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

by Neil deGrasse Tyson Narrated by Mirron Willis

Overview

In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted Pluto out of planethood. Far from the sun, tiny, and eccentric in orbit, it's a wonder Pluto has any fans. Yet during the mounting debate over Pluto's status, Americans rallied behind this extraterrestrial underdog. The year of Pluto's discovery, 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. Since he was involved in the first exhibits to demote Pluto, Tyson has received plenty of freely shared opinions from Pluto lovers, including endless hate mail from third graders. In his typically witty way, Tyson explores the history of planet classification and America's obsession with the status of Pluto.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

From Pluto's 1930 discovery to the emotional reaction worldwide to its demotion from planetary status, astrophysicist, science popularizer and Hayden Planetarium director deGrasse Tyson (Death by Black Hole) offers a lighthearted look at the planet. Astronomical calculations predicted the presence of a "mysterious and distant Planet X" decades before Clyde Tombaugh spotted it in 1930. DeGrasse Tyson speculates on why straw polls show Pluto to be the favorite planet of American elementary school students (for one, "Pluto sounds the most like a punch line to a hilarious joke"). But Pluto's rock and ice composition, backward rotation and problematic orbit raised suspicions. As the question of Pluto's nature was being debated by scientists, the newly constructed Rose Center for Earth and Space at the Hayden Planetarium quietly but definitively relegated Pluto to the icy realm of Kuiper Belt Objects (cold, distant leftovers from the solar system's formation), raising a firestorm. Astronomers discussed and argued and finally created an official definition of what makes a planet. This account, if a bit Tyson-centric, presents the medicine of hard science with a sugarcoating of lightness and humor. 35 color and 10 b&w illus. (Jan.)

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Library Journal

Many blame astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Tyson (Death by Black Hole) for the International Astronomy Union's demotion of Pluto to a dwarf planet in 2006. Here, he tells his tale while exploring the history of planet classification and Americans' fervid interest in Pluto's status. At first, actor/narrator Mirron Willis's (Basketball Jones) reading is a bit slow, but he relaxes more as the story progresses to a discussion of our love affair with Pluto; he successfully gets Tyson's often tongue-and-cheek tone across to the listener. An enjoyable title on a topic having broad appeal. [Audio clip available through www.blackstoneaudio.com; the review of the Norton hc credited Tyson with "expertly relat[ing] the history and science of Pluto and its discovery," LJ12/08.-Ed.]
—Emma Duncan

Seattle Times - Fred Burtz

"An eclectic delight. Readers will laugh at the collection of song lyrics and cartoons inspired by the great Pluto-versy…smile at the photocopied letters from elementary-school children."

Sacramento Book Review

"For young and old alike…a riveting book that makes you really care about Pluto."

Christian Science Monitor - Heller McAlpin

"Wonderfully entertaining. The Pluto Files is positively transporting. Out of this world."

APRIL 2009 - 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

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169806922
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	01/19/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged

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