The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 19 February 1998
by Ronald Florence
This book is about the construction of the famous Mount Palomar 200" Hale telescope. But it is also largely about the birth of Big Science. It took over twenty years to finish the telescope and the stories of the failed attempts to fabricate quartz mirrors and the trials of making something so big and outrageously complex during the depression are interesting. The author also concentrates on setting the atmosphere of the times, so his stories of life in the 1920s and 30s make up a welcome portion of the book. Florence tells of George Hale, who was instrumental in the construction of the Yerkes and Mount Wilson observatories. His drive to build the world's largest telescope pushed the limits of his fragile mental and physical health. The author is a bit repetitive at times, though, often re-introducing a character or item within pages of having done so already. This book may not be compelling to non-astronomers or non-scientists, but would be for anyone interested in the history of giant science projects. The book is engaging and stays interesting despite its fairly dry subject.