Books reviewed (All of these have come out with new editions since my students reviewed them which may affect some of the comments and ratings.  I don't have the actual student reviews (they're on the server at WCC, which I no longer have access to) just my comments on a couple of the books)
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All books have a teachers resouce manual and test bank.  Other extras may be noted below.
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Chaisson & MsMillian: Astronomy Today and Astronomy a Beginners Guide
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Comments:
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Beginners guide is simple and straight forward, little math, very few examples (good book for a 1 semester class).  Both have a colloquial style which some people found a little wordy.  Concept check questions and self tests are very helpful in guiding the students to the most important points and in putting ideas together.  Separation of "questions" and "problems" (requires numbers) leaves some students anxious when problems are assigned.
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Bb plug in available.  CD has eBook with vital information only, extra animations, links to URLs with more information.  Website has LOTS of practice problems.  No planetarium program.  Can be packaged with planisphere and Lecture Tutorials for free with new text.
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Based on the in-text questions and readability ratings this is the book I chose.
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Kauffman and Freedman: Universe
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Comments:
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Explanations are good and the text sometimes challenges the students.  Style can be rambling and sentence structure is occasionally obtuse.  Material is sometimes left incomplete in some sections to be filled in latter, making students hunt for information.  Questions at the end of chapters force students to put together pieces on information from different sections and sometimes different chapters.  The questions at the beginning of the chapter would be very helpful in guiding students to the important information if they weren't so easy to ignore.  Very nice appendices.  Starry Night software included on CD with eBook.  Exercises are included in the text.
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Used by Sears for 101/111, occasionally used for 102/112
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Bennet Donahue Schneider and Voit: Cosmic Perspective
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comments:
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	style is straight forward, fairly easy to understand but dry.  Common misconceptions boxes seem like a good idea but students sometimes latch onto the misconception instead of the clarification.  "equations" are given only in words not symbolic form in the text, and are given only in symbolic form (not words) in mathematical insights making no direct connection between some symbols (e.g. a is the semi-major axis)  2 Cds in book: eBook and Voyager program (activities included in text).  Also lots of instructor resources available, included prepared powerpoint lectures.  May be good for a first time instructor due to resource materials, but defiantly not the best book from the student's perspective.
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Used by several people for 102/112
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Fix: Astronomy: Journey to the Cosmic Frontier
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Comments:
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	A very dry and bland book.  Only one student reviewed this book because no one else bothered to finish the chapter.  Guiding questions are posed in the intro to each chapter and are easily skipped.  The chapter are short and easy to handle.  Includes 2 questions in each chapter specifically designed to use the figures.
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Pasachoff: Astronomy: Form the Earth to the Universe
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Commets:
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	Interesting, but weighty reading.  LOTS of extra information, especially about our exploration of space and historical information.  No questions or points to guide student reading.  Lots of good examples in the text to help with mathematical concepts.  Problems for use with the RedShift College Edition CD ROM included in text (CD and workbook available with new book but maybe costs extra?)  
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Fraknoi Morrison and Wolff: Voyages through the universe
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	Interesting text.  Makes excellent use of figures.  No questions or points to guide student reading.  End of chapter sections include suggested links, group activities, several types of questions.
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New books come with TheSky student edition and 4 month subscription to InfoTrac online library and Virtual Laboratories
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Instructor's edition comes with the "Multimedia manager" a CD with very basic prepared lectures as well as videos, animations,  images, and suggested links.
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Pasachoff and Filippenko: The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millennium
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	Easy and interesting to read and straight forward, but condensed.  A good book for a one semester class, or if you want to suppliment the class with another text.  Mathmatical examples are kept to a minimum.  No questions or points to guide students reading.  Few "problems" in end-of-chapter questions.
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New books come with TheSky student edition and 4 month subscription to InfoTrac online library and Virtual Laboratories
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Instructor's edition comes with the "Multimedia manager" a CD with very basic prepared lectures as well as videos, animations,  images, and suggested links.
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Bennett Shostak and Jakosky: Life in the Universe
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	A good multi-disciplinary text, but doesn't fit any of our classes by itself.  Lots of biology and chemistry.  Useful for 101/111
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Shaum's outlines in Astronomy
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	VERY basic material.  Outlines basic concepts, but includes lots of mathematical examples and problems.  A good supplement to a brief text, or as a recommended text to give students more practice.  
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