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    The Planets
    The Planets
    The Planets
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Planets

    Written by Professor Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen

    Narrated by Samuel West

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    ‘So staggering you go “whoa!” every few seconds’ Guardian

    ‘Really impressive’ Eamonn Holmes, ITV This Morning

    A companion book to the critically acclaimed BBC series.

    The bestselling authors of Wonders of the Universe are back with another blockbuster, a groundbreaking exploration of our Solar System as it has never been seen before.

    Mercury, a lifeless victim of the Sun’s expanding power. Venus, once thought to be lush and fertile, now known to be trapped within a toxic and boiling atmosphere. Mars, the red planet, doomed by the loss of its atmosphere. Jupiter, twice the size of all the other planets combined, but insubstantial. Saturn, a stunning celestial beauty, the jewel of our Solar System. Uranus, the sideways planet and the first ice giant. Neptune, dark, cold and whipped by supersonic winds. Pluto, the dwarf planet, a frozen rock.

    Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox take readers on a voyage of discovery, from the fiery heart of our Solar System, to its mysterious outer reaches. They touch on the latest discoveries that have expanded our knowledge of the planets, their moons and how they come to be, alongside recent stunning and mind-boggling NASA photography.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateMay 23, 2019
    ISBN9780008294311
    Author

    Professor Brian Cox

    PROFESSOR BRIAN COX CBE FRS is Professor of Particle Physics at the University of Manchester and the Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science. He has worked on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva, the HERA accelerator at DESY, Hamburg and the Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab, Chicago. Cox has written and presented numerous TV series for the BBC, including Wonders of the Solar System, Wonders of the Universe, Wonders of Life, Human Universe, Forces of Nature, The Planets and The Universe. He is also the co-presenter of The Infinite Monkey Cage radio series and podcast. Cox has written numerous bestselling science titles with Jeff Forshaw. For many years, he has lectured the introductory Relativity and Quantum Mechanics course at the University of Manchester, with Jeff Forshaw.

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    Reviews for The Planets

    3.5/5

    302 ratings22 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I think I expected this to be more scientific than it turned out to be, which may be a common problem judging from other reviews. It's actually more of a historical glance at the way humanity has envisioned the galaxy, and the way our knowledge has grown over the millennia. It's a lot literary, with bits of science and mythology thrown in. Some parts of it were lovely for that, though I wasn't sure about the emphasis on linking the Old Testament Genesis story with the scientific facts of creation. It seems likely to alienate a lot of readers, even if it sounds pretty.Of course, we mustn't forget that this is also quite behind the times now: published in 2007ish, shortly after the demotion of Pluto, it has nothing to say about more recent discoveries about the moons of the outer planets, or Curiosity, or anything like that. It's quite accessible, but not up to date, which is a pity.Sometimes the literary interludes really got on my nerves, with Sobel putting words into people's mouths and anthropomorphizing inanimate objects. I like literary tricks like that as much as the next person, but it just seems ridiculous when they're giving words and complex thought to a meteorite...
    • 3/5
      The Planets is an interesting take on scientific writings, unlike the familiar popular science books, which(in most cases) give a somewhat tedious and sketchy outline of a certain topic, this book, although following the popular science books in being untechnical is, on the other hand, of an uncommon style and format, where Sobel introduces a fictional letter in one place, to an account of the autobiography of a martian sample. Each chapter stands for the 'story' of a certain body in the solar system(the planets, the moon, the sun), touching on the history, music, astrology, shakespeare and, of course, science. And by that, this book provides a worthwhile read even for those whose grasp of the science is beyond the scope of this book, or rather, as is evident from this book, a true appreciation of the heavenly bodies compels one to admire how humans have viewed and interacted with objects whose distance, sheer size and beauty are truely astronomical!
    • 3/5
      Ok, pretty writing in places, but pretty thin. More like a collection of magazine articles. The planets are pretty, and interesting, and mysterious, tra-la...

