Meteorite: How Stones from Outer Space Made Our World

Meteorite by Tim Gregory is one of the best books I have ever read. It describes in sculpted prose how scientists have explored the mysteries of our solar system’s formation and dated the age of the Earth using the ancient time capsules that routinely rain on Earth — meteorites.“Billowing through the protoplanetary disc as a mass of brightly glowing droplets of lava, clouds of freshly sintered chondrule grains swarmed for five million years. Trillions upon trillions of chondrules, in numbers that far exceed the number of stars in the observable Universe, spiraled as gravitational vortices, and coalesced to build the asteroids and the planets. What a sight it must have been.” (p.140)The CAIs and chondrules (the circular grains) beautifully preserve pieces of cosmic sediment that formed in the collapsing nebula of our Solar System. The white CAIs are crystals formed directly from the nebular gas; they would resemble snowflakes growing out of thin air. They hold an exotic blend of oxygen isotopes unknown on Earth. Our sun has the exact same blend of oxygen isotopes. The CAIs formed next to the sun at 1,400°F like primordial white Sun snow. Stellar gusts from the surface of the sun blew the CAIs far outward to the colder distal regions of the protoplanetary disc. Scientist Sorby deduced their origin and called them “drops of fiery rain” in 1877. These small spheres formed separately over 5 million years, and they agglomerated over time.Some of the grains come from other solar systems that popped like supernova firecrackers in our midst. The diamond and silicon carbide grains “crystallized around other stars. They are pieces of bona fide stardust. Some pre-date the solar system by over three billion years! Tiny pieces of rock that are seven billion years old! The mind boggles. We call these most remarkable motes of cosmic sediment ‘pre-solar’ grains.” (p.179)

Meteorite came highly recommended by a fellow geologist for the insights it provided into the true value of meteorites in understanding the history of Earth, its Solar System, and surrounds. I concur with his high opinion of the book, but am ambivalent about its quality for several reasons.(1) I join with other critics who lament the absence of any color plates or line drawing s to highlight representative examples of meteorites. This is basically an inexcusable editorial omission. Only a few plates would have been needed to convey the intrinsic beauty of the specimens.(2) The book has another glaring omission: Pages 43 & 44 mention the large classification system that has evolved to characterize subtypes, but this is nowhere tabulated, either by table or by lists. I would think that 30 stony meteorites,, 6 stony irons and 14 irons deserve their own recognition.(3) On the positive side, the book was clearly written following a well-elaborated outline. The problems I identified were (a) an extremely flat/tedious writing style; (b) overuse of Gee Whiz storytelling; and (c) a surfeit of verbosity. Given the subject matter, which is focused and important, the writing could and should have been far crisper. Along the same lines, I perceived too much digression into sidelights of astronomical theory.In short, the book is a valuable contribution to public understanding of the hitherto-secret importance of meteorites, but it could have easily been shortened, better illustrated, and placed in the hands of a more ruthless editor before publication.

This is a good book for anyone who is interested in this topic! The author does a good job of providing stories, context and scientific details. If you choose to go in depth with trying to understand some of the more challenging scientific words, then you can, but that knowledge is NOT necessary to enjoy the book. It is a fun read and it is always great when the author takes a lot of pride and joy in his passion. It is evident that Gregory is excited about the topic and is very good at writing about how it connects with us and our world in a fascinating holistic manner. Highly recommend!!

I could not put this book down, printed up meteorite composition charts to follow along as I read. I would recommend this book to anyone passionate about cosmology, night sky, and understanding earth’s, our solar system’s evolution. He is so devoted and excited by his work and it is contagious. If I have one comment it would be how wonderful illustrations would have been. I looked meteorites as I read.

Fun to read in small doses

Truly fascinating in all that we have learned from meteorites. However, rarely have I seen a book that so desperately needed a good set of supporting illustrations. What a shame that there were next to none provided.

I usually do not write reviews on books. However, this one deserves kudos as Mr. Gregory can clearly write a wonderful book about a complex subject that is easy to read and very understandable.

In this book, the author, a cosmochemistry research scientist, discusses the nature, origin and composition of meteorites. He also explains in reasonable detail what meteorites can tell us about the origin of our solar system and indeed about the creation of the elements.I had read a number of books on this fascinating topic a number of years ago, so I was surprised to read about all the advances that have been made in this field in recent years, as well as the wealth of information gleaned from the continuing study of meteorites.Written in a clear, authoritative and captivating prose, this most interesting book is, I believe, a valuable addition to the library of books on this topic aimed at a more general readership.

In this book, the author, a cosmochemistry research scientist, discusses the nature, origin and composition of meteorites. He also explains in reasonable detail what meteorites can tell us about the origin of our solar system and indeed about the creation of the elements.I had read a number of books on this fascinating topic a number of years ago, so I was surprised to read about all the advances that have been made in this field in recent years, as well as the wealth of information gleaned from the continuing study of meteorites.Written in a clear, authoritative and captivating prose, this most interesting book is, I believe, a valuable addition to the library of books on this topic aimed at a more general readership.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Not only is the subject matter very interesting, and concerning an area of science not often covered in any real depth, but Dr Tim Gregory has a good writing style which never becomes tedious. I do agree with the previous reviewer, who said that the book needed colour plates (perhaps possible for a future edition), but not his reference to dull geology, although I appreciate he was referring to that subject in general and not the authors writing.I do not personally know the author, but follow him on his twitter site. My impression is that he is a very modest man, and I note that the short biography of him within this book makes no mention that he was one of the finalists in the TV programme of several years ago, 'Astronauts...Do You Have What It Takes', and if you watched that, you will know that was no mean feat!The authors enthusiasm comes across repeatedly in the pages of this book, and he has that talent of explaining what could be complicated science in a very understandable way.I recommend this book, and hope the author will write more at this level for publication in the coming years.

The author is a natural communicator. His style gives the impression he is talking directly to the reader. The content is cleverly pitched at both the curious minded and the serious amateur astronomer. I found it something of a "page turner" and keenly looked forward to picking the book up for the next "thrilling instalment".The lack of coloured illustrations of actual meteorites and petrological sections is a great pity as, while the authors' descriptions are good, a picture really brings the point home.Pedantic I know, but the author and proof reader should check the difference between "slither" and "sliver".A great read which I found informative and enjoyable. 5 stars.

Tim possesses a wonderful, poetic way in describing celestial rocks. He manages to portray the eons of time as a chronological story of the life of rocks - specifically of course - Meteorites.Tim takes you on a journey of how they [the various types!] Came to be, what they're made of and how they've interacted with us humans.Brilliantly written and genuinely fascinating. And that's coming from someone who would honestly say Geology isn't necessarilt my favourite of the Sciences (sorry Tim!)

Nice hard back edition of the book. Good quality binding and print.