TheNew York Timesbestseller: “You gotta read this. It is the most exciting book about Pluto you will ever read in your life.” Jon Stewart

When the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History reclassified Pluto as an icy comet, the New York Times proclaimed on page one, “Pluto Not a Planet? Only in New York.” Immediately, the public, professionals, and press were choosing sides over Pluto’s planethood. Pluto is entrenched in our cultural and emotional view of the cosmos, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, award-winning author and director of the Rose Center, is on a quest to discover why. He stood at the heart of the controversy over Pluto’s demotion, and consequently Plutophiles have freely shared their opinions with him, including endless hate mail from third-graders. With his inimitable wit, Tyson delivers a minihistory of planets, describes the oversized characters of the people who study them, and recounts how America’s favorite planet was ousted from the cosmic hub. Color illustrations

Review

An eclectic delight. Readers will laugh at the collection of song lyrics and cartoons inspired by the great Pluto-versysmile at the photocopied letters from elementary-school children.
–Fred Burtz,Seattle Times

For young and old alikea riveting book that makes you really care about Pluto.
–Sacramento Book Review

Wonderfully entertaining.The Pluto Filesis positively transporting. Out of this world.
–Heller McAlpin,Christian Science Monitor

About the Author

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, director of its world-famous Hayden Planetarium, host of the hit radio and TV show StarTalk, and the New York Times best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. He lives in New York City.