The History of the Telescope by Henry C. King

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This book covers observational astronomy from the time of eyeballs alone all the way to the 200 inch Hale reflector, and the dawn of the radio telescope. Published in 1955, the closing chapters amount to a look at the state of the art in that decade, the groundwork for the level of science we're familiar with today.

I recently acquired this book, after reading about it elsewhere.

I'm now through the first four chapters and into the fifth, and I am thrilled with it. This book is very easy to read, and I find myself getting excited as I read about the various folks who I've heard of, as well as those who I never heard of, go about doing their documentations and studies, and create the science associated with the telescope, and specifically how this all aided in the advancement of Astronomy.

I’ve heard it is referred to as a classic, but it’s brand new to me. I strongly recommend it.

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