The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite PlanetBy Neil deGrasse TysonNarrated by Mirron Willis
Length4h 22m
About this audiobook
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.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. In 2017 he became the first American to win the prestigious Stephen Hawking Medal for science communication. He is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History and a research associate in its Department of Astrophysics. From 2006 to 2011 he hosted the educational science television show NOVA ScienceNow on PBS, and in 2014 and 2020 he hosted the television series Cosmos, updates of Carl Sagan’s landmark series. Tyson has written multiple New York Times bestselling books.View all by Neil deGrasse Tyson
