Book recommendations in astronomy?

[AstroSmurf]

Yup, yet another thread on this subject...

Basically, I'd like some assistance finding reading material. To give some background, I am finishing up the last parts of my MSc, which involved mostly computer engineering and theoretical physics. However, I somehow missed out taking any astronomy courses, and since I'm looking forward to having more time to read for pleasure, I'd like some help getting started.

What I'm looking for is some sort of introductory textbook on astronomy and/or astrophysics (not even sure how this field is divided), on a college/university level. I have a fairly solid background in special relativity, QM and "general" physics - what I want to learn more about are the parts involving the universe outside our atmosphere. Orbital mechanics, stellar evolution, the lot 8) Oh, and I need to be able to order the book(s) from Sweden, so ISBN or similar references would be nice...

Grateful for any help,

// The Astro Smurf

[kurtisw]

I would suggest Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy
by Frank Shu, ISBN: 0935702059.

Here is a link to the Amazon.com page with reviews; I can't really add to what they
say.

[Crimson]

Although not a textbook, Magnificent Universe by Dr. Ken Croswell covers the entire universe--planets, asteroids, comets, meteors, the interstellar medium, starbirth, stellar evolution, planetary nebulae, supernovae, nucleosynthesis, galaxies, the Local Group, galactic collisions, cosmology, the Hubble constant, omega, lambda--concisely and without any math. Plus, you can't beat the book's look, right down to the incredibly colorful data tables at the end. It might be the perfect book to read before diving into a textbook.

[AstroSmurf]

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into "Physical Universe".

Crimson, I appreciate the help, but I'm not really afraid of math. It's what you call a textbook that I'm looking for :P

// The Astro Smurf