John Hearnshaw is Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He has won the Mechaelis Prize for astronomy, and has twice been awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. He chairs the International Astronomical Union Program Group for the World-wide Development of Astronomy.

• 1. The historical development of astronomical spectroscopes and spectrographs; 2. The theory of spectroscopes and spectrographs; 3. High resolution spectrographs; 4. Solar spectrographs and the history of solar spectroscopy; 5. Objective prism spectrographs; 6. Ultraviolet and nebular spectroscopy; 7. Multi-object spectrographs; 8. Ten pioneering spectrographs of the late twentieth century; Subject index; Name index.

'Astronomical Spectrographs [and their History] is a concise and comprehensive synthesis of the development of the designs and uses of astronomical spectrographs and provides a most valuable resource for any study in this field. It is to be hoped that the work will encourage as much fruitful work in the history of astronomy and astrophysics as did Hearnshaw's earlier books.' Journal of the History of Astronomy