Customer Reviews

The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I will confess I have not finished this book yet, having only gotten as far as Ch. 6. I wish I could rate this as two separate books. The first, a history of meteorites and meteor hunters (grand characters, many of them), is absorbing. The science is written at a level that I, a curious non-scientist, can understand, enjoy, and learn from.

The second book, unfortunately, is Cokinos' self-absorbed ramblings about his emotional life. I'm sorry, but I wanted to know more about astronomy, not about his ex-wife, girlfriend, his suffering, his pain--- blah blah blah.

I'll finish the book, but I plan to skip any passage where Cokinos makes the universe a metaphor for his own angst.

I, not unlike Cokinos' experience in his later chapters recounting his Antarctic adventure - found myself in the beginning of this book fascinated by the world of meteorites and their passionate devotees, and eventually dreading every paragraph of the writer's increasing self absorption. Like Cokinos trapped on the ice - by the last chapter I wanted out.

For me a story is more interesting than the storyteller - with few exceptions. Edward Hoagland has found a balance. Bill Bryson even at his misanthropic worst (best) can pull it off. John McPhee is still the gold standard though. I remember "The Survival Of The Bark Canoe" as a great read about a quirky, passionate individual. I don't really know what McPhee thinks of Henri Valencourt nor do I care.

I still liked "The Fallen Sky" due to the fact that it seemed well researched and well written. When Cokinos was describing historical events or painting a picture of a fanatical Robert Haag he was at his best. His opinions regarding the many controversial figures in meteorite history were thankfully kept close to the vest in a fair and journalistic manner.

I agree with an earlier comment - the lack of any photos save the dust-jacket is baffling considering the author mentions taking photographs in several passages. Was distracted and put-off by the self-absorbed rehashing of the author's mid-life crisis. I'll vote this as most-likely to be picked up by PBS. "Seeing In The Dark" meets "Falling Down".

I really hate to read his personal life. I want to read meteorites story only. This is a book for a self indulgent writer to boast his personal life, which I do not want to know or concern at all. May be editor want to prolong the book to sell it at a higher price.

I had such high hopes for this book. It looked intriguing at first, and I was really getting into the meteorite info, but several chapters into it, I had to return it to the Library. I just could no longer stand the author's incessant whining about his personal life. The meteorite parts are great, but the rest needed a strong-willed editor to prune it out. That, and the total lack of photos, make this a poor choice for those wanting a good read about meteorites. So sad.

This would normally be exactly the kind of book I would not want to put down - well-written and full of fascinating facts about a subject that I was only marginally familiar with; all in all, great non-fiction. On the other hand, I found it very off-putting whenever the author celebrated or otherwise mused about his mutually 'illicit' relationship with another partner. Who cares if he and his new partner "made love" while in a small German town? This could have been a five star superb contribution to the literature concerning meteors, but the tawdry sojourns into his new love-life detract from the theme and mar the work.

This is the first book I can remember that I have actually thrown in the trash. Bought it as a remainder item for a couple of bucks, looked like it was right up my alley--who wouldn't like a good book about meteorites, their history, their discovery, the eccentric people who hunt for them and study them? Then I started reading the book and found I couldn't escape from the author's maudlin ramblings about his divorce. Flipped ahead, more divorce. Next chapter, more on the divorce. Who the hell does this guy think he is that I want to read about his stupid divorce?

So into the garbage can with this book--rubbish.

Cokinos proves that you can fall madly in love with the universe and still also cast a compassionate eye on humanity. Too often, environmentalists slip into misanthropy. This book provides that rare combination of nature appreciation and an almost novelistic sense of human character. And all the while, it's just a plain good story.

In this remarkable book, Cokinos demonstrates (once again) that he is a brilliant writer and profound thinker about the intersections between physical and spiritual worlds. Yes, science is at the core of this book, and I gained a wealth of knowledge about meteors and meteorites--knowledge I have shared with friends and my own children as we gazed at the night sky. But it is the myriad ways by which he made me care, personally, about that information that moves this book into a different realm of accomplishment--into the company of Loren Eiseley and Ed Hoagland and Peter Matthiessen. It begins with compelling story telling, and Cokinos is one of the best at sifting through the often scattered and contradictory facts of an individual life and finding the underlying vision. In this case, it is the lives of significant (and sometimes forgotten) "star chasers," people whose fascination with meteorites have led to some of the most important scientific discoveries of their age. People who, because of that fascination, have achieved fame, but also infamy; extreme joy and deep loss. As I read their stories, I found myself moving between interest in their individual lives, and reflections on the more universal story of human longing--for intimacy with the unknown, for fulfillment, for knowledge, for adventure, for transcendence. I was thus grateful that Cokinos risked telling his own story of longing and loss, however painful. I would have found it at best unsatisfying, at worst unethical, for the author to have explored the stories and motives of people who risked their fortunes, their marriages, their sanity, even their lives on meteoric quests, without exploring any of his own. It is the universe within, as well as without, that transforms this "history"--of people and meteorites--into something more intimate, more meaningful, and ultimately, more useful. A guide to help us seek, in our own lives, the elusive meeting places between earth and heaven, flesh and star.

Those who have held a rock which has fallen from space know the allure it possesses. Floating through the dark cosmos for billions of years. Now it sits right there in the palm of your hand. Quite an experience if I say so myself. Their rarity and diversity are aspects which draw my attention.

A favorite meterorite afficionatos book has been Norton's 'Rocks From Space'. And then came their recent 'Field Guide'.

'The Fallen Sky' immediately falls into amoung the most remarkable books on the subject. Written in a personal simple style it presents the various aspects of the world of meteors and meteorites. That being: the history of the actual rocks and their space environment, the history of discovery and analysis (beginning from 1795 Ernest Chladni), and Cokinos personal amore with the field of fallen rocks.

Yes there may be some criticism regarding some ommisions. Carbon-aluminum inclusions as components of carbonaceous chondrites. Taylor and Clayton were missed. But that dose not make for a bad book. On the contrary. 'The Fallen Sky' proves to be a great book and a wonderful read.

Amazon's price is right + the book is great = throw a log onto the fire and it will be a wonderful night.