Planets: A Very Short Introduction

This is an outstanding little book for those wishing a general intro to the planets of the solar system. Full of facts and insights. Good short reference book. I read this in tandem with his short intro to the Moons. Together they give the reader a great appreciation for our star and its planets. While it is several years old he gives insights on our evolving understanding of the planets. He had the foresight to include the newer theories regarding the existence of a Planet X. Highly recommend this book and the "Moon" book

These books are incredible! My husband and I love all of the Very Short Introduction books. They are so informative with great diagrams and pictures. If you are interested in a subject, THIS is the place to start.

Some of the very short intro books are way too technical and boring; however, I found this one very easy to understand and informative. I do recommend this book.

If you're wondering about my choice of title for this review - TNO's - it comes from Chapter 6 of the book; Trans-Neptunian Objects. For whatever reason, after I unpacked the little book and started to fan the pages, like most of us always do, I stopped at Chapter 6. What the heck are Trans-Neptunian Objects? I thought to myself. (Who else would I be thinking to besides myself?) And I started to read. Next thing I knew I had read the whole of the chapter; a chapter that is more than half-way through the book. The rest of the book you ask? It doesn't matter where you start, it's the same thing: pick a chapter and dollars to doughnuts you will finish the chapter before you set the book down again (provided you're not the victim of a drive-by shooting or tempted by a certain femme-fatale). Is it too basic? Not for me, it is very detailed but written in lay-mans English, not scientific jargon. Yes, I like it a lot. Whatever you decide to do, keep your regolith dry.

It takes a lot longer to read but you can search a topic you want to know more about, or a space mission that has happened since the book was published.

Just excellent. I also recommend his VSI to Moons, which is already available in the Kindle version (paper version due in January 2016) http://www.amazon.com/Moons-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions-ebook/dp/B016DTZR18/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Professor Rothery offers a (free) MOOC about Moons on the Future Learn platform which is (also!) excellent.

Was a very informative book that I found very educating. I bought the book to begin learning more about the fields that I intended to get involved in and the book was exactly what I expected it to be. I recommend the "A Very Short Introduction" books to everyone.

The book opens the door for a young person to be able to select an area of astronomy to study.

Succinct but full of information; written in pithy style.

This is an excellent collection of "facts that one should know" about our solar system, clearly presented in some detail. The short section about planets circling other stars in our galaxy should be required reading for all who have an interest in astronomy and in the possibility of life elsewhere.

I bought this book as I was studying an OU course taught by the author. I found some information in there that came in handy when I submitted an assignment. The book itself is easy to follow and very light. The amount of information within it is very large, but an astronomy enthusiast could still go through it and remember the important parts easily.

It’s a short document summarising the most important aspects on the physics of the solar system. Easy reading explanations about the most relevant aspects of our planetary system. Some tables indicate, in a very practical way, the most important data (distances, mass, atmosphere, orbits, etc). The only negative aspect of the book, as far as I am concerned, is Its size ‐- too small for the eyes of an elderly person like me. Otherwise, very interesting and instructive.

Orderly and well written, furthermore, up to date. Actually quite an enjoyable and manageable essay.