Alien Life [Hardcover]

Barry Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 1998

Pointing up to the heavens, today's cutting-edge radio telescopes scan the cosmos for any signal that may indicate alien life, as tantalizing prospects lead us further along our quest. Already we may have found microbes in meteorites from Mars. As Parker points out, three of Jupiter's moons are now known to contain ice and liquid water - leading some scientists to believe that perhaps under this ice lie hidden areas teeming with aquatic life. After discovering planets outside our solar system, astronomers believe that other "suns" may exist capable of supporting planets that harbor alien life-forms. Beyond making contact, Parker stresses that disaster surely awaits us on Earth as its ever-growing population depletes our planet's natural resources. He delineates the plans to mine treasures in space, generate power on distant bodies, and establish thriving communities in space. We can control our alien searches in space, but what if they find us first? Have we already been visited? Have humanoid creatures with large black eyes actually hovered over our towns? How do we account for eyewitness reports of bizarre glowing lights, "scorched" patterns on crop fields, and alleged abductions? Parker investigates the truth surrounding these visits and discusses the UFO phenomenon.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite an evidently open-minded attitude, Parker delivers the hard line to ET enthusiasts in his new book: "strangely, we haven't found a single sign of life beyond our solar system." In his latest (following Chaos in the Cosmos and eight other books), the emeritus Idaho State University professor of astronomy and physics summarizes recent scientific conjecture on extraterrestrial life without venturing much personal speculation. He considers the "architecture of life" and the mystery of DNA as related to its possible exploitation elsewhere; the possibility of non-carbon-based life forms; the history of Mars exploration (including the recent "meteorite from Mars" discovery); the results of NASA space probes; the discovery of distant planets through advanced telescopy; and the SETI program's search for alien radio signals. Parker acknowledges the contentions of UFO believers, but devotes few pages to claims of alien encounters such as the well-known Roswell incident. Steering clear of that controversy as "an argument not likely to be resolved in the near future," Parker's hopeful and energetic book ends up reinforcing the science establishment's lonely outlook for humanity, but still leaves room for the possibility that if they are out there, we will find them?or they, us. 79 illustrations.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Barry Parker, Ph.D, is an award-winning science writer and the author of eleven highly acclaimed books in popular science, including Alien Life, Cosmic Time Travel, Einstein's Dream, and Einstein's Brainchild.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (March 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306457954
• ISBN-13: 978-0306457951
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,909,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a professor emeritus at Idaho State University where I taught physics and astronomy for 30 years. I also taught a writing class at night school at the university for several years. I am the author of 24 books and have written for the Smithsonian, Encyclopedia, Britannica, Time-Life Books, the Washington Post, and numerous magazines such as "Astronomy, Sky and Telescope, Flyfisherman, and Fishing World." My most recent books are "Good Vibrations: The Physics of Music," "Write a Book that Will Sell," and "You Should Write a Book." I now spend most of my time writing, but also enjoy travelling, hiking and fishing. Most of my early books were on popular science, but I've now branched into other areas. My webpage is BarryParkerbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars General scientific introduction to the search for alien life, March 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alien Life (Hardcover)

This book treats the topics of alien lives which usually appear only in science fiction novels. Contrary to the conventionality, the auther dares to challange this topic using the various aspects of scientific knowledges. Because there are virtually no evidence for the alien lives, these scientific knowledges are not fully utilized for solving the puzzles of alien lives or the related topics such as UFOs. However, this book teaches us the present state of scientific knowledges and the methods how to use them. This book is especially recommendable for young amateur astronomers or students who wish to be scentists in future.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A readable basic introduction at the high school level, September 7, 2003

By 

M. A Michaud "michael_michaud" (Dulles, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alien Life: The Search For Extraterrestrials And Beyond (Paperback)

People looking for a simple introduction to the question of extraterrestrial life will find this book easy to read. Physics professor Parker begins with basic descriptions of life on Earth. He then devotes three chapters to Mars, including the possible existence of microfossils in a chunk of Mars that hit the Earth as a meteorite. Parker moves on to extrasolar planets and the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence. After touching on interstellar flight, he closes with a discussion of the claim that Earth has been visited by aliens. All this adds up to a broad brush overview, leaving out most of the detailed arguments associated with this question. The writing, which avoids equations and elaborate statistics, seems to be aimed at the high school level. Some of the black and white illustrations, particularly the caricatures of scientists, are surprisingly crude.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, balanced and highly recommended, November 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Sterling, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alien Life (Hardcover)

Alien Life is an easy-to-understand survey of alien life. It goes from the biochemical origin of life on earth to possible Mars microfossils to the Drake formula to SETI to spaceflight to other suns with some discussion (dismissive but respectful) of UFOs. Parker is a scientist (Professor of Physics and Astronomy) but can write like a journalist; so the book is authoritative yet so well written that it almost breezes along in places. The whole presentation is very evenhanded. I like that. Too often I have purchased books that were peddling one point of view and shading the evidence without me knowing it until later. Not here though. Parker discusses pros and cons of several points of view, keeping the discussion balanced while making it all lively and interesting. Highly recommended.