Astronomer Levy has had a busy year, publishing a biography of Eugene Shoemaker, who pioneered the study of impact craters (Shoemaker by Levy), as well as a little book of reflections on famous writers' fascination with the night sky (Starry Night). This latest book, written with spouse Wallach-Levy, collects snapshot biographies of astronomers throughout history and explains the significance of their discoveries, both when they were made and to later scientists. The authors include the big names—Galileo, Halley, Hubble—but also figures not as familiar to the general public: the late-18th-century comet-hunter Charles Messier, for instance, whose designations for deep-sky astronomical objects (like M1, the Crab Nebula) are still used today. Another merit is the inclusion of early women pioneers in the field, like Herschel's sister and collaborator, Caroline, and Henrietta Leavitt, whose study of Cepheid variables in the early 1900s laid the groundwork for attempts to ascertain the age of the universe later in the century. Unfortunately, the book is marred by awkward phrasing and glaring contradictions, even on the same page, signaling perfunctory editing. Levy and Wallach also should have done some last-minute updating: they mention conflicting evidence on the age of the universe that cosmologists seem to have since resolved. Readers who enjoy scientific biographies will spend a few pleasant evenings with this portrait album, but it isn't a must-buy for hard-core astronomy buffs, who won't find much here that's new, and library collections likely already have this information elsewhere. (Oct.)
