Customer Reviews

Death from the Skies!: The Science Behind the End of the World

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If you are looking at this review and considering buying Death from the Skies!, that probably means you have some interest in astronomy--if you do, I promise you will love this book. It is probably the most engaging non-fiction book I have ever read--I couldn't put it down. Phil Plait uses teaser stories at the beginning of each chapter, describing what it would be like to experience the various cosmic threats he covers. These are incredibly effective at grabbing your attention. Each time I read a new teaser, I couldn't stop myself from reading the rest of the chapter. In addition, the chapters, though they are packed with science, are very accessible and full of wit. Plait has a great sense of humor, and a gift for clear explanation. You do not need any kind of background in astro, physics, or math to get what he is talking about. I took a lot of astro in college so the concepts in the book were already familiar to me, which may have helped me to plow through the book quickly, but I don't think that sort of background is crucial. Anyway, I was an art history major, so it's not like I am some great expert on astronomy. If you are interested, you will be able to get what Plait is talking about.

This book has really reawakened my interest in the cosmos--I've started reading more astro and doing stuff like watching Jupiter and its moons as they change positions each night, stuff I hadn't done in ages. In addition, the book gave me a sense of perspective on Earth's place in the universe. There are some very thought-provoking ideas here, especially in the chapter about the end of the universe, which gets a little philosophical (in a good way). Plait also has a lot of good, practical stuff to say about risk assessment and what we can or should actually do about the threats he covers. This is a great strength of the book, reminding us to think before we give in to terror (and not just terror from the skies).

If you are reading this review and have any interest in astronomy, I can tell you without any reservations: get this book. You are in for a great ride, one that is plenty rewarding.

And to Phil Plait: write another one soon!!

Anyone worried about looking out their bathroom window to discover the birds gone along with an overwhelming stillness should not read this book. If you notice all the trees around you suddenly begin to smoke, don't bother running away. If just after sunrise you notice rocks begin to melt, don't bother turning on the air conditioner.

If any of these possible scenarios do not alarm you and you are looking for a laugh-out-loud read about the different ways the world could end, then this book is for you. Astronomer and author, Dr. Philip Plait enlightens us with many more scenarios describing what would happen to our planet just before biblical catastrophes such as the Sun dying, asteroid and comet impacts, gamma-ray bursts, black holes, and more.

Expect to get educated as well with terms any layman can understand but appreciate: "The Sun is about 93 million miles away. If you could build a highway and drive there, it would take over 170 years. Even an airplane would take two decades to fly to the Sun if it could."

Plait's "Death from the Skies" is a blast (pun intended).

If you aren't reading Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog over at Discover magazine, you should be. His writing is an awesome example of how real science can be just as awe-inspiring, cool and interesting as the "science" that underlays our most exciting and captivating science fiction stories.

Are you a fan of disaster movies? Then, Death from the Skies is for you. In this short volume, Plait uncovers the real science behind a host of truly dreadful end of the world scenarios from asteroid impacts to the eventual, but certain, heat death of the universe, putting each in cosmic perspective in terms of the scope of the catastrophe and its likelihood of occurrence. What makes this exploration so much fun is Plait's own enthusiasm for the subject. He manages to strike a delicate balance between his appreciation for the creativity of science fiction and the scientific rigors of his profession (Plait is a PhD in Astronomy and a well known skeptic and debunker of all things astronomically ridiculous) which prevents Death from the Skies from becoming either too sensationalist or statistically boring and mundane. The result: we have very, very little to personally fear from any of the disasters outlined in the book. The genius is that while Plait puts the odds in context (some of which are so small they really may as well be zero), he still writes in such a way that makes the discussion of the forces and power involved in these events exciting and fascinating.

