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The Pluto Files

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What to expect

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.

Critics Review

u201cYou gotta read this. It is the most exciting book about Pluto you will ever read in your life.u201d 

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Jon Stewart

u201c[A] lighthearted look at the planetu2026Presents the medicine of hard science with a sugarcoating of lightness and humor.u201d

Publishers Weekly

u201cWhen astronomers stripped Pluto of its u2018planethoodu2019 in 2006, it set off a surprisingly passionate debate. As director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, Neil deGrasse Tyson was at the center of the dispute, and he tells his side of the story with wit and humility in this audio. Mirron Willisu2026does a fine job conveying the audiobooku2019s humor, including the letters from children who are angry that Tyson helped to demote their favorite planet.u201d

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AudioFile

u201cActor/narrator Mirron Willisu2026successfully gets Tysonu2019s often tongue-and-cheek tone across to the listener. An enjoyable title on a topic having broad appeal.u201d

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Library Journal
Author Neil deGrasse Tyson
Narrator Mirron Willis
Duration 4 hours and 23 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781481544658
Format Audiobook
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Genre Astronomy, space and time, History of science, Science: general issues
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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