Planet Killers: A Spine-Tingling Look at Near-Earth Objects, Mass Extinctions, and the Controversial Science of Planetary Defense

by Tad Friend

It’s the stuff of summertime popcorn rogue asteroids threatening the obliteration of Earth, and plucky scientists and astronauts scrambling for ways to destroy or deflect them. Now here’s the it’s all real. Welcome to the fascinating, controversial, and sobering science of planetary defense, where NASA tracks thousands of the near-Earth objects hurtling toward us (any one of which could annihilate a city or continent), and a cadre of obsessed men and women rush to send gravity tractors and kinetic impactors into space in the hopes of saving humankind from mass extinction.

Tad Friend is the author of the memoir "Cheerful Me, My Family, and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor." Since 1998, he has been a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he writes the magazine's "Letter from California." He is married to Amanda Hesser, the co-founder of Food52.com; they live in Brooklyn with their twins, Walker and Addie.

Genres: Nonfiction

31 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2011

About the author

Tad Friend has been a staff writer at "The New Yorker" since 1998. His memoir "Cheerful Money" was chosen as one of the year's best books by "The Washington Post," "The Chicago Tribune," The San Francisco Chronicle," and NPR. His new book about his search for his father, "In the Early Times," comes out in May of 2022.. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Amanda Hesser--the founder of Food 52--and their fifteen-year-old twins.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good. A 3.5 rating. Probably would not be of interest to someone without prior technical knowledge of the subject.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in looking at a problem with a low probability of it happening in the near future but would cause massive damage when it happened, this examination of NEO (near earth objects) I think you will find this to be an interesting essay reviewing the threat and possible solutions. I think this work is yet another example that the e-book revolution is returning quality non-fiction and short fiction to the world of readers.

[Petra Willemse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting discussion of a topic I knew little about. Some prior technical knowledge would be helpful. My criticism is that the tone the author strikes seems to be quite 'folksy' which just doesn't work for me when discussing a scientific topic.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good. A 3.5 rating. Probably would not be of interest to someone without prior technical knowledge of the subject.