Impact: How Rocks from Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong

by Greg Brennecka, Sean Pratt (Read by)

Overview

A Short History of Nearly Everything meets Astrophysics for People in a Hurry in this humorous, accessible exploration of how meteorites have helped not only build our planet but steered the evolution of life and human culture.

The Solar System. Dinosaurs. Donkey Kong. What is the missing link? Surprisingly enough, it's meteorites. They explain our past, constructed our present, and could define our future.

Impact argues that Earth would be a lifeless, inhospitable piece of rock without being fortuitously assaulted with meteorites throughout the history of the planet. These bombardments transformed Earth’s early atmosphere and delivered the complex organic molecules that allowed life to develop on our planet. While meteorites have provided the raw materials for life to thrive, they have radically devastated life as well, most famously killing off the dinosaurs and paving the way for humans to evolve to where we are today.

As noted meteoriticist Greg Brennecka explains, meteorites did not just set us on the path to becoming human, they helped direct the development of human culture. Meteorites have influenced humanity since the start of civilization. Over the centuries, meteorite falls and other cosmic cinema have started (and stopped) wars, terrified millions, and inspired religions throughout the world. 

With humor and an infectious enthusiasm, Brennecka reveals previously untold but important stories sure to delight and inform readers about the most important rocks on Earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798200857951
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.50(h) x 5.00(d)

About the Author

Greg Brennecka, PhD is a staff scientist and cosmochemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After his doctoral work at Arizona State University, Greg received the prestigious Sofja Kovalevskaja fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to study the early Solar System at the Institute for Planetology in Münster, Germany, where he led the “Solar System Forensics” group for five years. His research has appeared in Science, Nature, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Greg lives in the Livermore Valley wine country and fully enjoys the local flavors.

Table of Contents

Introduction: And So It Begins 1

1 Important Early Meteorite Strikes 11

2 Cosmic Cinema for Early Humans 37

3 Humons and Heavens Collide 53

4 Prognostication, Panic, and Scientific Progress 89

5 Ingredients for Success 117

6 Free Samples from Mars 139

7 From Space to the Laboratory 163

8 Meteorite Mischief and Mitigation 187

9 Modern Meteorite Research 201

Appendices: Notes on the Basics of Meteorite Research 219

Appendix I The Taxonomy Man Cometh 221

Appendix 2 Equipment Revolutions 245

Acknowledgments 269

Sources and Additional Reading 271

Photo Credits 277

Index 279

Editorial Reviews

11/22/2021

Brennecka, a cosmochemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, takes a look at the past, present, and future of meteorites in his chatty debut. “Rocks flying around the cosmos not only built our physical world...they also have had an inordinate influence on the various non-concrete constructions of civilization,” he writes, and shares a slew of fun facts. In 1992, for example, a meteorite fell “through the trunk of a cherry red 1980 Chevy Malibu” and became infamous, and the car was resold for a $4,600 profit 20 years later; people in Uganda have been known to eat pulverized meteorites, believing they might “possibly be a God-sent cure” for AIDS; and a meteorite might have been responsible for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Other anecdotes are more heavily scientific, and are where Brennecka hits his stride, as with his suggestion that the amino acids common on many meteorites might have “helped usher in the origin of life” on Earth. The abundance of filler and corny jokes, though, can be distracting (a meteorite storm in France in 1803 “likely resulted in numerous pairs of soiled underpants”). Despite a couple wobbles, it’s a fine intro for star-gazing newbies. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"A witty and compelling account of the many unexpected ways space rocks have impacted life on Earth. Brennecka's enthusiasm for his subject is utterly contagious." — Lewis Dartnell, professor and author of Origins: How the Earth Shaped Human History

"A fine intro for star-gazing newbies." — Publishers Weekly

"In this highly entertaining book, filled with informative and humorous charts, diagrams, and images...Brennecka's enthusiasm for meteorites will appeal to experts and novices alike." — Kirkus Reviews

“Brennecka successfully tackles a niche corner of the popular science genre where anthropology meets astrophysics. His knowledge and wit come together in an excellent debut that will appeal to readers of Munroe, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Carl Sagan.” — Library Journal

“Meteoriticist Brennecka explains all things meteor to the layperson with enthusiasm and humor. He blends a thorough explanation of meteorites with pop culture references that make Impact enjoyable and easy to read.” — Booklist

