Letters from an Astrophysicist
Neil deGrasse Tyson, 2019
W.W. Norton
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781324003311
Summary
A luminous companion to the phenomenal bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has attracted one of the world’s largest online followings with his fascinating, widely accessible insights into science and our universe.
Now, Tyson invites us to go behind the scenes of his public fame by revealing his correspondence with people across the globe who have sought him out in search of answers.
In this hand-picked collection of 101 letters, Tyson draws upon cosmic perspectives to address a vast array of questions about science, faith, philosophy, life, and of course, Pluto. His succinct, opinionated, passionate, and often funny responses reflect his popularity and standing as a leading educator.
Tyson’s 2017 bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry offered more than one million readers an insightful and accessible understanding of the universe. Tyson’s most candid and heartfelt writing yet, Letters from an Astrophysicist introduces us to a newly personal dimension of Tyson’s quest to explore our place in the cosmos. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—October 5, 1958
• Where—New York City, New York, USA
• Education—B.S., Harvard University; M.S., University of Texas; M.S., Ph.D., Columbia University
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The center is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003.
Born and raised in New York City, Tyson became interested in astronomy at the age of nine after a visit to the Hayden Planetarium. After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, where he was editor-in-chief of the Physical Science Journal, he completed a bachelor's degree in physics at Harvard University in 1980.
After receiving a master's degree in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin in 1983, he earned his master's (1989) and doctorate (1991) in astrophysics at Columbia University. For the next three years, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University. In 1994, he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and the Princeton faculty as a visiting research scientist and lecturer. In 1996, he became director of the planetarium and oversaw its $210-million reconstruction project, which was completed in 2000.
From 1995 to 2005, Tyson wrote monthly essays in the "Universe" column for Natural History magazine, some of which were published in his books Death by Black Hole (2007) and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (2017). During the same period, he wrote a monthly column in Star Date magazine, answering questions about the universe under the pen name "Merlin." Material from the column appeared in his books Merlin's Tour of the Universe (1998) and Just Visiting This Planet (1998).
Tyson served on a 2001 government commission on the future of the U.S. aerospace industry, and on the 2004 Moon, Mars and Beyond commission. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in the same year. From 2006 to 2011, he hosted the television show NOVA ScienceNow on PBS. Since 2009, Tyson hosted the weekly podcast StarTalk. A spin-off, also called StarTalk, began airing on National Geographic in 2015.
In 2014, he hosted the television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, a successor to Carl Sagan's 1980 series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences awarded Tyson the Public Welfare Medal in 2015 for his "extraordinary role in exciting the public about the wonders of science." (Excerpted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 6/72/2017.)
Book Reviews
Scintillating…. Tyson’s latest is a stimulating companion to his Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and both are recommended for inspiring readers wary of science to give it a chance.
Booklist
Tyson… delivers few surprises and much admirable commentary.… Again and again he defends "science," and his criteria… are not controversial but will remain easy for zealots to dismiss.… [T]he author also discusses philosophy, parenting, and schooling.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for LETTERS FROM AN ASTROPHYSICIST … then take off on your own:
1. Granted the fact that your decision to read this book suggests you have a personal appreciation for, if not perhaps deep knowledge of, science. Nonetheless, has the book challenged, altered, or confirmed your understanding of science itself and/or it's importance in solving issues facing human kind?
2. Consider the criteria required for scientific theories—observation, repeatable experiments, honest discourse, peer review. Then consider how we use the word "theory" in daily parlance: "I have this theory…" or "it's just a theory…" Does Tyson do a good job of explaining the painstaking methodology that under girds our knowledge of the world versus our casual use of the word theory?
3. How does deGrasse Tyson handle the letters that denounce him personally, debunk science, or make claims regarding ghosts, UFOs, or Bigfoot?
4. (Follow-up to Question 3) How do you rate deGrasse Tyson's response to his various correspondents? Which was your favorite response? Were there some in which you think he missed the mark?
5. (Follow-up to Question 4) Which were your favorite letters sent to deGrasse Tyson. If you were to write to him, what question(s) would you want to know?
6. What nuggets of scientific knowledge surprised you most in the book?
7. How does Tyson view the relationship between science and religion? What are the differences? Do those differences rise to the level of conflict … or do the two subjects occupy completely separate realms making it impossible for one to critique the other?
8. Talk about the path Neil deGrasse Tyson took to become a scientist, starting with his youthful inspirations and mentors.
9. Degrasse Tyson says that "True science literacy is less about what you know and more about how your brain is wired for asking questions." What does he mean?
10. The author reveals a great deal about his personal philosophy, the things he loves, and his fear. Having read this collection, how would you describe him? Is he someone you would want to know or spend time with?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)