The Pluto Files

by Neil deGrasse Tyson

[inlibrisveritas]

The Pluto Files is a response to the whole argument and battle over what makes a planet a planet and where Pluto falls in that definition.

I found this book to be quite entertaining as much of it holds Tyson’s sort of tongue-in-cheek commentary style. It focuses mostly on the relationship between Pluto and the people, from it’s initial discovery to the demotion from planet-hood. It goes more into the social history of the planet as when this was published we didn’t have the plethora of info about Pluto that we do now. The main story regarding the demotion of Pluto was quite interesting to read about and to see how despite the fact that Pluto’s place in the solar system hasn’t changed that people still found it’s demotion as something wholly disrespectful. As humans we often place human qualities on objects and the planets are really no exception (I do it), but to see it in such a wide scale as with the Pluto debate is kind of cool and a little frustrating. I’m all for the redefinition of planets if it means we can streamline our understanding of it, though I do admit to being a little sad that I have to mentally remind myself not to include it anymore.

Some of the best moments in this are the letter Tyson receives from other people over the demotion, especially those from kids who took the demotion extremely personal. While this is a book on Pluto and it’s place in our solar system, this leans more towards social commentary.