This disappointingly slight offering from Branley [Age of Aquarius: You and Astrology,] is nevertheless an improvement on [Larry] Kettelkamp's Astrology (1973), which made over-much of "the scientific basis of astrology." After the usual profiles of Leos, Cancers, Scorpios, and so on, the usual survey of astrology in history from the Babylonians on, and the usual explanation of how horoscopes are cast using signs, rising signs, houses, planets, and aspects of planets, Branley does answer the question "Do objects in the sky really affect our lives" with a mild negative. The stars and planets are too far away to affect us, he says; ancients made up astrology because they didn't understand why the planets moved as they did; and "most scientists agree that astrology is … magic based upon the supposed connection between events which in truth are not connected." This certainly isn't the devastating analysis that [Roy A.] Gallant provided (along with more details on casting horoscopes) in his Astrology (1974). But for casual astrologers who can't be bothered with Gallant's depth, this is certainly harmless.

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"Younger Non-Fiction: 'Age of Aquarius: You and Astrology'," in Kirkus Reviews (copyright © 1980 The Kirkus Service, Inc.), Vol. XLVIII, No. 3, February 1, 1980, p. 129.