Rebecca Boyle—Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are

OUR MOON: HOW EARTH'S CELESTIAL COMPANION TRANSFORMED THE PLANET, GUIDED EVOLUTION, AND MADE US WHO WE ARE
Rebecca Boyle
Random House, January 16, 2024
Hardback, $28.99, eBook, $13.99, Audio Book, $28
Hardback ISBN-13: 9780593129722
eBook ASIN: B0C2PF3RTV
Audio Book ASIN: B0C4BYYQC4

Boyle reports:

This book was inspired in part by my reporting on the formation of the Moon, which is a hot debate in planetary science, and even more so by my lifelong love of the Moon.

I feel the Moon is often taken for granted, even in astronomy, which is my primary beat as a science journalist. I wanted to tell its story, especially through the lens of modern efforts to return to the Moon’s surface and make money.

I developed a proposal with the help of my wonderful agent, Laurie Abkemeier, whom I met through a good friend after he published his first book. The proposal took a few months to write and revise, but it paid off. I was thrilled that Hilary Redmon at Random House bought it in a pre-empt.

I used part of my advance to fund my reporting, including travel throughout Europe and the US. I also spent a ton of time in libraries. During pandemic shutdowns, I spent money on Abebooks. I have a background in history, so I tried to find primary sources for my conclusions. Sometimes this involved things like reading translations of Sumerian cuneiform script, which was fun.

Before I started working on the book, I wish I had known that writing a book was, for me, nothing like writing a series of magazine features, but instead a complete restructuring of my writing life and mind. It was much more difficult and much more fun than I anticipated. The research and writing was the best part, so far, and I hope to do it again.

I wish that I had known the Covid-19 pandemic would happen while I was trying to write my first draft, because I would have asked for a longer extension of my initial deadline. That said, I truly would not have done anything differently.

I went through the pandemic and then had a surprise baby while working on this book. While difficult at the time, I think juggling all those very different things helped me clarify what mattered—in my life and in this book. I am proud of it all and would not change a thing.

Contact info:

• Rebecca Boyle, rebecca.b.boyle@gmail.com, https://rebeccaboyle.com/
  X (Twitter): rboyle31
  BlueSky: @rboyle31.bsky.social
• Book: Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are
• Publicist: Vanessa DeJesus, 212-414-3603 [vdejesus@penguinrandomhouse.com](mailto: vdejesus@penguinrandomhouse.com)
• Agent: Laurie Abkemeier, 212-925-7744 ext. 110, laurie@defliterary.com

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Banner image adapted from original photo by Rebecca Boyle.