I am not an astronomer. I have had only one course in Astronomy. I have had several telescopes, both reflectors and refractors. And I enjoy watching the stars. We have a lot of them here in northern Minnesota.

Burnham published this work in 1966. The three volumes are arranged as an alphabetical catalog of what is visible in the sky with a modest telescope. The edition I have is the Dover expanded and updated edition first published in 1978.

The first volume contains enough introductory material so that the amateur astronomer use the Handbook well.

The first three chapters of volume 1 cover Burnham's personal view of astronomy, how the Handbook is laid out and why it is arranged this way; a general survey of the sky with a focus on appreciating scale; noting and understanding apparent motion and seasonal changes; understanding Celestial Coordinates, Precession; directions in the sky; Sidereal Time; Angular Measurements; Magnitude-Apparent and Absolute; Color indices; Star names and conventions of star designations; Star atlasses; Stellar spectral classes; Star motions-Proper, Radial velocity, and stellar temperatures; The H-R Diagram; Star distances and units of distance; Double and Variable Stars; and the various classifications of Nebulae and Galaxies.

Chapter 4 shows the arrangement of the work giving terms, symbols and abbreviations used in it.

This is all in the first 100 pages.

The rest of the first volume (pp. 103-652) covers Constellations Andromeda through Cetus.

Volume 2 covers Chamaeleon through Orion (pp. 665-1347).

Volume 3 covers Pavo through Vulpecula (pp. 1351-2121). At the end of volume 3 are indecies: Index to Common and Popular Names and Other Designations; Index to General Topics; and Index to Tables of Data in this Handbook.

Entries vary in length based on the number of celestial objects in each constellation. The entry for Andromeda, for example, occupies 56 pages of information, while the next entry on Antlia occupies only 3.

Each entry gives celestial coordinates, names, classification and descriptive notes.

Volumes I and II are revised and expanded from the original 1966 edition that Burnham printed and distributed privately. Voume III was first released in 1978 to complete the set of notes.

Well illustrated, excellently organized, useful in its intended purpose to me, an amateur- Burnham's Handbook is a wonderful tool for watching the night sky.

Wikipedia has a biography of Robert Burnham. Jr. and the tragedy of his life. ( )

These books are without compare. If you own these book you should know the story of their author.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1997-09-25/news/sky-writer/full ( )

This 3 volume set is a must for amatuer and professional astronomers. It provides detailed information on stars(single, variable & binary), galaxies and nebulea by constellation including coordinates, magnitudes and finding charts. This series is a bit dated but the information is still current. ( )