The Planets

By: Dava Sobel

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

THE PLANETS is Dava Sobel's sweeping look at our heavenly galaxy. In the spirit of Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Sobel once again brings science and history deftly to life as she explores the origins of the planets and reveals the exotic environments that exist in each of these fascinating alien worlds.

After the huge national and international success of Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel tells the human story of the nine planets of our solar system. THE PLANETS tells the story of each member of our solar family, from their discovery, both mythic and historic, to the latest data from the modern era's robotic space probes and images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Whether revealing what hides behind Venus' cocoon of acid clouds, describing Jupiter's 'Technicolor lightning bolts and shimmering sheets of auroras,' or capturing first-hand the excitement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the first pictures from Voyager were beamed to earth, Dava Sobel's unique tour of the solar family is filled with fascination and poetry.

In lyrical prose THE PLANETS gives a breathtaking, close-up perspective on those heavenly bodies that have captured the imagination of humanity since that first glimpse at the glittering night skies. This is an extraordinary book of science, history, biography and storytelling. Timely and timeless, THE PLANETS will engage and delight as it unravels the mysteries of the cosmos.©2005 Dava Sobel; (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Playful . . . lyrical . . . a guided tour so imaginative that we forget we’re being educated as we’re being entertained.” —Newsweek

“[Sobel] has outdone her extraordinary talent for keeping readers enthralled. . . . Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter were exciting enough, but The Planets has a charm of its own . . . . A splendid and enticing book.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“A sublime journey. [Sobel’s] writing . . . is as bright as the sun and its thinking as star-studded as the cosmos.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“An incantatory serenade to the Solar System. Grade A-” —Entertainment Weekly

“Like Sobel’s [Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter] . . . [The Planets] combines masterful storytelling with clear, engaging explanations of the essential scientific facts.” —Physics World

Interesting stories

Author teaches about planets using interesting stories which I think makes learning about the planets much more enjoyable. Reading for the second time back to back.

Art mixed with science

This is a well-narrated piece of pop-science. Hard core science junkies may want to steer clear since the robust storytelling is this audiobooks strong point. If you are not adept at astronomy but want a gentle and entertaining introduction this is the audiobook for you. An enjoyable and breezy experience for those not wanting to get mired in scientific jargon.

Great astronomy reading

This book has really great and very accurate information on each of the planets in our solar sysem. The book is set up in a way that is very easy to follow and each chapter is about a different planet. My astronomy teacher asigned this book for extra credit reading. I really enjoyed it.

Interesting

This was a nice reading. The book bring a high level view, facts and “mythology” of planets. It mix scientific data and poetry / popular culture about the planets.

As I wrote, it was an easy reading that brought a few new facts and the willing to learn more.

A note from the audible version: the chapters of the audiobook doesn’t correspond to the the length of the books what, for me, make it difficult to plan the reading / listening.

Fun

"The Planets" kept me very interested in astronomy and the Solor system. It is easy to understand and fun to read.

Superb story of our changing views of the planets

This book is a tour of the nine planets that is equal parts mythology, history, and science. Ms. Sobel goes through each planet in order, discussing how it is has been seen throughout history, and what the latest scientific discoveries and theories about its origins and future might be. The stories she tells about the planets range from personal tales to historical or mythological incidents, and they are often highly lyrical. Mars is described from the perspective of a martian meteorite found in the Antarctic, while the tale of the discovery of Uranus is given through the letters of the sister of its discoverer. If you are looking for a hardcore science volume, you may want to look elsewhere, for though scientific facts abound, so does history and fables. If you liked Dava Sobel's other works (Longitude, etc.) or appreciate slightly more quirky non-fiction, you will like this. Wonderfully read and highly reccommended.

Good Balance

If you enjoyed books such as Bill Bryson's Short History you will enjoy this. A nice blend of science and story telling, where the balance is just right for the amateur astronomer.

Narrator ruined the book for us...

We've read numerous books by Dava Sobel and enjoyed them; this was the first audiobook version we've listened to of one of her works. She tends to write in a somewhat grandiose style, but the information she conveys is interesting and well-told. Unfortunately, this narrator uses an elevated tone that, when combined with Sobel's writing style, came across as a boring teacher. We found our minds wandering from the content because of its delivery. Mispronunciations of "Willamette" and Maria Mitchell's name (in her name, "Maria" should be pronounced "Mar-EYE-a") only compounded the problem. We would have done better to stick with the printed version of this book.

I'm into astronomy: Couldn't read it

This book was agony. I was so looking forward to it. I read Longitude and loved it. I couldn't listen to this at all. I only got about 1/3 of the way through before I gave up. It was all fluff and not much science. Nothing I found interesting.

Beware - as much religion and astrology as science

From the description, I was expecting a book mostly about planetary science and astronomy. There is some science, but it's pretty weak, and there's enough non-science presented as fact to ruin it for me. For example, she makes arguments for the factual basis of the genesis story in the bible, the legitimacy of astrology, and that the similarity in angular size between the moon and sun from earth is an act of god. Overall, not a scientific book.