Ebook Review - The Little Book of Exoplanets

The Little Book of Exoplanets by Joshua Winn

Joshua Winn is a professor of astrophysics at Princeton University. According to his Princeton bio he was “a Participating Scientist in the NASA Kepler team and is a Co-Investigator and Architect of the ongoing Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission.” So, he is definitely the person you want writing a book about exoplanets.

For the uninitiated, exoplanets are planets that orbit other suns. We have eight planets in our solar system. There are now thousands of planets detected around other stars.

In The Little Book of Exoplanets Winn takes us on a short tour through the history of exoplanet discovery, the types of planets that have been found (and why other types have not), current theories on planet formation among other topics.

This is not necessarily easy stuff to absorb, and though Winn tries to keep his discussions to an “everyman” level the amount of material he has packed into this small book does mean there are some concepts and passages in the book that are difficult to parse. You may need to read a few sections more than once to get the gist of what Winn is discussing.

Fortunately there are drawings and charts sprinkled throughout the book that help get the concepts across. There could be more. These graphics, if just looked at on their own, are sometimes even more dense than the words, and if you were flipping through the book at the bookstore, you might be tempted to put it back down. I would recommend that you don’t do that, especially if you have any interest in planets outside our solar system.

I’ve spent too much time talking about the negatives - let me tell you about why and for whom I recommend this book.

If you are a fan of “hard sci-fi” or a curious backyard astronomer, you’ll love this book. If phrases like “habitable zone” and “red dwarf” and “doppler effect” are already in your vocabulary, you’ll love this book. If you are like me and have a curiosity but not history with planetary science, you’ll find it interesting and worth the read. If you aren’t in those two groups you’re probably not going to be picking up a book with the word “exoplanets” in the title anyway!

RATING: Three and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐🌠

NOTE: I read an ebook copy that I got through Google Books. It has all the graphics, including the color plates in the middle of the book. From reviews I’ve read of the Kindle ebook it is missing many of the graphics, and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Steve's Book Stuff participates in affiliate programs for the booksellers asterisked below. Purchases you make through an affiliate link will return a small commission to me, at no additional cost to you.

Borrow or Buy The Little Book of Exoplanets here:

📙Borrow this ebook: Find out if your library has the ebook available through the Libby app.

📘 Buy this ebook: Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | Google Play Books | eBooks.com |

Title: The Little Book of Exoplanets

Author: Joshua Winn

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Publish Date: July 11, 2023

ISBN-13: 9780691221175

Publisher’s List Price: 30% off with code PUP30. Sale Price:$16.07 (ebook)

Follow Me on Post!