The Stargazing Year

May 2, 2005
For anyone who spent their childhood enraptured by the heavens, only to have that rapture interrupted by a career, family and social expectations, Calia's book provides new hope that their childhood joy can be rediscovered. In a series of 12 essays, each dedicated to one month of the year, Calia describes his quest to build his own backyard observatory, providing interesting tidbits of astronomical history and mythological lore along the way. The book is part memoir, part travelogue through the constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Calia, a frequent contributor to Sky & Telescope magazine and the author of the novel The Unspeakable, weaves mythological tales of various constellations almost seamlessly together with momentous events in his own life, particularly the death of his astrologer mother. But his skill as a writer truly shines in the interconnectedness of his narrative, as when a lyrical passage on stellar nebulae segues into a dialogue with the salesman at the building supply store and then into a discussion of Robert Frost, another amateur astronomer. The result is charming, witty, wistful and ultimately inspiring. This is not a reference work, though the star charts at the beginning of each chapter and the directions for finding various objects in the night sky are sufficient for a casual observer with binoculars. Instead, this is a book to read for pleasure on those nights when the sky is overcast.