FIRE IN THE SKY

"Journalist Dillow packs quite a punch with this volume about humanity's expanding understanding of the threat posed by objects from space . . . Revealing the estimated chances of a disastrous strike over the next century to be low but not zero, this enjoyable survey should have appeal beyond pop science fans to the researchers and officials concerned with preparing for such a potentially calamitous event."

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

 "Lucid and engaging ... a comprehensive look at the threat to our planet from asteroid impacts ... Dillow stresses that the threat is real, that the Earth is routinely hit by objects from outer space, and that it is certain that sometime in the future ... unless mitigating actions are taken one of those objects will be large enough to cause catastrophic damage ... A convincing case for the need to pay more attention to planetary defense."

JOHN M LOGSDON

Founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, NASA Advisor, and editor of The Penguin Book of Outer Space Exploration

"A century ago, Scribner published a book about how the world, as many knew it, was ending.  It was called The Great Gatsby.  Fire in the Sky is our generation's  contribution to this crucial theme.  Gordon Dillow has written a beautiful and riveting book, a thunderous book,  about how we might defend our planet from the collision with a comet or an asteroid that is surely to come."

DAVID E LEVY

Co-discoverer of the Shoemaker Levy 9 and author of Skywatching

"It's only a matter of time before a really large space object hits the Earth.  Asteroids and comets have created disaster many times in Earth's past, including the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, and the vestiges of their havoc are still apparent.  Gordon Dillow's enthralling discussion unlocks the secrets of how and why these objects jeopardize the planet and what thousands of people around the globe are doing to detect and defend against them.  Fire in the Sky is nonfiction that reads like a great adventure novel, even as it points toward a hopeful future for humanity."

ROGER E LAUNIUS,

Former chief historian of NASA

"Nobody wants to contemplate a giant asteroid smashing into their hometown.  But such a catastrophe is basically inevitable if we don't take measures to prevent it - it's just a matter of time.  In Gordon Dillow's engrossing book, we learn a lot about the Solar System, and more important, about our fascination with bodies moving through the skies.  That these considerations might someday save our species is a bonus."

SEAN CARROLL

Author of The Big Picture:  On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself

"The scope of Fire in the Sky  is epic - covering millions of years and spanning the Solar System as well as the globe- yet the effect is intimate.  Dillow writes with an irresistible You can't make this stuff up sense of personal wonder about asteroid impacts measured in Hiroshimas, the kind of character who manages to misplace a forty-pound chunk of meteorite while on a three-day bender, and the scientists of today who cheerfully go about their work while knowing the end is, if not nigh, inevitable." 

RICHARD PANEK

Author  of The 4% Universe and The Trouble with Gravity