Fire and Ice: A History of Comets in Art - Softcover

Of these three recent additions to the flood of Halley's Comet books, Olson's is the most unusual. It presents well over 100 illustrations of comets across the centuries, with a running commen tary. Predictably, there is a full chapter devoted to depictions of Hally's Com et, but most of the volume deals with other comets and comets in general. Publication of the book is tied to an art exhibit on the same subject at the Na tional Air and Space Museum, where Olson is curator. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. As the title suggests, Lancaster- Brown's book presents more detail about Edmond Halley's life and work on ``his'' comet than do most of the current crop of books. Other sections of this volume deal with the history of Halley's Comet apparitions and with comet science in general. The author is a cometary specialist, and his present publication is both readable and accu rate. Recommended for libraries, espe cially those lacking the full-length biog raphies by Angis Armitage and Colin Ronan. Harpur, who is not a scientific spe: cialist, evidently uses the word ``offi cial'' in his book title because of his role as the founder of the Halley's Comet Society. His book is a fairly rou tine compilation including some chap ters on Edmond Halley, some on the past apparitions of Halley's Comet, and information for would-be viewers of the 1985-86 apparition. Although satisfac tory, this volume does not stand out in the crowd. Not a necessary acquisition for libraries. Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

YA The return of Halley's comet has inspired this view of comets through a variety of artistic interpretations from primitive woodcuts to 20th-Century pop art. The title refers to the blazing tail known from earliest times and the "dirty snowball" theory deduced by modern scientists. Excellent reproductions present such master artists as Raphael, Giotto, Blake and Miro, the anonymous Bayeux tapestry embroideries and the satirists Rowlandson and Hogarth. The words of scientists, poets and other literary artists add depth to the "comet art," while tracing the scientific and historical development of Halley's comet. Fire and Ice accompanies the major exhibit of the same name at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution and is a handsome addition to material on Halley's comet. Mary T. Gerrity, Queen Anne School, Upper Marlboro, Md.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.