Another pick for the Planetary Society book club. And what an amazing pick this was! Who knew that a journey to a lifeless rock somewhere between Mars and Jupiter would be interesting?! This author understood the assignment!
The Asteroid Hunter: A Scientist’s Journey to the Dawn of the Solar System
Author: Dante Lauretta
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Published: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: August 18, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
I thought this book was just going to be an historical account of the mission to bring a sample of an asteroid back to Earth. But in reality, it was a memoir by the lead scientist. And this wasn’t some dry, lecture-y book about the science behind the project. This was a heartfelt examination of his journey to NASA, to the asteroid, and back to Earth again.
Dante Lauretta wrote this book in such a readable way. He took what could otherwise be a somewhat academic subject and made me feel like I was on the life-journey with him. It wasn’t filled with jargon or too much math. Like I said – it was readable!
And I don’t want it to sound like the reader only learns about the author here. Oh no! He definitely makes this book equally educational.
When I think about space exploration, or even the exploration of our solar system, I don’t always jump right to the asteroid belt or any of the other non-planetary objects (except for Pluto). So imagine how pleased I was when I started diving into a book that I was admittedly a little trepidatious to get into.
This is a 5-star book all the way around. I ended up flying through it in a couple days! I would call this a must read for anyone who enjoys memoirs and learning a little something along the way.
