THE PLUTO FILES

When astronomers stripped Pluto of its “planethood” in 2006, it set off a surprisingly passionate debate. As director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, Neil deGrasse Tyson was at the center of the dispute, and he tells his side of the story with wit and humility in this audio. Mirron Willis doesn't sound entirely comfortable with the scientific language (despite a number of credits as an actor and narrator in sci-fi), but he does a fine job conveying the audiobook's humor, including the letters from children who are angry that Tyson helped to demote their favorite planet. It's unclear why the publisher elected to include the glossary and the other appendices that don't work well in audio, except perhaps to pad out a very brief recording. D.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2009]