The Meteorites
Encounters with Outer Space and Deep Time
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Profile Books Ltd
Published:6th Feb '25
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£10.99(9781800815353)

How celestial bodies impact life on earth - from the acclaimed author of Notes from Deep Time
From the acclaimed author of Notes from Deep Time, an exploration of meteorites and what they mean'The Meteorites conjures a small epiphany about our own place in the universe' The Sunday Times 'Stunning and riveting' Noreen Masud, author of A Flat Place 'Absolutely fascinating' Mark Haddon 'Dazzling' Financial Times From your window you can see the stars and distant planets: light years away, it's easy to think that our existences and theirs will never intersect. Yet meteorites - mysterious, irregular rocks of sometimes immense value - connect us with the vastness of the universe. They may have brought the first life to our planet, and today they still reveal extraordinary scientific insights. Helen Gordon reveals the fascinating stories of fallen meteorites and the lives they've touched - from collectors to kings, scientists to farmers. She meets amateur astronomers and gem dealers, goes meteorite hunting across rooftops and learns what objects moving through space can tell us about the fragility of life on Earth.
An engrossing blend of the scientific and the human ... highly readable * Observer *
Performs a similar trick to Samantha Harvey's recent Booker-winning novel Orbital, flipping our perspective so that we see our individual, terrestrial lives through the lens of deep space and deep time.... The Meteorites conjures a small epiphany about our own place in the universe * The Sunday Times *
Dazzling....Gordon's thinking about the subject develops its own kind of new fusion skin, putting forward a vision in which there is no barrier between our planet and our universe -- Natalie Whittle * Financial Times *
[An] engaging account ... Meteorites offer clues on the formation of the solar system and the start of everything * Country Life *
Gripping, deft and riveting. Gordon moves with total mastery from the human to the cosmic and back again -- Noreen Masud, author * A Flat Place *
A brilliantly engaging tour of meteorites, a book that reminds us that while they might come from outer space they are part and parcel of our planet -- Travis Elborough, author * Atlas of Unexpected Places *
Helen Gordon's ruminations on finds and falls, scientists and amateurs, craters and even the superannuated satellites that, increasingly, descend from the sky, show how meteorites help us to understand our place in the universe. But the real strength of her book is the compelling case that meteorites illuminate something else entirely, the human spirit * TLS *
Engaging * Country Life *
Praise for Notes from Deep Time: Astounding ... To call this a "history" does not do justice to Helen Gordon's ambition ... Sheer intellectual and poetical entertainment -- Simon Ings * Daily Telegraph *
Profoundly considered and far-reaching ... Notes from Deep Time reaches into a place that, in a post-religious era, offers a glimpse of something close to eternity * FT *
A marvel-rich masterclass of narrative non-fiction, one of those books that teaches its reader to see the world completely differently -- Max Porter
Awe-inspiring * Mail on Sunday *
ISBN: 9781800815346
Dimensions: 160mm x 238mm x 28mm
Weight: 484g
288 pages
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