First Light, by Richard Preston, is well worth reading. Technical details on the Hale telescope balanced with stories of the astronomers who use it.
Two standout passages for me are the construction of the parabolic primary (by the end they were polishing it with the ball of their thumb, knowing how much glass each pass would wipe off), and the support mechanisms that account for flexing in the mirror, which sound like absolute black magic to someone trained on digital systems.
Two standout passages for me are the construction of the parabolic primary (by the end they were polishing it with the ball of their thumb, knowing how much glass each pass would wipe off), and the support mechanisms that account for flexing in the mirror, which sound like absolute black magic to someone trained on digital systems.