Book review

Book Review
Translated from «Une histoire just assez concise de la physique stellaire» in Volume IV, Issue 2 – January 2006

A just concise enough history of stellar physics
by Vincent Audette-Chapdelaine (translated by Philippe Marchand)

Jean-Louis and Monique Tassoul's A Concise History of Solar and Stellar Physics is an impressive work by both its clarity and quality. It covers the history of our understanding of the stars with a sufficient theoretical depth to satisfy us physics students while remaining accessible to a newcomer in this field. However, be warned: this is a serious read that will appeal to astrophysics students and researchers, but probably not to your little brother.

The first chapters present the evolution of astronomy from early human history to the 20th century. This prepares readers for the second half of the book, which focuses in a more scientific manner on the discoveries of modern stellar physics from the 1940s until the end of the 1990s. It is not an easy task, as the astrophysics revolution – stemming from new technologies and modern physics theories – is very recent.

The historical approach adopted by the authors – both professional astrophysicists – renders the content easier to digest than if it were a purely didactical text. The first chapter, for example, is a detailed account of different myths of Antiquity used to explain the mysteries of the universe. Throughout the book, short astrophysicists biographies accompanied by pictures provide a visual support to the text and give a human aspect to the science presented, giving readers a historical context for the discoveries presented.

Another benefit of the authors' approach is that rather than using a strict chronological order, each section of the book focuses on a specific branch or a specific problem of solar and stellar physics; thereby making the book a useful reference on this field.

Physics students with an interest for further studies in stellar physics will benefit from reading this book. Likewise, anyone with a passion for astrophysics who is looking for more than the photo album and simplified theories of vulgarization texts, will find in this work the basis for a more serious exploration of the field.