Contemplating Mysteries Of The Universe In “The Fallen Sky”
by Logical Lizard on Jul. 25, 2009, under Meteorite Science, Technology, Writers and WritingEvery now and then a book comes along that bridges the disparate disciplines of science, history and literature. To See Every Bird on Earth by Ted Koeppel is one of those and a beautiful work it is; Mark Jaffe’s The Gilded Dinosaur about the early days of American paleontology is another; Kevin Krajick’s Barren Lands, a history of diamonds and diamond hunting is, as we used to say in England when I was a lad, “a rattling good read.”
The Fallen Sky
The latest happy addition to my rather short list of must-read literary science non-fiction is The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars, by Christopher Cokinos, published by Penguin Books on July 30. The Fallen Sky may appear, on the surface, to be an exploration of the history of meteorites and meteorite hunters, but it is much more: a subtle journey through the author’s mind and memory on a quest for knowledge and understanding. While examining the lives of important and wildly eccentric figures in meteorite history—such as Ellis Hughes, an Oregon farmer who spent months absconding with the 15-ton Willamette iron meteorite in 1902—Christopher also shines the hard light of reason on his own life and motivations:
“Many people, myself among them, discount the notions of heavenly jurisdiction over a person’s life, whether it’s thinking your wish-upon-a-falling-star has come true or simply believing in a horoscope. Yet I have found that in actual and often moving ways the fallen sky can reveal secrets not only of the solar system but of our hearts. This is why this is an intimate history of shooting stars. We go out hunting meteorites, and some of us find ourselves as well.”
Landing somewhere between The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Fallen Sky is not just a thought provoking history of space rocks. It is also a meditation on the fascinating dangers of obsession, our place in the universe, and it asks why a few of us are driven to embark upon sometimes-hopeless missions to find clarity of purpose through collecting, studying, and occasionally stealing, natural history wonders.
Christopher is the editor of Istope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing, a professor of English at Utah State University, and a poet. In an earlier work, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers, he chronicled humanity’s savage extermination of certain North American birds, such as the passenger pigeon and the Carolina parakeet. In his introduction to The Fallen Sky he recounts how “I couldn’t yet fathom that the grief I felt about their fates was also, in part, an expression of many inarticulate griefs I carried in my life . . . I went outside at night and looked up . . . and I saw meteors—sudden, thin streaks on any given night.”
The allure of meteorites, gemstones from outer space. Photo by Geoffrey Notkin.
My own science writing leans towards the personal narrative, a memoir of road trips, hazards, and adventures, and I always attempt to infuse my words with the passion and wonder that I experience in my work with space rocks. Christopher Cokinos succeeds better than I have in this lofty ambition. The Fallen Sky is a lyrical and beautifully written book; an intriguing, inspiring and unique work; and one that I will ponder, re-read, and enjoy for light years to come.