      Disappointed, because I really liked Longitude and the book about Galileo's daughter.
    • 2/5
      An interesting experiment in writing style, but not one that pays off.Everything in here becomes so fragmented that it is impossible to read and comprehend it unless you already know nearly as much as the author. It's not a text, it's a mnemonic. To learn that maps were for some time printed with 'Halleyan lines' (p89) is all very well, but it presupposes a knowledge of Halley, magnetic variation and the longitude problem. At most, some of these snippets might make one think, 'Oh yes, this connects to that, how interesting', but it only works if you've already read a (rather clearer) book that explained both. To read (p153) that Jupiter's "diameter expanded at a fraction of the rates at which its mass and volume increased" is somehow connected to Jupiter's behaviour in somehow "compacting itself", rather than the volume being the inevitable behaviour of a cube law – that alone took a star off the rating. That's the writing of someone who either isn't truly at ease with maths, or is just being sloppy with the review editing. From that halfway point, this switched from a mindless read of something unchallenging into a slog to get to the end so that I could get rid of the book. But not even to pass it on to anyone, just to dump it in the charity bin.
    • 3/5
      An interesting presentation of the information. Sobel uses poetry, mythology, and an imagined letter, among other things, to convey information about the planets.
    • 4/5
      An interesting mix of fact, myth, culture, astrology, and science fiction woven together with history, biography, and poetry. The prose is lyrical, celebrating the solar system with insight, facts, and explanations folded into , inspiring story-telling. It’s an elegant paean, promising to engage and captivate the reader. Twelve full-color illustrations accompany the narrative; following are a glossary, notes about the illustrations, details on the narrative, and a bibliography.Recommended.
    • 2/5
      While the language was beautiful, this book simply could not hold my attention. There was little science to be found here, instead focusing more on the wonder of the solar system. Planets and planetary objects are compared to Christian and mythological themes. It simply didn't work for me.
    • 5/5
      What a great book! Dava Sobel writes about the 9 planets (yes, Pluto is included - this was written in 2006 after all), plus the sun and the moon, in a way that is both lyrical and scientific. I learned a lot about the origins and compositions of the celestial bodies of our solar system while at the same time gaining an understanding about the absolutely bananas way scientists, astronomers, and explorers figured out what the heck was going on in our universe with super basic tools and knowledge. Sobel could have just written about these things like in a textbook, but instead she brings a creative non-fiction style that enabled me to just blaze through this; she explores the origins of Mercury through mythology, the composition of Venus through the poets who rhapsodized about her beauty, the understanding of Earth through cartography, the evolution of Mars as "told" by an actual Martian rock that fell to Earth, and the song of Saturn's rings through music. I love space and the beauty of the written word, and this book combines the best of both!
    • 3/5
      Interesting although not as engaging in style nor content as Sobel's previous books, Galileo's Daughter & Longitude. I did learn a useful mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets according to their respective distances from the Sun: "My very educated mother just served us nine pies." Although that might be nine of something other than pies, since Pluto is now generally grouped, not with the planets, but with the "Kuiper Belt objects." Alternatively, Pluto is now known as the binary planet Pluto-Charon. Could be a pie. Could be a cookie!
    • 2/5
      Very brief overview of the solar system in history, mythology, and astronomy. Could have been longer.
    • 5/5
      As an astronomer, I usually find most popular astronomy books tedious. However, Sobel is an engaging write, and I was surprised to find this book as enjoyable as her others.
    • 2/5
      The present state of book reviewing in this country was never more fully revealed as bankrupt as when this book managed to find some enthusiastic reviewers. The level of science in it is embarrassing even to this non-scientist, the nadir coming when the author "casts a horoscope" for Saturn. She's not a bad wordsmith, so the book is not a total waste of time, but the frequent silliness makes this fall somewhat below the level of adequate pop science.
    • 2/5
