Reviews for The Perfect Machine: Building the Palomar Telescope

The average rating for The Perfect Machine: Building the Palomar Telescope based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-03-23 00:00:00 Nima Hala The story of one of the great mechanical projects of the early twentieth century. I have a family interest in this one. My grandfather was a good friend of Russell Porter, one of the architects of the telescope, and an incredible genius.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-09-16 00:00:00 Troy Holmes One of the best books I've read. As an engineer and amateur astronomer, the subject has been known to me for years, but I've never read the story of how it came to be, especially cast against the background of the political (the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, the rise of fascism, WWII) and scientific (relativity, quantum mechanics, the discovery of other galaxies) revolutions of the time. Extraordinarily well researched, this story was very well told and made me appreciate what I will call the attitude of scientific entrepreneurship of the day. I gained a deep appreciation for what George Hale and all of the others accomplished with what we regard as truly rudimentary tools. Highly recommended. An excellent birthday present from my daughter!