Boyle walks the reader through a history of both Earth and humanity, from the formation of our planet and the evolution of life to the development of civilization, religion, philosophy and, eventually, science ... Boyle, whose graceful writing is as lulling as a bedtime story, paints the moon as more than just a driver of physical phenomena ... Boyle finds the moon in places I would never think to look. And she has convinced me that though our connection to it is ever-changing, the moon perseveres as a source of knowledge, wonder and influence — and is anything but dull ... Timely ... Makes the moon feel closer than ever.
Boyle propels us enthusiastically from the Berlin Gold Hat – an astronomical calculator-cum-priestly headpiece from the Bronze Age – to the tale of Enheduanna, the high priestess who used hymns to Moon gods to bind the city-states of 2nd-millennium BC Sumeria into the world’s first empire. And we go from there, via many a fascinating byway, to the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras, whose explanation of moonlight as mere reflected sunlight ought, you would think, to have punctured the Moon’s ritual importance ... Boyle brings her account to a climax with the appearance of Theia, a conjectural, but increasingly well-evidenced, protoplanet, about the size of Mars, whose collision with the early Earth almost vaporised both planets and threw off the material that accreted into the Moon. Our Moon is superb: as much a feat of imagination as it is a work of globe-trotting scholarship. Given the sheer strangeness of the Moon’s creation story, it will surely inspire its readers to dig deeper.
The book's range is broad ... Boyle targets general audiences here, and while that occasionally leads to remedial pronouncements ... Boyle is at her best describing thorny scientific concepts, especially during a vibrant discussion of the surprisingly contemporary debate surrounding the moon's creation ... Boyle's book reveals just how genuinely earth-shattering our moon has been.
Ms. Boyle’s exploration of the intersection of technology and society in human history is riveting ... Readers who aren’t well-versed in physics, chemistry and biology may become testy and tempted to toss the book. They should persevere, because the gist of Ms. Boyle’s explanations are ultimately clear enough. Her book is absorbing, and on the whole she is an engaging, thought-provoking tour guide.
The author does not treat the Apollo moon landing as an expensive technological spectacular but a scientific triumph. Rocks brought back turned out to be identical with those on Earth, suggesting that the Moon was torn from the Earth, likely from a planetary collision, and has evolved in predictable ways. A solid education on our closest celestial neighbor.
Science writer Boyle debuts with an excellent exploration of how the moon has shaped life on Earth ... Throughout, Boyle’s dexterous blend of science and cultural history is elevated by her spry prose ... This illuminates.
