There’s something of an irony behind Neil deGrasse Tyson’s decision to publish excerpts from his collective correspondence. Letter writing is well-known as a dying art while astrophysics is abounding in new theories and insights.



But the book is less an exercise in corresponding and more an opportunity to get the perspective of deGrasse Tyson on issues that matter to contemporary Americans. Dr. Tyson is opposed to dogmatic religion (one imposes one’s beliefs on the world instead of trying to understand the world as it is), thinks modern philosophy is largely useless (so many words about the various meanings of words) and is most interested in teaching the young how to think for themselves and approach the world scientifically.



It’s not that these views are completely original, it’s that he is an excellent communicator of his perspectives (there is even a letter devoted to lecturing vs. conversing). Tyson wants to seize the young with the idea that of the trillions of possible human beings that can be formed by our genome they as an individual are lucky just to be alive. That as independent contributors, they can form testable predictions about the world and add to humankind’s progressive understanding. Ethically, they can choose to better the lives of those around them. With these three goals, it seems that Dr. deGrasse Tyson’s self imposed meaning of life will be achieved.



There are also vibrant letters on wide ranging topics such as the value of ambition over IQ, the author’s personal experiences living a block from 9/11 and his thoughts on the increasing importance chosen and birth given identities are forming in our lives.



All in all, deGrasse Tyson seems like the kind of person you would want to correspond with which I think is what makes the book so successful.



If you want a thoughtful, non-partisan perspective on American life and culture I strongly recommend reading through this selection of Dr. Tyson’s public correspondence. One might not get a vivid impression of his correspondents but the personality and perspective of deGrasse Tyson come through strongly in these brief, but powerful, musings on American culture, science and the civilization to which they owe their birth.