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

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: belt object, The Pluto Files, Pluto Divides the Nation, Mark Sykes (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)

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Frequently Bought Together

The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet + Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries + Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax"
Price For All Three: $38.16

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  • This item: The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson

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  • Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson

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  • Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax" by Philip C. Plait

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Editorial Reviews

From 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.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

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. (Fred Burtz - Seattle Times )

Expertly relates the history and science of Pluto. (Jeffrey Beall - Library Journal ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 26, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393065200
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393065206
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #19 in  Books > Science > Astronomy > Solar System

More About the Author

Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
5 star:
 (21)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational and Engaging!, January 21, 2009
Once again, Dr. Tyson engages our minds with a timely topic much grander than our own existence. My [...] science students have been enraptured by this fiery debate. Dr. Tyson is a wonderful "EXPLAINER" who makes science come alive for those with little or no formal education in the field. His writing style is identical to his witty dramatic live lectures. Highly recommended!!
Dr. Tyson... I hope you know how much the younger Americans NEED you to continue your work. Your enthusiasm for science is contagious and that is just what Young America needs to take the reins of scientific research in today's ever-changing world. You are needed and LOVED!!

Mrs. Scarola
Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School
Pembroke Pines, Florida

P.S. My students REALLY want you to come visit us. There's NO SNOW here in SE Florida!
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars No graphics in the Kindle Edition, February 23, 2009
I rate the hardback book with 5 stars, but the kindle edition with only 2 stars because of the missing cartoons, photos, charts and graphics. The essay is still well worth reading, but you will miss a lot if you don't have the graphics. I ended up going to my local bookstore and purchasing the hardback when I realized that the Kindle edition had left out the 35 color illustrations and 10 black and white illustrations. I know that Kindle doesn't show color, but the color illustrations could have been reproduced in gray scale.

It is a great book, but a mediocre kindle edition.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Dad's Planet, September 15, 2009
By Alden C. Tombaugh (Las Cruces, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
My father discovered Pluto in 1930. Neil Tyson's book is an interesting and enlightening history of the discovery and the controversy surrounding the new definition of major Planets and Tyson's decision to omit Pluto from the depiction of our solar system at the new Rose Center in New York. Although I do not agree with all his points of view, I do applaud his endeavors in astronomy, writing and education.
Alden Tombaugh
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Tyson Succeeds in Educating Readers About Science
The Pluto Files is an interesting read about the history of Pluto, spanning the time frame from pre-discovery to present day. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michael P. McLaughlin

3.0 out of 5 stars cute but flawed
The topic here is a good one -- Pluto holds a special fascination for Americans, so a history of its discovery, naming, cultural impact, and demotion of its planet, can be good... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Neurasthenic

5.0 out of 5 stars The ninth planet...until it wasn't!
Brief and entertaining history of the discovery of the ninth planet and its demotion to a Kuiper Belt dwarf, enhanced by high quality photographs and hilarious cartoons from a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Molly Grue

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit short, but a solid overview of the Pluto Question
Neil Degrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. (he serves as director). Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jvstin

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the best
I am a very big fan of Neil Degrasse Tyson, and I was very excited to read this book. This book however, was probably my least favorite of Neil's work. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Andre T. Bradshaw

4.0 out of 5 stars What in the planet?
Professor Neil DeGrasse Tyson found himself on receiving end of one of the most controversial non-issues of our time. Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. Omelianchuk

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Sagan
Neil Degrasse Tyson is the 21st century's Carl Sagan. He is smart, insightful and witty. He can explain complex ideas in simple lay terms. Read more
Published 7 months ago by rsb

4.0 out of 5 stars Pluto: a counter-analysis
The Pluto Files is a grand book: brief, entertaining, amusing, factual, honest, thoroughly documented and lavishly illustrated with diagrams, pictures, and cartoons, spaced... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Andrew Charig

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, clever, colorful, informative, entertaining, funny
First a disclaimer -- the lyrics to my song "Planet X" are included in this book, but I let them use the lyrics for free and I don't benefit financially in any way. Read more
Published 9 months ago by christine lavin

5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than I expected
Like many Americans, Pluto was always my favorite planet - for as long as I have known about planets I liked Pluto. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kurt A. Johnson

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