Telescope Reviews: Binocular Astronomy, Second Edition

I have had nothing to do with the preparation of the book Willmann-Bell is advertizing as a 2nd edition of "Binocular Astronomy". The reason is simply that Willmann-Bell stopped paying my royalties on the original edition of the book in the autumn of 2005 (though, I've been told, Wil Tirion has continued to receive his half of the royalties). There is a contract; but if Willmann-Bell took a legal action to set its provisions aside, I wasn't informed--let alone given a chance to defend myself.
In April of last year (2007) Willmann-Bell sent an e-mail message to me (copying Wil Tirion and Robert Reeves) stating their intention of doing a 2nd edition of Binocular Astronomy with or without me. In that message they explained to Wil and Robert that they were withholding my royalties because they believe "Sky Vistas" is a competing book with "Binocular Astronomy." Anticipating my response, they said that if I did not cooperate, they would hire what they called "highly competent talent" to redo the book, charging the expense to me--which, because they were already confiscating my royalties, was an empty threat.
Now, I have not seen this so-called 2nd edition of Binoc Astro and therefore cannot make any statements about it. The old edition, having been written in the mid-to-late 1980s, was badly out-of-date in both astronomical data and in constellation history (though not in the basic observations, of course). The same would be true of any old manuscripts of mine that were still sitting around Willmann-Bell's offices: the most recent astronomical data in those texts dates to the late 1980s and early 1990s before Hubble and Hipparcos flew; and the constellation history material in them has been outdated by my own more recent research in that area. Willmann-Bell announced this unauthorized 2nd edition in May of this spring, barely a year after threatening to get "highly competent talent" to redo the book. It is my opinion that it would be impossible for any mercenary to do all the research necessary to update Binoc Astro, and then rewrite the book, in a year. But I suppose anything is possible. However, there is a good deal on constellation history that would be out-of-date or incomplete anyway since that material has not yet been published by me.
To answer Mr. Woods question about an authorized 2nd edition of Binoc Astro: Yes, one is in the process of being written: the Autumn Chapter has been completed and several people have already seen and commented upon it. Gerald Rhemann has agreed to supply photos for it in B&W (to keep the cost of the book down). However, under the present circumstances I doubt that any American publisher, fearing a nuisance law-suit from Willmann-Bell, would publish it. That means that it will have to be published abroad.
I hope these statements will clarify the status of "Binocular Astronomy." From the reactions of the readers of my sample chapter on the Autumn Constellations, I believe that the authorized 2nd edition of "Binocular Astronomy" will have all the virtues of the first edition but plenty of new virtues of its own.

Craig Crossen

Edited by Crossen (08/11/08 11:42 AM)