Some of my favorite books about the
history of Astronomy
The Age of Wonder: The Romantic
Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes
A sweeping
narrative about Western European science in the 18th and 19th
Centuries. Places the Herschels in an historical context with the rest of Britain
at the time.
The Sleepwalkers: A History of Man's
Changing Vision of the Universe by
Arthur Koestler
A very thorough and detailed book. It’s probably not
for the beginner, but it is packed with information about the history of
astronomy.
Blind Watchers of the Sky: The
People and Ideas That Shaped Our View of the Universe by Rocky
Kolb
A very readable
book about the astronomers of the Renaissance.
A short book dealing with
three great observational astronomers: Galileo, William Herschel, and Edwin
Hubble
The Neptune File: A Story of
Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting by Tom Standage
The
frustrating tale of John Adams and British Red Tape is heartbreaking, but this
is the first book I have found to give proper credit to Johann Galle