      This is hard to review. I thought it was going to be a *non-fiction* book about the planets... but it turns out that this is more of a review of how each planet has been viewed throughout history, with respects to mythology, religion, scandals, "newsy" items, and also a bit of science. Maybe it's an interesting book to some people but I wasn't looking for a comparative review book - I thought it was going to have some good science. I thought about not even reviewing this one but I guess it's worth revealing what type of book this is.
    • 3/5
      I read and loved Sobel's 'Latitude', so it made sense to pick this book up during a recent visit to the library's astronomy section. I was there to pick up some books for the kids to read during a trip to our cabin. A friend had lent me his 8" telescope, and we were all set for some cool astronomy. Unfortunately, it was cloudy during the whole weekend. Ack.This is a short book, with one chapter devoted to each of the planets - kind of short stories of the science and mythology and other interesting facts about the discovery of each planet.in short, I like Sobel's writing, but this book didn't do it for me. The chapters were interesting, but not compelling and I really had to work to get through this.
    • 4/5
      As a 5th and 6th grade science teacher, I found this book wonderful. It is filled with wonderful factual information, told in a unique and fun way, and provided me with great ideas for use in my classroom, through its creative forms telling the history of our solar system. I am definitely getting other books by this author.
    • 4/5
      Dava Sobel offers interesting takes on the familiar objects in the night sky. Each planets occupies a cultural niche in society and she explores them all. From the allusions to Venus's beauty to the discovery of Neptune, she develops very apt portraits of each of the planets. There is also a fair amount of science and geology in each chapter, but she tries very hard not to make the planets as cold as they seem to be. If you don't want to go out and buy a telescope after reading this book, stick with Grisham and Koontz.
    • 5/5
      This is a delightful little book. Pure, simple, sweet; elegant, poetic, and full of wonder. It's not a science book, though it's full of science. It's also full of poetry, pop culture, history, and personality. Call it "Ode to a Planetary System". It's a love story in a way, a romance with the wonder of our celestial neighborhood, and the journey to discover it.Very, very enjoyable. This isn't heavy stuff, it's an appetizer. Light and tantalizing.
    • 3/5
      My interests lie at the extremes of the scale - atomic physics, genetics and cosmology. This book addresses the middle of the scale, by covering the components of our solar system. As such, it dabbles in an area which is pretty much virgin territory for me, and had the opportunity to open up yet another window on the universe for me to explore. It failed to grab my attention. I've read 'Longitude', and none of that sticks in my mind, and I have to say that I suspect the same will be true of this work. In six months time I suspect that all I'll recall will be the fact that Sobel mixed up human mythology with those human endeavours to separate fact from fiction. Giving them equal weight is a severe disservice to the astronomers who brave the night air to chart the extents of our (ever-expanding) solar system. The language is pleasant and the facts are interesting, but there's a lack of substance. I'll be returning to something with a bit more intellectual depth for my next non-fiction read, and it won't be anything about planetary science. An opportunity sadly squandered.
    • 4/5
      Sobel takes a concoction of scientific facts, myth, poetry, and personal experience and makes it into a tale about each planet of the solar system, the Earth and the Moon, and she does it well.Be patient through the introduction, in which Sobel talks about how she herself became interested in the plantes, and which is boring, and read on. The rest is good. The style is nice, and there was enough science and good solid facts to keep me happy. In the end, a pleasant read.
    • 1/5
      One of the laziest pieces of writing I've read in years...and some critics actually liked it. If you have a working knowledge of the planets don't bother with it, if you know nothing then give it a try. If you're expecting something along the lines of Longitude then you'll be disappointed.
    • 4/5
      Very nice book, with a chapter about the sun, moon, and each of the planets. Well written, clever, and informative. Additionally, one of the most beautifully designed books I've read - typeface, cover art, colors, etc.
    • 3/5
      This one was disappointing. I expected something along the lines of Sobel's other books, but this was much more whimsical, tossing in personal stories and quips with some interesting planetary factoids. Interesting, sure - but not great.