Comet Madness

NetGalley Review: 4 stars

Last updated on 10 Oct 2022

“What’s more dangerous than a comet? Bad science and bogus journalism, apparently.

Comet Madness by Richard Goodrich centers on the 1910 Visit of Halley’s Comet. Goodrich takes a look at how the media created an absolute frenzy around…well, not much of anything but misrepresentations and crackpot theories. If you are a person who walks around these days saying, “fake news” then this book is clearly for you. Goodrich pulls no punches in blaming the media for some of the crazy, sad, and heartbreaking actions people took due to yellow journalism.

The book is mostly a chronicle of scientific theories about what Halley’s Comet would (or mostly would not) do on it’s visit to Earth. Goodrich clearly did a lot of research and he scoured numerous newspapers to dredge up the stories of people refusing to pay bills, praying harder than ever, or in the worst cases, harming themselves. Some parts are sad and some parts are downright hilarious.

The wild veering between a sad story and then a witty retort to a reporter can make the book feel disjointed at times. Also, while it is not the point of the book, I would have liked a chapter solely devoted to the actual facts around the comet. These are minor nitpicks. It is still a very enjoyable read.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Rowman & Littlefield. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 2/14/2023.)“–Brendan Dowd, History Nerds United

Last updated on 18 Sep 2022

“Well done book. The research couldn’t have been done better. WOW, a lot of hard work went into this!”–James Gragson, educator at University of Kansas City Springfield

Last updated on 21 Sep 2022

“Comet Madness: How the 1910 Return of Halley’s Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization by Richard Goodrich is an amazingly researched book about the media storm that surrounded the aforementioned 1910 Halley’s Comet. Despite scientists’ repeated and longsuffering assurances that Halley’s Comet was not going to collide with Earth directly, or change weather patterns and set off earthquakes and volcanoes, or have its’ tail envelope the world with cyanogen gases that would kill everyone by way of rapturous joy.

The book is filled with true (and fictional) stories that were published by newspapers trying to incite fear in the public to sell more copies. Goodrich also tries his best to clear Camille Flammarion’s name, as he was an astronomer to whom newspapers often purposefully either misquoted or falsely attributed fantastical theories of the comet’s effects on Earth.

Go ahead and pick up a copy of Comet Madness and enjoy the tale of how the world was (almost) destroyed.”–Elizabeth McLaughlin, librarian at the Lee County Library System

Richard J. Goodrich, Ph.D., teaches late-Roman and early-church history at Gonzaga University.

He is the author of six academic books, as well as the monthly quirky history newsletter, What’s New in Old News? His writing has been featured in Columbia Magazine, American History, and Medium.