O. Neugebauer 
History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy [PDF ebook] 

From the reviews: "This monumental work will henceforth be the standard interpretation of ancient mathematical astronomy. It is easy to point out its many virtues: comprehensiveness and common sense are two of the most important. Neugebauer has studied profoundly every relevant text in Akkadian, Egyptian, Greek, and Latin, no matter how fragmentary; […] With the combination of mathematical rigor and a sober sense of the true nature of the evidence, he has penetrated the astronomical and the historical significance of his material. […] His work has been and will remain the most admired model for those working with mathematical and astronomical texts.D. Pingree in Bibliotheca Orientalis, 1977"… a work that is a landmark, not only for the history of science, but for the history of scholarship. HAMA [History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy] places the history of ancient Astronomy on a entirely new foundation. We shall not soon see its equal.N.M. Swerdlow in Historia Mathematica, 1979