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Giant Telescopes by W. Patrick McCray, Harvard University Press, 拢29.95/$45, ISBN 0674011473 Reviewed by Hazel Muir

鈥淣EVER before has so much glass and metal been pointed at the night sky,鈥� says Patrick McCray, a historian from the University of California, as he begins his insightful history of how ground-based telescopes have evolved and flourished over the past 50 years. His tale begins with the 200-inch Hale telescope at California鈥檚 Palomar Mountain, built in 1948, and ends with the twin 8-metre Gemini telescopes on mountains in Chile and Hawaii, completed in 2002.

Far from being relegated to third-class status by orbiting observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope, says McCray, ground-based telescopes are still radically reshaping the cosmos. As telescopes have evolved, so has the essence of being an astronomer. Long gone is the solitary scientist peering through an eyepiece of a telescope on long cold nights. Today, astronomers direct their telescopes from cosy control rooms and order chunks of data over the internet. And if you picture astronomers as mild-mannered professors with their heads in the clouds, McCray will put you right 鈥� they鈥檙e more often fighting politicians tooth and nail to make their visions a reality.

McCray has a clear, direct style and Giant Telescopes is a wonderful historical record. The detail can be overwhelming at times, but if you鈥檙e hooked on astronomy, it should be gripping reading.