Cannonball 2.0 - Book 1 - The Pluto Files By: Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Pluto was always the weird kid on the edge of the solar system. Small, cold, barren, with a truly odd orbit that matched no other planet in the solar system. It's position as a planet has been debated since it's discovery by an American named Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. After the discovery, Pluto became America's favorite planet. A popular Disney character even had the same name. For every schoolkid prior to 2006, Pluto was the ninth and final planet in our solar system. It did not matter how odd or how ill-fitting the title planet was. Pluto was the final one and that was that.

Within the hardcore astronomy community, the sentiment towards Pluto's status was far different. Some believed that it was a planet and that was that. Others felt it's lack of commonality with other known planets, both the terrestrial and gas giants, made it's status as a planet questionable. Pluto had moons, a definitive characteristic of a planet, but they were not that different in size. It was near an asteroid belt, now known as the Kuiper Belt. The debate over Pluto was contained in the scientific community until 2000.

In 2000, Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York opened a fully renovated planetarium. There was something odd about about the new Rose Center. Pluto was reclassified with icy comets. Dr. Tyson quickly found himself at the center of a controversy few outside the astronomy community knew existed. He began to receive hate mail from people as old as 90 and as young as 7. Grade school children wrote him impassioned letters in defense of Pluto. Dr. Tyson stood his ground and argued that Pluto could not be a planet.

In 2005, new exploration tools discovered a Kuiper Belt object that was larger than Pluto, Eris. Should Eris be a planet? What happens to Pluto? In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union meet to clarify the definition of a planet. As a result of this meeting, poor Pluto was demoted. The Pluto Files is the story of Pluto's rise and fall as a planet, told by Dr. Tyson from his viewpoint at the center of the controversy. Included in the book are letters that he received during the controversy, most written by young schoolchildren. The Pluto Files was an interesting, well-written and often hilarious read. The book does not read like a scientific text, but more like a fictional story with the occasional geek speak. It was a quick read, clocking in at only 182 pages, including appendices of the various legislative actions taken in Pluto's favor.

4. Stiff - Mary Roach

Stiff is arguably one of the weirdest books I've ever read. Ms. Roach makes it funny and interesting, by the subject matter still isn't one of light and sunshine. Stiff's subtitle is "The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers". Like I said, not exactly a book that you read for the uplifting qualities.

If you've ever considered donating your body to science, this is the book for you. Unlike my own preconceived notion that donating one's body to science simply meant you were destined for a gross anatomy lab at a medical school, there are tons of things that you can be used for. Ever wondered how auto makers determine the amount of damage to the human flesh after an auto accident? Cadavers! What about crime scene investigation? That's chapter 3. (As a side note about that chapter, it's easily the grossest chapter in the book.) There is the requisite chapter about gross anatomy labs, but that's only the starting point. Cadavers have also had staring roles in some of the weirdest experiments not to come straight out of a science fiction movie.

But the book doesn't just cover the dead donated to science. What about organ donation? That's covered. What about the ways to dispose of the dead? There is a particularly interesting chapter near the end about some truly odd ways to discard the flesh after a person has died. Instead of cremation, what about dissolving your body in acid? You can go down the drain! There is also a chapter involving a truly bizarre story from China.

The final chapter is the authors' own comments on her views towards her own death and subsequent usage of her body. Needless to say, the material that she researched and saw during the work on this book has appeared to influence her decisions.

I found this book, while interesting, somewhat dry and not an easy read. Some of the chapters were far more difficult to read than others. I read several other books while reading this one, simply because I could not sit and read it for extended periods of time in certain chapters. It is well written and interesting, but I think I would have enjoyed it a little more had some of the topics been covered in less detail than others. I did enjoy the historical anecdotes sprinkled throughout the text. Overall, not a favorite, but not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination.

2. The Demon in the Freezer - Richard Preston

Richard Preston is one of the very best writers of biological terror and emerging infectious diseases. He does not hold a Ph.D. in Virology, but in English. Originally a writer for the New Yorker, he turned a 1992 article into the best seller, The Hot Zone. The Hot Zone was the initial book of trilogy that he would later name the "Dark Biology" series, due to the nature of the content. The Demon in the Freezer is the third book of this series.

The Demon in the Freezer mostly deals with the story of smallpox, a disease not often spoken of today outside of scientific circles. Smallpox is terrifying. It is efficient, easily spread, and highly contagious. It is also a human specific virus, capable of only infecting humans. We are the carrier and the target of this virus. Smallpox is thought to have been responsible for more deaths than the black plague. It was responsible for taking down world powers, such as the Aztec and Inca empires in Central and South America. It was used as a tactic of warfare to target those who assisted the enemy. Simply put, smallpox is the badass of the infectious disease world. Smallpox also holds the distinction of being the only infectious pathogen ever eradicated. Total eradication of smallpox was achieved in 1979 on a small island off the coast of India. Preston does a nice job of summarizing the events leading up to the process of eradication, including some of the small outbreaks that occurred leading up to the final outbreak of smallpox.

The other main player of this book is a pathogen often feared, especially post 9/11. Anthrax. An unknown person or persons addressed and mailed envelopes of anthrax to a several well-known people, including two senators and Tom Brokaw. Many were sickened and some died as a result of this attack. The anthrax attacks remain the only bioterror attack on U.S. soil. This book covers the anthrax attacks and the subsequent investigation by various government agencies in detail, including the analysis of the anthrax and the futile search for the people behind the attacks.

Also included in this book, somewhat tied into the investigation of the anthrax attacks, is the numerous bioterror weaponization programs that used to be carried out by various governments, including Iraq, Russia, and the U.S. This section is tied in quite well with the anthrax investigation, due to the possibility of the anthrax used coming from another country's bioterror program.

The Demon in the Freezer covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from Smallpox to the work done in shadowy rooms by men and women in space suits who can die with one small error. The book is not hard to follow, with all of the scientific terminology detailed in very clear terms. It is somewhat disjointed due to all of the material that it does try to cover. Preston explains things clearly, with language so vivid it's impossible to not see images of the things that you are reading about. As with his other books in this area, there are some details of weapon engineering and other things that he does leave out simply because there are some things that should not be detailed in a mass market book.

I throughly enjoyed the book. The topic that is covered is very real and is very terrifying. For anyone with a passing interest in virology, bioterror, or enjoyed The Hot Zone, I highly recommend this book.