A solid education that is so detailed it will appeal mostly to amateur astronomers and geologists.
A thorough guide to rocks that fall from space.
Meteorites don’t exist in space, explains British geologist Gregory in his first book; that term is what scientists call the object once it hits the ground. In space, it’s a meteoroid. Streaking across the sky at night, it’s a meteor or shooting star. Readers who assume the author is describing an exotic phenomenon will quickly learn their error. Roughly 40,000 tons of extraterrestrial material fall to Earth every year. Most is “cosmic dust” that rains down unseen, but about 60,000 “finds” have been discovered and moved to museums and private collections, and a small army of scientists and entrepreneurs is scouring the planet for more. Most originate from the innumerable small bodies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the result of collisions. The fragments drift through space for between 100,000 and 30 million years before arriving on Earth. Sometimes a piece is large enough to produce a spectacular show and considerable damage. A fragment perhaps 20 km. in diameter that struck 66 million years ago decimated entire ecosystems and wiped out the dinosaurs. Most consist of stone or a mixture of stone and iron; a few are almost pure iron. So far, none have contained materials unknown to science, and they are sources of priceless knowledge. Many asteroid stones remain unchanged since whirling clouds of dust formed the solar system 4.6 billion years ago—and it was from these stones that scientists determined the age of the Earth. As the molten Earth cooled, iron and other heavy metals mostly sunk to its core out of reach, but iron meteorites provide a sample. Along with long descriptions of hard science, Gregory also explores the inevitable pop-science questions. Stories of humans killed by a falling meteor are unconvincing. Evidence for animals killed is weak, but meteors have definitely struck houses and bruised their occupants.
A solid education that is so detailed it will appeal mostly to amateur astronomers and geologists.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5416-4761-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
This is our life, these are our lighted seasons, and then we die. . . . In the meantime, in between time, we can see. . . we can work at making sense of (what) we see. . . to discover where we so incontrovertibly are. It's common sense; when you-move in, you try to learn the neighborhood." Dillard's "neighborhood" is hilly Virginia country where she lived alone, but essentially it is all those "shreds of creation" with which every human is surrounded, which she is trying to learn, to know — from finite variations to infinite possibilities of being and meaning. A tall order and Dillard doesn't quite fill it. She is too impatient to get about the soul's adventures to stay long with an egg-laying grasshopper, or other bits of flora and fauna, and her snatches from physics and biological/metaphysical studies are this side of frivolous. However, Ms. Dillard has a great deal going for her — in spite of some repetition of words and concepts, her prose is bright, fresh and occasionally emulates (not imitates) the Walden Master in a contemporary context: "Trees. . . extend impressively in both directions, . . . shearing rock and fanning air, doing their real business just out of reach." She has set herself no less a task than understanding emotionally, spiritually and intellectually the force of the creative extravagance of the universe in all its beauty and horhor ("There is a terrible innocence in the benumbed world of the lower animals, reducing life to a universal chomp.") Experience can be focused, and awareness sharpened, by a kind of meditative high. Thus this becomes somewhat exhausting reading, if taken in toto, but even if Dillard's reach exceeds her grasp, her sights are leagues higher than that of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, regretfully (re her sex), the inevitable comparison.
Pub Date: March 13, 1974
ISBN: 0061233323
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harper's Magazine Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1974
IN THE NEWS
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.
The third volume in the Elephant Whisperer series.
In this follow-up to An Elephant in My Kitchen, Malby-Anthony continues her loving portrait of the Thula Thula wildlife reserve, which she co-founded in 1998 with her late husband, South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who published the first book in the series, The Elephant Whisperer, in 2009. Following his death in 2012, Malby-Anthony sought to honor his legacy by continuing his vision “to create a massive conservancy in Zululand, incorporating our land and other small farms and community land into one great big game park.” At the same time, the elephants gave her “a sense of purpose and direction.” In the Zulu language, thula means quiet, and though the author consistently seeks to provide that calm to her charges, peace and tranquility are not always easy to come by at Thula Thula. In this installment, Malby-Anthony discusses many of the challenges faced by her and her staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These included an aggressive, 2-ton rhino named Thabo; the profound loss felt by all upon the death of their elephant matriarch, Frankie; difficulty obtaining permits and the related risk of having to relocate or cull some of their animals; the fear of looting and fire due to civil unrest in the region; and the ongoing and potentially deadly struggles with poachers. Throughout, the author also shares many warm, lighthearted moments, demonstrating the deep bond felt among the humans and animals at the reserve and the powerful effects of the kindness of strangers. “We are all working in unity for the greater good, for the betterment of Thula Thula and all our wildlife….We are humbled by the generosity and love, both from our guests and friends, and from strangers all around the world,” writes the author. “People’s open-hearted support kept us alive in the darkest times.”
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284259
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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