Each chapter opens with a creative vignette that gives a human perspective to the discussion of the disaster to follow, which gets your survival instincts and adrenaline thrumming. Plait paints a realistic scenario for the playing out of the event and its impact on human life, giving in a bit to theater, but in an enjoyable way that manages to peak your interest for the scientific discussion to follow. The sheer magnitude of these disasters defies the imagination and Plait does an admirable job of providing some jaw-dropping statistics in ways that don't make your eyes glaze over - mostly because he puts them in every day context by providing some appropriate analogies that still leave you gazing at the wall for a good couple minutes as you try and wrap your mind around it.

The overall feeling you get after reading Death from the Skies is one of absolute wonder. The universe is an incredibly hostile place for beings as sensitive and delicate as we are and Plait paints a devastatingly realistic picture of how tenuous life's grasp on Earth really is, but he balances it well by pointing out that if the universe weren't so, we probably wouldn't be here anyway. A well-known saying in astronomy is that we were literally born from the death of stars, which forged the heavier elements that come together to form life, and Plait makes active use of this reference throughout his work, extending the description to form an interconnected web that creates a multibillion year cycle of creation and destruction that happened precisely to create and maintain life on our little planet. He also does a magnificent job of putting time into perspective, noting that though our history may seem "long" to us, it is a literally insignificant drop in the bucket compared to the life of the Earth itself, which is also just a drop in the galactic bucket, which is in turn....you get what I mean. Plait also manages to hold on, in spite of such vast proportions and epic time scales, to the human perspective, relating everything back to us; what a supernova half the galaxy away means to us, what the supermassive black hole lurking at the heart of our galaxy means to us and so on.

Death from the Skies is a fun read that will put the universe and our place in it in perspective, while at the same time teaching you rock solid astronomy and physics, probably without you being even aware of it.

Readable to a general audience, but never speaks down to it's readers. Fascinating for me, as a non-scientist. This book is both terrifying and calming, as Plait tells us all of the ways the universe could kill us, but probably won't... yet.

There is plenty of science here but the doomsday scenarios are presented so that anyone can understand (enjoy?) them. Even though I (as a Sci-Fi nut and amateur astronomer) had encountered much of the information before, I enjoyed how the whole range of, well, 'death from the skies' was covered. From meteors to the aging of the universe, it's all here. Also well explained are the processes that can end the life of a star. And if they occur close enough, how it would affect us. In some events, you are doomed but have a bit of time to appreciate it before the fatal wave arrives. You get an overall picture that expands your awareness of our place in the cosmos.

I love this book. The best NF read I've had since 'The World Without Us.' Plaitt's humor is more subtle (and thus more effective) here than in 'Bad Astonomy.'.....keep em coming. I'll be there to pick every new book by the real Dr. Phil.

This is a very entertaining and complete treatment of possible causes of the end of life as we know it. Dr. Plait did a great job explaining some very complex concepts. I would recommend it to anyone, whether or not they have a scientific background.

This is a good read all around. It's more than I was expecting. It's the type of edge of your seat, fun, funny, and informative book that I love. Each chapter starts off with a short intro story which lives out the event at hand. It's a fun way to introduce each scenario. Then it goes into the science behind the elements involved, the varying methods and effects of the event, the ways we may be able to deal with it, and the likely hood of such a thing happening. It's a fantastic formula that doesn't feel like a formula, because the concept is so entertaining. It keept me up at night, not because it gives me a panic attack (although it probably does raise my blood pressure a bit), but because it's just hard to put down. The only downside to this book really is that my girlfriend is getting tired of me talking at her about it.

A friend of mine loaned this book to me and I loved it, so I bought my own copy. The author reviews different ways in which the earth or life on the earth can be destroyed due to the life and death of stars. The writing is engaging and the science is explained well and in ways that can be understood by a lay person. There were a few times when I felt I wanted more information, but the author had provided enough general information to allow me to look up the details further online. I have always been interested in Astronomy and this was a book that rekindled my interest enough that I now have become a regular reader of a few blogs on Astronomy, including The Bad Astronomy blog by this author.

a great book and a good read for anyone who doesn't hold onto stupid childish ideaologies