The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet - Hardcover

DeGrasse Tyson, Neil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393065200 ISBN 13: 9780393065206

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009

Synopsis

The New York Times best-selling author chronicles America's love affair with Pluto, man's best (celestial) friend.

In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted Pluto out of planethood. Far from the sun, wonder Pluto has any fans. Yet during the mounting debate over rallied behind the extraterrestrial underdog. Disney created an irresistible pup by the same name, and, as one NASA scientist put it, Pluto was "discovered by an American for America." Pluto is entrenched in our cultural, patriotic view of the cosmos, and Neil deGrasse Tyson is on a quest to discover why.

Only Tyson can tell this story: he was involved in the first exhibits to demote Pluto, and, consequently, Pluto lovers have freely shared their opinions with him, including endless hate mail from third graders. In his typically witty way, Tyson explores the history of planet recently been judged a dwarf. 35 color, 10 black-and-white

About this title

About the Author

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, host of the hit radio and Emmy-nominated TV show StarTalk, and the New York Times best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military. He lives in New York City.

From AudioFile

When astronomers stripped Pluto of its "planethood" in 2006, it set off a surprisingly passionate debate. As director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, Neil deGrasse Tyson was at the center of the dispute, and he tells his side of the story with wit and humility in this audio. Mirron Willis doesn't sound entirely comfortable with the scientific language (despite a number of credits as an actor and narrator in sci-fi), but he does a fine job conveying the audiobook's humor, including the letters from children who are angry that Tyson helped to demote their favorite planet. It's unclear why the publisher elected to include the glossary and the other appendices that don't work well in audio, except perhaps to pad out a very brief recording. D.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0393065200
• ISBN 13: 9780393065206
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224