The Planets, Dava Sobel
The Planets, Dava Sobel
List: $9.99 | Sale: $7.00
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The Planets

Author: Dava Sobel

Narrator: Lorna Raver

Unabridged: 5 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/04/2005


Synopsis

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.

About The Author

Dava Sobel is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Longitude and Galileo's Daughter.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bionic Jean on February 11, 2025

What is so unusual and engaging about this book is that it incorporates science, myth, history, story-telling, culture and poetry. Dava Sobel's credentials for writing Science, and particularly Astronomy, books are exemplary. It is surprising to find that she chooses to include other aspects rather t......more

Goodreads review by aPriL does feral sometimes on January 05, 2020

This is an asinine science book. What it is, actually, is a group of lyrical essays rhapsodizing in poetic, easy to understand, prose mixing science fact and selected bits of science history and lots of subjective ecstasy. In other words, a coffee table book for readers of Vogue Magazine, except tha......more

Goodreads review by Paul on January 20, 2023

Entertaining and informative If John Lennon were alive today to read Dava Sobel's THE PLANETS, I've no doubt he would be pleased to call it "a magical mystery tour". I've always enjoyed reading popular science but, frankly, some of it is turgid, dry-as-dust commentary that is far more soporific than i......more

Goodreads review by Jim on November 08, 2018

An interesting tour of the solar system with not only factual information, but some history of the myths & beliefs that surround each one. I found her narration of the discovery of Pluto particularly good. She really weaves the story of Lowell & Tombaugh together well & then takes us down its road o......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on July 11, 2013

Should have been published with large color pictures as a coffee table book. I'm not sure this should be shelved with the science books- while it does include some facts about the planets, it's more a literary effort. As it is, the individual chapters feel wholly disconnected from each other, writte......more


Quotes

“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