Crush explores how gravity shapes life as we know it

James Riordan's book "Crush" explores gravity as both the most familiar and mysterious force in nature, examining how it shapes life on Earth from determining snake heart placement to limiting animal size. The book shows how gravity governs which planets can sustain life, including rogue planets drifting through space that may harbor subsurface oceans beneath ice shells for billions of years. Through accessible metaphors and thought experiments, Riordan makes complex concepts understandable while emphasizing how much about gravity remains unknown.