Burnham's Celestial Handbook - a work of art

Hallo all. I recently bought all three volumes of Burnham's Celestial
Handbook (Dover Books) and was absolutely stunned by this work. Many
people have paid tribute over the years to the significance of the
late Robert Burnham Jr's magnum opus, which is at once a work of art
and of science: it simply has no peer. I just wanted to add my penny's
worth.

For those as yet unfamiliar with the Celestial Handbook (published
1977), it's a dense and brilliantly descriptive survey of the entire
night sky - AFAIK the most comprehensive survey of its kind currently
available. And for those whose enjoyment of Astronomy lies primarily
in visual observation, the descriptions provided are a constant
delight. It's unique because, in addition to its wealth of scientific
data, the Celestial Handbook addresses the "human" aspects of
astronomy from a pan-cultural, historical perspective, and of the
majesty of Universe as expressed through poetry. It's a book one can
curl up with and savour, such is the quality and breadth of his
treatment of the stars. It's the original "Hitch-Hiker's Guide" to the
Galaxy, no less.

That Robert Burnham died in abject poverty, that his circumstances
were so reduced at the time of his death, that his life took such a
downturn, is very upsetting given the legacy he has left in his
Handbook. I'm just amazed that it could have happened at all. He
should've been a near-celebrity in astronomical circles "in life", but
alas that didn't happen (just as well perhaps, considering Mr
Burnham's acute shyness). Ironically, he was considered an "amateur"
astronomer by the astronomy "establishment" at Lowell and elsewhere
till the day he died. This "Staff Member, Lowell Observatory 1958-79",
as he is described in the Handbook's Frontspiece, says it all.

For more info on Robert Burnham's life, see this extraordinary article
by Tony Ortega in the Phoenix New Times:


http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issue...l/1/index.html


Finally, I really do hope that someone, preferably an author committed
to preserving Burnham's sensibilities, undertook the doubtless mammoth
task of bringing his Celestial Handbook up-to-date. What a wonderful
project that would be - and what a tribute to Robert Burnham's memory!

Regards,


Anthony