Book Review: How to Kill an Asteroid: The Real Science of Planetary Defense by Robin George Andrews

This review was first published by Booklist on September 1, 2024.

**STARRED REVIEW** It’s impossible to prevent most natural disasters. The exceptions to this are asteroid and comet strikes—stopping cosmic impacts is possible and could save literally billions of lives. Framed around an account of NASA’s recent DART mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test), Andrews takes readers on an exciting tour of how the science of planetary defense was born and where scientists are hoping to take it from here. He interviewed several of the most prominent people involved in planetary defense, sharing their firsthand accounts of their work and motivations, which provide compelling insight into this growing field. We know how to stop asteroids and comets from hitting Earth, using everything from deflecting them with fast rockets to disintegrating them with nuclear bombs. The challenge is mostly in how we detect these threats, especially smaller “city killers,” and Andrews offers compelling arguments for the need to build a stronger detection network. Andrews’ writing style is funny, wry, passionate, and deeply informed. How to Kill an Asteroid is one of the most entertaining pop-science reads of the year.