[meteorite-list] "The Fallen Sky" Redux

[Notkin]

Darren Garrison posted:

 > I wonder how much your views of the book are influenced by your  
being a personal friend of the author.

I am a professional science writer and my personal friendships do not  
influence my book reviews.


 >   I'm already at the point of just skimming the page until I come  
to a passage that is actually relevant to meteorites and doesn't read  
like a personal blog.

Your loss.

"The Fallen Sky" is a complex and impeccably researched non-fiction  
work that -- to some degree -- uses meteorites as a vehicle for  
personal exploration and a quest for meaning, rather than being just a  
straightforward history of space rocks, although there is plenty of  
fascinating historical material included, some of which was new to me.  
And if bloggers could write half as well as Chris, the web would be a  
much more interesting place.

Darren is quick to criticize others, so I hope List members will read  
this unique book and decide for themselves. If you enjoy rich, lyrical  
prose and ponder questions along the lines of: "Why are some of us  
driven to such extraordinary lengths to find meteorites?" then "TFS"  
is for you. It also includes insightful portraits of some of the  
remarkable figures in meteorite history and good doses of dry humor  
and adventure. Chris spent almost two months inside a tent in  
Antarctica with ANSMET!

I found "The Fallen Sky" to be the most original and thought provoking  
non-fiction work I've read in many years. It is bound to be  
controversial since there's never been a book like it written before.


Geoff N.

www.aerolite.org
www.meteoritemen.com
www.meteoriteblog.org