The Pluto Files

This would be good for younger readers or people who are completely unfamiliar with the history of Pluto. It was interesting and I enjoyed it, but would have preferred a bit more science info.

Some science and history about Pluto but half the book seemed to be quotes about the controversy.

I love me some NDT, but I think the contents of this book would have been better relayed as an informative documentary. This read a lot like a text book in a few places, which brought back some school nightmares.

I'm going to be comparing this book to [b:How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming 7963278 How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Mike Brown https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320532443s/7963278.jpg 11871989] by Mike Brown because I read these two books almost back to back and they're about the same thing. I found it interesting how both authors felt they were at the center of the Pluto controversy, but only mentions the other in passing. Thinking back, I don't remember either of them figuring prominently in my perception of the controversy, I just remember waiting to hear the vote from the IAU and then reading some responses to it afterwards, which may well have been written by one of these guys but I don't remember.So this book is kind of just a compilation of some stuff that Tyson thought was cool or funny or interesting about Pluto and its planet-ness. There's some song lyrics, some letters written to him from children and adults about their views, some legislation written about the decision, some quotes from other scientists (and non-scientists...apparently some astrologers were mad that the IAU didn't invite an astrologer to be part of the committee to decide what constitutes a planet), news articles, editorial cartoons, etc. It was pretty amusing, I like all the things that Tyson likes, basically. It was also interesting to hear the process of creating museum displays, of deciding what information will probably be true years from now, what might be revised in a few years, and what might need to be changed very soon. As a person who can't muster much outrage about Pluto being reclassified, I thought the way that the Hayden planetarium laid out their controversial display of planets made sense. If you're focusing on certain characteristics instead of nomenclature, Pluto doesn't always fit with any of the other planets. Pluto is round, but it's made of different stuff, its orbit is quite different, and it actually has more in common with other Kuiper belt objects than it does with the planets. I liked reading the reasons that people, including other astronomers, didn't think that Pluto should be reclassified. A lot of people just fell back on tradition...Pluto has always been a planet, so it should stay a planet forever! Part of the trouble was that there wasn't even a real definition of the word “planet” for people to point to. But then there was a vote, and an overwhelming majority of voting members chose to “demote” Pluto (I put demote in quotes because, as a couple of the astronomers quoted in this book say, Pluto doesn't care what it's called - it will continue on being Pluto no matter what we do. Plus “demote” makes it seem like being a Kuiper belt object is less interesting or cool which seems unfair to the other Kuiper belt objects!). And, as all the media coverage from New Horizons showed, we don't care any less about Pluto now that we happen to call it something different!

Interesting insider look at what is ultimately a semantic argument. There's a bit on the cultural and social reasons why people are attached to Pluto as a planet - the book would've benefited from more of that.

The Pluto Files is the story of Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson who found himself in the center of controversy of what to define Pluto. Dr. Tyson gives the history of Pluto from the beginning of discovery to present day (published in 2009). He doesn't just dive into the science but the culture and America's possible personal attachment to this icy rock. If you aren't a science, math type person that's okay because Dr. Tyson has a way of breaking down difficult concepts and making it easy to follow along.
The Pluto Files, with the addition of photographs, cartoons, song lyrics, quotes, and children's letters, is a fun, humorous, quick read.

I love Neil deGrasse Tyson! This book is a great read for anyone interested in getting caught up on all things Plutonian, from it's discovery, naming, time as a planet, and the controversy surrounding it's fall from planethood. It is a little “dumbed down” and anyone from a smart middle schooler on up could probably follow along.