cover image Your Birthday Sign Through Time: A Chronicle of the Forces That Shape Your Destiny

Your Birthday Sign Through Time: A Chronicle of the Forces That Shape Your Destiny

. Atria Books, $40 (864pp) ISBN 978-0-7434-6261-7

This grand astrological guidebook presents a virtual smorgasbord of data about birth month, star sign and year. All star signs since 1900 are given the treatment, with additional information about world events, love compatibility and celebrity horoscopes. For instance, if you're a Capricorn born in December of 1969, you are the ""Hopeful Heath of Joseph von Sternberg and the arrest of Charles Manson. The Aquarian born in 1900 is thought to be ""progressive, idealistic, and opinionated""; as far as love goes, this ""Determined Crusader"" needed someone who let him or her voice vociferous opinions. By definition, little of the information contained within will have much bearing for the individual reader: after all, she only has one birthday. But for those who enjoy contemplating astrology's influence on history or uncovering how 1969's Aries differed from other vintages, this is an amusing and diverting reference.