The book is the classic text on meteor science and contains the knowledge accumulated from the meteor program run by the Radio and Electrical Division of the National Research Council of Canada. McKinley was the Associate Director of that division.

The Canadian meteor program of the 1950's and 1960's was based out of Ottawa, and covered, visual, photographic and radio studies of the phenomenon created on the entry of small bodies into the Earth's atmosphere. The basic physics presented here is very sound, and the observational results are still very valid.

The book is divided into 10 chapters:

1 Historical Survey
2 Some Elements of Astronomy and Radio
3 Visual and Photographic Techniques
4 Radio Techniques
5 Observational Data on Meteors
6 Astronomical Aspects of Meteors
7 Physical Theory of Meteors
8 Radio Echo Theory
9 Forward Scatter from Meteor Trails
10 Other Effects of Meteors

To this is added an appendix on upper atmosphere data, a comprehensive bibliography and both a name and a subject index.

A technical introduction to all aspects of meteor studies, still very useful 50 years after it was written.