrasolar
planets, current theories about the origin of natural elements,
and the search for extraterrestrial life. Even readers who find
the densely packed text hard going will pore over the pictures:
printed in sharp detail and bright, enhanced colors on
glossy-coated paper, Orion, the Veil Nebula, the Crab Nebula,
and their celestial companions make serious eye candy. Though
the lack of a resource list limits its research value, students
of the skies will find this a (what else?) stellar picture of
what we know or guess about those distant lights.
Smithsonian:
For the astronomy-mad child comes this detailed book about
stars, filled with gorgeous pictures from Hubble and other
advanced telescopes.
--Sarah Zielinski
Midwest Book Review:
The Lives of Stars is a beautiful coffee-table book that
will appeal to both students of astronomy age 10 and up and
adults. There are multiple incredible photographs of lives and
stages of stars and galaxies and a whole page of photography
credits. Simply written in expository prose, The Lives of
Stars has chapters that define how a star is born, the H-R
diagram (a way of measuring the intensity of stars that reveals
the star's projected life story), descriptions of many different
types of stars, star clusters, the origin of the elements, and
what to consider about the possibility of life in space, to
name just a few. A full 8-page photo-illustrated glossary and
index help to clarify astronomic terminology. The Lives of
Stars is an experience not to be missed for all lovers of
galactic theory and knowledge of stars.
School Library Journal:
Extensive, detailed information about stars is coupled with
amazing colorful photographs, many from the Hubble
Space Telescope, in this stunning book. Packed with facts
about the stars and their life cycle, the text often relates
them to situations or objects familiar to readers. The
wealth of information may overwhelm casual readers, but
the extensive glossary, including photographs, aids students.
This book is sure to
attract kids interested in astronomy and those doing
reports.
--Christine Markley
Finding Great Science Books for Children:
This explains a great deal about stars and their life cycles
in language that elementary-school children can understand.
The design and illustrations are excellent.
--Priscilla Spears
Booklist:
This handsomely designed, large-format volume features
spectacular images of stars, nebulae, and galaxies on
glossy pages. Most of the pictures are digitally enhanced,
space-telescope images, while a few are clearly labeled as
artists’ conceptions. The author of See the Stars
and Ten Worlds, as well as several books for adults,
astronomer Croswell here presents a great deal of information
about stars and how they change over time. Topics include
“The Birthplace of Stars,” “Red Giants,” “Double Stars,” and
“Extrasolar Planets.” Though no sources are listed, an index
and a detailed glossary are appended. The book’s intended
audience is puzzling, since it sometimes seems to address
young children (“Some stars are blue. Some stars are white.
Some stars, like the Sun, are yellow”), while at other times
both the reading level and the concepts are a good deal more
challenging (“Most interstellar hydrogen gas is made of
separate hydrogen atoms. Each hydrogen atom has one proton,
a particle with positive electric charge”). Still, an
inviting presentation that will get kids turning pages.
--Carolyn Phelan
National Science Teachers Association:
This book is an easy-to-read reference book on the lives of
stars and the different stars that astronomers are studying
today. The material is complete and in-depth, but the reading
level is low enough for younger readers, older ESOL students,
or special education students.
The highlight of the book is the collection of large and
colorful pictures of these deep space objects. The photos are
compelling examples of nebulae from which stars develop. The
written material is in-depth and comprehensive. It begins with
a description of how distances to stars are calculated and how
temperature and brightness of a star is determined; it also
explains the inverse square law, giving good examples of how
it applies to the Sun. It continues with the idea of nebulae
and the origin of stars.
Text material describes the concept of balancing gravity with
outward pressure to form stable stars. The H-R diagram is
explained and illustrated with a two-page spread showing the
way the graph develops. Subsequent chapters address the concepts
of main sequence, red giant, white dwarf, brown dwarf, supernova
explosions, planetary nebulae, Cepheid variables, pulsars, and
of course black holes. Other concepts covered include double
stars and star clusters.
Each section describes a star in detail and gives plenty of
examples of them in the sky, and they are illustrated with
great, full-color pictures. The book concludes with a
discussion of extrasolar planets and the possibility of life
in space. There is a full glossary and an index. The author
maintains a rigorous approach to the material but keeps the
jargon to a minimum, making it an easy and interesting book
to read.
--Claudia Fetters
Puget Sound Council for Reviewing Children's Media:
Clearly written, with the most beautiful photographs available,
this book does what it says it will do: it “shows how stars
live and die.” Topics are simply addressed
in one-, two-, or three-page spreads. A nice feature under each
section title is a phrase which in itself provides information.
For example, "Supergiants and Supernovae" is followed by “One
supernova can outshine an entire galaxy”. It does not
surprise this reviewer that all the major review journals had
great things to say about this book. Includes a really
amazing glossary and an index.
--Judy Bordeaux
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