“It is pretty feeble merely to accept that meteorites come from the sky without considering the variegated significance of the falling rocks. Meteorite does a splendid job in countering the widespread lack of curiosity by illustrating the religious, social, literary, artistic, political, economic, and even culinary impact of meteorites, with the help of reportage and anecdote as well as site photographs and portraits. . . . Golia writes vividly and wittily and her text is fully but discreetly referenced. . . . And if meteorites are exploited to sell chocolates, ale, and face powder, they also tell us, as she puts it, that the universe is grand past all imagining.’ 

- Times Literary Supplement  (JC BookGrocer)

'This is a beautifully written, well-researched book that looks at the science, history, and social aspect of meteorites. Here is the story of stones from space, and I recommend it to anyone interested in these fascinating bits of other worlds which have landed here on Earth.' - Christopher P. McKay, NASA Planetary Scientist

Maria Golia is the author of Cairo: City of Sand (Reaktion Books, 2004) and Photography and Egypt (Reaktion Books, 2009). Living in Egypt, she is a fellow of the London-based Institute of Ecotechnics and writes about historical and contemporary issues related to urban, social and outer space.