Sorry about the delay in getting back to you about the KGJ book. Tom, I was taking exams ... 2nd year of an I.T. degree part-time. All went well thankfully and the course resumes in September.
The ADS abstract linked to above is a nice in-depth review by Maart de Groot and I probably have only a few additions to it.
KGJ's book is a chronological list of the discoverers of deep-sky objects and the nebulous patches they catalogued. A brief biographical sketch is given for each individual along with the list of their discoveries. Following on these lists are a more detailed discussion of whether the object was genuine or not, along with cross-referencing to earlier works. The catalog of Giovanni Batista Hodierna is omitted as his work was not known at the time of publication of "The Search for the Nebulae".
The book is extremely useful for anyone interested in the history of astronomy and complements the SEDS web page on "The Discovery of the Deep-Sky Objects" at http://seds.org/messier/Xtra/history/deepskyd.html
To quote the usefulness of the book, I think it was the September 2006 issue of "Sky and Telescope" that Fred Schaaf discussed a nebulous spot near Gamma Sagittae. He commented that he had never come across a mention of this fuzzy patch of the Milky Way in print before. I did find it listed in Kenneth Glynn Jones' book however; Edmond Halley, William Derham, and others catalogued this object previously. Derham lists it as being "In the Western Border of Sobieski's Shield".
All the best,
John
-------------------- Oscail do Shuile D'iontas na Cruinne/Open Your Eyes to the Wonder of the Universe
Bliann Idirnáisiúnta Réalteolaíochta 2009/International Year of Astronomy 2009
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