"Greg Brennecka is a meteoriticist with a sense of humor and a flair for making complex topics both understandable and entertaining. While the scope of Impact is impressive and far-reaching, Brennecka’s clear, succinct narrative style makes for fascinating reading throughout." — BookPage (starred review)

“Brennecka demonstrates with irrepressible enthusiasm how much we have learned about the universe from analyzing the space rocks that fall to Earth.” — Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

"Greg Brennecka is a meteoriticist with a sense of humor and a flair for making complex topics both understandable and entertaining. While the scope of Impact is impressive and far-reaching, Brennecka’s clear, succinct narrative style makes for fascinating reading throughout."

BookPage (starred review)

"A witty and compelling account of the many unexpected ways space rocks have impacted life on Earth. Brennecka's enthusiasm for his subject is utterly contagious."

Lewis Dartnell

Brennecka demonstrates with irrepressible enthusiasm how much we have learned about the universe from analyzing the space rocks that fall to Earth.

Wall Street Journal

Meteoriticist Brennecka explains all things meteor to the layperson with enthusiasm and humor. He blends a thorough explanation of meteorites with pop culture references that make Impact enjoyable and easy to read.

Booklist

Meteoriticist Brennecka explains all things meteor to the layperson with enthusiasm and humor. He blends a thorough explanation of meteorites with pop culture references that make Impact enjoyable and easy to read.

Booklist

Brennecka demonstrates with irrepressible enthusiasm how much we have learned about the universe from analyzing the space rocks that fall to Earth.

Wall Street Journal

01/01/2022

In his authorial debut, meteoriticist Brennecka seeks to prove that meteorites don't just make up our physical world, they make up our culture too. Brennecka begins with the birth of the universe and takes readers on a journey through time and space, in a narrative that is both approachable and entertaining. He explores the rocky origins of the moon, the impact of meteorites on early religions and weapon-making, and how astronomical discoveries (whether genuine or misguided) continue to transform popular culture. Accompanying this textual journey are cartoon illustrations demonstrating scientific concepts like velocity and gas giants (reminiscent of Randall Munroe's xkcd) and photographs of historical meteorites and artifacts that show humanity's relationship to space rocks throughout history. This book is sure to engage popular science readers of all levels of expertise; for advanced readers, Brennecka has appended the text with more technical information on meteoritics. VERDICT Brennecka successfully tackles a niche corner of the popular science genre where anthropology meets astrophysics. His knowledge and wit come together in an excellent debut that will appeal to readers of Munroe, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Carl Sagan.—Cate Triola

Library Journal

2021-11-16
An exploration of the role meteorites played in the formation and cultural evolution of Earth.

Had Earth’s head-on collision with the meteorite named Theia not occurred exactly when it did, our planet would have evolved much differently. Brennecka, a cosmochemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, explains that this event, and later impacts, “may have delivered the organic material from which life developed, as well as the water on Earth that sustains it.” In this highly entertaining book, filled with informative and humorous charts, diagrams, and images, the author explores this moon-forming impact as well as other historical cosmic events involving space rocks—e.g., the 1990 discovery of an impact crater in Mexico that scientists believe caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Other topics include: Christopher Columbus’ using his knowledge of an upcoming lunar eclipse to avert an uprising when he had outstayed his welcome in Jamaica, Donald Trump’s staring directly at the sun without eye protection during the 2017 solar eclipse, and how “Mark Twain was born and died on occurrences of Comet Halley.” Brennecka also examines how meteorites have played a significant role in cultural and religious teachings throughout the world, including Aboriginal lore, Greek and Roman literature, biblical studies, and Islamic tradition, and he takes us to regions around the world where large numbers have been extracted: Australia, the Sahara Desert, and Antarctica, among others. The increased availability of samples has aided countless scientists in their research about Earth’s cosmic origins, but the meteorite trade has also led to the removal of objects that were treated as sacred by Indigenous peoples and made it difficult for research groups working on tight budgets. “Regardless of the discussion about the morality and business of meteorites,” writes the author, “meteorite monetization has been both a blessing and a curse for meteorite researchers.”

Brennecka’s enthusiasm for meteorites will appeal to experts and novices alike.

Kirkus Reviews