Life on Other Worlds: The 20th-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

A nuclear physicist and a journalist, respectively, the Fishers (Tube: The Invention of Television, Counterpoint, 1996), a father-and-son team, review scientific research on the possibility of life beyond Earth, beginning with Percival Lowell's claims about canals on Mars and continuing right up to recent discoveries of planets around other stars and NASA's announcement of possible microorganisms on a meteorite from Mars. Intended for lay readers, their book covers much the same ground as Michael Lemonick's Other Worlds (LJ 4/1/98) and is equally good. Dick is an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory whose Life on Other Worlds, an abridged and updated version of The Biological Universe (Cambridge Univ., 1996), is deeper and broader than the Lemonick and Fisher books. In addition to reviewing scientific work on extraterrestrial life, he also explores the connections to science fiction, the UFO controversy, and some modern philosophers' musings. His book is aimed at a fairly sophisticated audience and is strongly recommended for all academic libraries.?Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

' … an excellent reference to the subject with no undue bias.' Peter D. Mata, Spaceflight

' … an important further contribution to understanding how science proceeds as a social as well as an intellectual activity. Recommended reading.' Richard Taylor, Spaceflight

'It is refreshing to read a balanced critique of any scientific controversy and it is to his great credit that Dick achieves this despite recent discoveries'. School Science Review

'… full of stimulating ideas and entertaining stories.' Astronomy Now

'This provides an interesting vehicle for studying the history, philosophy and sociology associated with one of the most enduring questions in science: the possibility of extraterrestrial life … an ideal reference book …'. School Science Review

Life on Other Worlds places the twentieth century extraterrestrial life debate in historical perspective. It covers a broad range of topics, ranging from the search for life in the solar system to the search for planetary systems, the origins of life, UFOs, and aliens in science fiction.

The recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and possible microfossils in Martian meteorite ALH 84001 are only the latest developments in a debate that spans millennia, and that has been especially heated in the twentieth century. From the furore over Percival Lowell's claim of canals on Mars at the beginning of the century to the biological experiments of the Viking spacecraft, the controversial 'Mars rock', and the sophisticated Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) at its end, otherworldly life has often titillated and occasionally consumed science and the public. So too have crucially related areas such as the search for planetary systems, the quest for an explanation of UFOs, and inquiries into the origin of life. The theme has been elaborated in science fiction from H. G. Wells to Arthur C. Clarke, and resulted in some of the most popular films of all time, including ET, Aliens, Independence Day, and Contact. Life on Other Worlds details in a readable and non-technical manner the history of the twentieth century extraterrestrial life debate, one of the pervasive themes of our century.

Are we alone in the Universe? From the furor over Percival Lowell's claim of canals on Mars at the beginning of the century to the more recent controversial rock from Mars and the sophisticated Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), the prospect of otherworldly life has often titillated and occasionally consumed science and the public. The search for planetary systems, the quest to explain UFOs, and inquiries into the origin of life have fueled an abundance of popular and scientific literature. They have also provided Hollywood with fodder for some of the most popular films of our time, including ET, Aliens, Independence Day, and Contact. Lucid and accessible, Life on Other Worlds chronicles the history of the twentieth-century extraterrestrial debate. Putting the latest findings and heated controversies into a broader historical context, Steven Dick documents how the concept of extraterrestrial intelligence is a world view of its own--a "biophysical cosmology" that seeks confirmation no less than physical views of the Universe. The debate rests at the very limits of science, and attempts at confirmation only illuminate the nature of science itself.

Dick shows that appreciating the history of the debate enables a better understanding of the nature of science, and is central to any forward-looking view of religion and philosophy. For anyone interested in a look over the edge of scientific discovery, Life on Other Worlds provides the exciting tale behind the greatest debate in the twentieth century. Dr. Steven J. Dick is an astronomer and historian of science at the U.S. Naval Observatory. He is the author of Plurality of Worlds: The Origins of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant (Cambridge, 1982) and Biological Universe (Cambridge, 1996).