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The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet
W.W. Norton
January 2009
On Sale: January 10, 2009
224 pages
ISBN: 0393065200
EAN: 9780393065206
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
The New York Times best-selling author
chronicles America's irrational 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, 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 the 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.
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 classification and
America's obsession with the "planet" that's recently been
judged a dwarf.
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