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Title: Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter Douglas Ward, Donald Brownlee ISBN: 0-387-98701-0 Publisher: Copernicus Books Pub. Date: January, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.09 (86 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Stimulating and educational, but beware the fine print
Comment: This is one of the most wide-ranging and readable of all science books aimed at a non-specialist audience. The authors raise Big Questions in astronomy, planetary evolution, geology, climatology, ecology, and biological evolution, reminding us of how interdisciplinary the extraterrestrial life debate really is. The vast array of subjects they address could make this book an ideal discussion text for a course designed to introduce non-scientists to scientific issues and methods. The book, at least in its hardback edition, has an uncrowded format that makes it easy to read.
Ward and Brownlee accumulate a lengthy series of arguments in support of their position that, while simple life may be relatively common, complex life is rare. At first glance, these arguments seem persuasive. However, a closer reading reveals that the authors sometimes tilt the debate in their favor by choosing the argument that best supports their case even when the evidence is very limited or ambiguous, e.g. their statement that plate tectonics "may be vanishingly rare in the Universe as a whole." How can they know this when our sample is limited to our own solar system? Sometimes, the authors make unsupported blanket generalizations, e.g. "On every planet, sooner or later, a planetary catastrophe can be expected that either seriously threatens the existence of animal life or wipes it out altogether." Stating that "it just seems to have been by chance that our Jupiter formed as it did" is hardly scientific. Oddly, after stating that SETI is a futile effort if their hypothesis is correct, the authors go on to say that "There probably are other civilizations in the galaxy that have radio telescopes." In the end, the fundamental limitation to such arguments is that they are based on the only biosphere we know -- our own. This is summed up in the authors' statement that "It appears that Earth got it just right." Life as we know it may not exhaust all the possibilities.
There are some errors. Venus does not always present the same face to the Sun. Nicholas Copernicus was Polish, not Danish. Frank Drake's equation was developed for a meeting held in 1961. One hopes that the authors will clean up these details for a second edition.
Rating: 5
Summary: Absolutely Excellent
Comment: This is the best book that I have seen on the subject of extraterrestrial life and the possibility of its occurrence beyond our solar system in a long time. In order to make the most accurate prediction possible the book makes use of the strongest evidence we have to date, our knowledge of our own solar system. Using very wide breadth, the authors rationalize the following simple theme, "The occurrence of simple microbial life is pervasive in the universe, but the occurrence of more complex, multi-cellular life is not.
From this book I now realize that the number of natural phenomena affecting the possible occurrence and evolution of complex life in one of our neighboring stars is far greater than I ever imagined. I thank the authors for enlightening me on this subject. Perhaps in future I won't be as disappointed as I was during the first Viking landing. I really did think they would find vegetation on Mars, and I'm still upset about it.
The authors of "Rare Earth" present their subject very well, although perhaps not in a style that would excite the average public, as did Carl Sagan and Issac Isamov in their science books. Indeed, I recommend that the authors of this text consider rewriting it in a more popular form, with plenty of illustrations. Hey, people love pictures, myself included.
The controversy between the people at SETI and the authors is unfortunate. I believe both sides have a lot to gain from each other's work. In my opinion it was a mistake for the authors to have included, near the very end of the book, references to SETI. The antagonism created was predictable. I myself am a participant in the seteathome project, having completed 225 work units so far. However, I do not allow my excitement over the possibility of receiving an alien signal stand in the way of my objectivity in the face of the best hard evidence we have to date. Besides, I take it not as fact, but simply as the best prediction I have heard anyone say so far. It is the closest to fact that we can get at this time. Hopefully soon we will get closer.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Great Entry In A Terrific Debate
Comment: This is one side of a fascinating debate, between astrobiologists and xenobiologists. In Rare Earth, there is a detailed explanation of what there is about planet Earth that made life possible, and what might have induced divergence. Thus the question, "how lucky are you to be here" is answered in superb detail. In a contrasting book, "What Would A Martian Look Like?", one looks at the question of just how large is the solution space for life, or how many ways might life get going and develop. We might never really know which approach is correct, but I find the issue worthy of consideration.
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Title: The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World by Peter Douglas Ward, Don Brownlee, Donald Brownlee ISBN: 0805067817 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 13 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens... Where Is Everybody? Fifty Solutions to Fermi's Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life by Stephen Webb ISBN: 0387955011 Publisher: Copernicus Books Pub. Date: 04 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Life Everywhere: The Maverick Science of Astrobiology by David Darling ISBN: 0465015646 Publisher: Perseus Books Group Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Future Evolution by Peter Ward ISBN: 0716734966 Publisher: W. H. Freeman Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Life on a Young Planet : The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth (Princeton Science Library) by Andrew H. Knoll ISBN: 0691009783 Publisher: Princeton University Press Pub. Date: 17 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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