[meteorite-list] Fallen Star by Christopher Cokinos -- a short review

From: Bob King <nightsky55_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2009 22:30:44 -0500
Message-ID: <99c1e91a0910032030n3bf1a14bufba488e2548c8763_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi everyone,
I just finished reading Christopher Cokinos' book on his meteorite
adventures called Fallen Star and can thoroughly recommend it. He
takes us on a series of adventures starting with Ellis Hughes and the
Willamette meteorite before heading to Kansas to meet the sharp-eyed
Eliza Kimberly of Brenham pallasite fame. In the next chapter we
follow the trail of explorer Robert Peary and his quest for the
Greenland meteorites used for centuries by the local Inuit. We get to
know the cigar-smoking, risk-taking Daniel Barringer and his Meteor
Crater and spend a night at a chateau where Biot came looking for
meteorites after the L'Aigle fall. Along the way there's Ensisheim,
Acraman Crater in Australia, the Tuscon show (he liked the folks he
met and mentioned something about the Reed brothers firing a potato
gun.), the Ries impact site in Germany and finally Antarctica, where
Cokinos joined the ANSMET team to hunt for meteorites.

The author has a very introspective style and writes eloquently. He's
also done his research and gone back to the original documents and
other sources to unearth fascinating tidbits about the people who hunt
or are otherwise involved in the pursuit of space rocks. The section
on Harvey Nininger is a miniature biography spanning more than 75
pages. We learn Nininger caught turtles, grabbed skunks, trapped bees,
and pursued ants as a boy. Bob Haag once replaced the fried chicken he
bought at a drive-in with a real, live chick and returned to the
restaurant to tell the clerk the food wasn't cooked completely.

What I like was how Cokinos could tell a story as if he were actually
present at the meteorite falls. In the Sylacauga, Alabama fall, you
can tell he's looked at old black and white photos of the scene and
pulled out little details like the floral wallpaper in the Hodges'
house to give you a sense of being there. My favorite chapter was his
journey to Greenland to find the old resting spots of the Tent, the
Woman and the Dog meteorites. You'll be amazed at what's still there.
Honestly, I wanted to get up and go to Thule after reading it.
While the tone of the book is generally introspective, Cokinos has a
knack for blunt, brutally honest observations about himself and his
subjects (though with respect) and tosses in choice bits of humor. My
favorite for laughs was his arrival at McMurdo Station in Antarctica
where he captures all the irony and dry humor you'd expect from a
bunch of specialists huddled together at the bottom of the globe.
After the plane lands, the author and his comrades find themselves
"ushered into a high-clearance van, hot-rod red and pimped up with
mondo tires and an overactive hearter." Or how about the sign on a
dorm room door: "Do Not Disturb, We Gettin' the Freak On" and finally,
the "Team Beating" (typo??) on the schedule he and his team were
handed upon their arrival at "Mactown" (McMurdo).

You'll learn the basics about meteorites, asteroids and all our
favorite characters whose lives were deeply touched by space rocks.
You'll also become privy to Cokinos' failed marriage and his
relationship with another woman. At first I thought his ongoing
mention of these relationships would be a distraction, but I came to
see they were part of an important journey for him that ultimately led
to redemption. In any case, the wife-girlfriend mentions are a small
part of this book. You'll have to read the whole book to see how the
author managed to relate his personal struggles with the passions of
meteorite collectors and hunters. I admire Cokinos not only for his
scholarly expertise and enjoyable writing style but his courage in
baring his soul. He's a frail human just like the rest of us but man,
can he tell a story.

Thanks,
Bob
Received on Sat 03 Oct 2009 11:30:44 PM PDT