Looking Up: A History of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
by R. Peter Broughton,
pages xiv + 288; 22 cm x 29 cm.
Dundurn Press, Toronto and Oxford, 1994.
Price $34.95.
Order from the RASC, 136 Dupont Street, Toronto, Ont., M5R 1V2.
Add $5 for shipping and GST.
The motivation for writing this book,
Peter Broughton explains, was the centenary of
the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in
1990. He continues that although a number of
articles had been written on the subject over the
years, "it was not until the year 1990 was almost
upon us that a gnawing feeling began to emerge
that many members ... had some interest in the
development of the Society but did not have
access to those older papers. So, in a moment
of self-delusion, I offered to write a book about
the RASC...." Many of us will be grateful that he
did!This book, more than most others, brings home that symbiosis unique to astronomy: the cooperation and mutual respect between amateur and professional. I am told that on a recent, well-known TV talk show discussing the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter, David Levy was referred to by a professional astronomer as an amateur, bringing down on the speaker's head the wrath of the show's host, that so distinguished a contributor to the science should be called an amateur. The wrathful gentleman could learn much from a reading of Broughton's book; for here, laid out in detail, is the story of a marvelous intermingling and interaction of people whose common thread was and is a deep interest in astronomy, whether their living be earned by it or not.
Anyone with an interest in how astronomy developed in Canada will find Broughton's book an important contribution. Its information content is remarkable, for the author's research has been meticulous in his quest for the full story, and although that could easily have resulted in an indigestible clutter of detail, the writing is in fact clear and straightforward. There are statistics and graphs and a chapter by chapter recounting of the Society's activities, its officers, its finances, its centres, and virtually everything else connected with it. But for anyone who has been part of that story, or indeed the story of Canadian astronomy generally, the most appealing sections of the book will be the sidebars giving capsule biographies of the Society's presidents and many other (sometimes more consequential!) figures. Together with the numerous photographs that pack the book, these provide a pleasant stroll down memory lane among people remembered or forgotten, whose common thread was to have been influential in Canadian astronomy.
The book is beautifully produced in a glossy, mini-coffee- table kind of format, and has been very well proofread. The only error of fact I noticed was a reference on page 54 to the primary mirror of the never completed Queen Elizabeth II Telescope forming the basis of the CFHT.
If you count yourself a Canadian astronomer this book is part of your heritage; you will be pleased to have it on your bookshelf.
Don Fernie
Back to Gemini Mise a Jour
Up to Cassiopeia index.
Up to CASCA Home Page
Please e-mail any suggestions/comments to Jack Penfold (jpenfold@mtroyal.ab.ca)