From: jrfrank@ibm-pc.borg.retro.com   
      
   Since my name (or at least my initials) is being invoked in defense of BMW,   
   I feel compelled to jump in and clarify here...   
      
   henry@spsystems.net (Henry Spencer) wrote in   
   news:Hy8u44.5zF@spsystems.net:   
      
   > In article <40ABD33C.3080506@tabletoptelephone.com>,   
   > Hop David   wrote:   
   >>I got the Bate, Mueller and White book for $10 (IIRC). At Amazon the   
   >>Prussing book was $70 (also IIRC).   
   >   
   > The one real virtue of BMW is that it's cheap.   
      
   And readily available. You can walk into most large (B&N, Borders)   
   bookstores and browse through BMW on the shelves and decide whether you   
   want it. The other books you recommend are academic texts, available online   
   but not so readily available if you just want to leaf through one.   
      
   >>But Henry's opinions are usually based on sound arguments. I am hoping   
   >>he'll tell what he didn't like about BMW and how the Prussing Conway   
   >>book was better.   
   >   
   > BMW covers all the topics the USAF Academy thought were worth covering   
   > in 1970.  And nothing else.  Basics of orbits, okay, and some   
   > interesting stuff on lunar trajectories (Apollo was flying then).   
   > Close to half the book is spent on orbit determination, which is   
   > particularly wasteful because there is good specialist coverage of   
   > that topic elsewhere.  And then there's the chapter on   
   > ballistic-missile trajectories, whee.   
      
   Agreed on the technical merits. But let's say you take out the stuff on   
   orbit determination and ballistic missiles. You're still left with a decent   
   intro to the basics: Kepler's laws, Newton's laws, orbit elements, basic   
   maneuvers, the LEO environment, and the aforementioned lunar/planetary   
   trajectories. That's not bad for $11.17 (the price at Amazon).   
      
   > Essentially nothing on rendezvous, or relative motion in general.   
   > Nothing on multi-body dynamics.  Almost nothing on perturbations.  The   
   > stuff on numerical methods can be described politely as "dated".  Half   
   > a page on geostationary orbit.  No bielliptic or other generalized   
   > transfers, no gravity assists.  Almost nothing on time and coordinate   
   > systems, a nasty swamp but important.   
   >   
   > I have my complaints about P&C -- mainly, that I'd like to see it   
   > bigger to cover more topics -- but it's a much more modern and   
   > balanced treatment.   
      
   Agreed again. No question that I'd recommend P&C over BMW for an academic   
   environment, or to any serious student of the subject. But at $64.95, it's   
   not an investment to be taken lightly, either. For a layman who just wants   
   to learn the basics, BMW is just fine.   
      
   --   
   JRF   
      
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