Bookworm Speaks! - The Planets by Dava Sobel

Bookworm Speaks!

The Planets 

by Dava Sobel

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Acquired: Salvation Army Outlet Store

Series: N/A

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Viking; First Edition edition (October 11, 2005)

Language: English

Subject: Non-Fiction, Astronomy and Space Science

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The Story: The sun’s family of planets become a familiar place in this personal account of the lives of other worlds. Sobel explores the planets’ origins and oddities through the lens of popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history. A perfect gift and a captivating journey, The Planets is a gorgeously illustrated study of our place in the universe that will mesmerize everyone who has ever gazed with awe at our night sky.

The Review: The planets of the solar system have enjoyed a place in mankind's collective consciousness for many thousand’s of years. Mars, Venus, the Moon and Sun. Some could say that looking up into the night sky has been what has defined humanity’s nature since the beginning. 

This book could have gotten four rankings out of five, were it not for one section of the book, specifically one dealing with the planet Jupiter and on the probes that was sent to it. The author went on a very out of place tangent regarding astrological signs and how if Mission Control would have timed the probe alongside Jupiter being in the fifth house from the Sun with Sagittarius or whatever. Upon reading that section, Bookworm is afraid to say that most, if not all, the author’s credibility was sucked right out of the airlock. 

If astrology is your thing and one really believes the constellations have an effect on your daily life, so be it, go knock yourself out. Far be it from Bookworm to stop you, there are people out there who believe stuff that is a lot weirder. Bookworm admits that they have read a book or two about astrology and will admit it is a rather interesting topic from a symbolic and cultural standpoint. 

The way the author lends their prose though, it looks like that she really believes in this stuff. Again, there is nothing wrong with that, but this book was meant to serve as a cultural and scientific introduction to the planets of the Sol System and the passage as a whole came as an unpleasant bump on the textual road. 

“Bumpy” would be an accurate word to describe the way this book was written. A much better format would have been to divide the book into sections that dealt with each planet individually. Instead, the author seems to take a rather winding course across the celestial spheres. A little more organization would have been greatly appreciated.

Final Verdict: While not meant to serve as a serious astronomical text, this book is a light hearted read that in spite of its flaws, is an informative tour of the Solar System and is sure to tickle the fancy of any stargazer. 

Ranking: Three Telescopes out of Five

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