First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth [Hardcover]

Marc Kaufman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 5, 2011

Are we alone in the universe? Almost certainly not.

In First Contact, Marc Kaufman provides a gripping tour of the magnificent new science of astrobiology that is closing in on the discovery of extraterrestrial life. In recent decades, scientists generally held that the genesis of life was unique to Earth: It was too delicate a process, and the conditions needed to support it too fragile, for it to exist anywhere else. But we are now on the verge of the biggest discovery since Copernicus and Galileo told us that Earth is not at the center of the universe. New scientific breakthroughs have revolutionized our assumptions about the building blocks of life and where it may be found. Scientists have hunted down and identified exoplanets, those mysterious balls in the universe that orbit distant suns not too different from our own. They have discovered extremophiles, the extraordinary microbes that thrive in environments of intense heat or cold that may mimic the inhospitable conditions of other planets. They have landed rovers on Mars and detected its methane, a possible signature of past life. And they have created sophisticated equipment to sweep the sky for distant radio signals and to explore the deep icebound lakes of Antarctica. Each of these developments has brought forth a new generation of out-of-the-box researchers, adventurers, and thinkers who are each part Carl Sagan, part Indiana Jones, part Watson and Crick—and part forensic specialists on CSI: Mars.

In this masterful book, Kaufman takes us to the frontiers of astrobiology’s quest for extraterrestrial life and shows how this quest is inextricably linked with the quest to understand life on Earth. He takes us deep under the glaciers of Antarctica, into the mouth of an Alaskan volcano, and beneath the Earth into the unbearable heat of a South African mine, and leads us to the world’s driest desert. For thousands of years, humans have wondered about who and what might be living beyond the confines of our planet. First Contact transports us into the cosmos to bring those musings back to Earth and recast our humanity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this century, predicts Kaufman, scientists will find evidence of life somewhere in the universe. It's an arresting idea, and Kaufman delivers an entertaining look at the science supporting it. Astrobiologists, who study the possible forms that extraterrestrial life may take, are "part Carl Sagan, part Indiana Jones, part Watson and Crick, part CSI," Kaufman notes. Their interdisciplinary work requires interlocking knowledge of physics, astrophysics, biology, chemistry, and planetary geology. Microbes we've found living in extreme habitats once believed to be inhospitable to life—glaciers, geysers, deep mines and caves, and volcanoes— prove that we must expand our ideas about what makes something "alive." So the only reason we haven't found life on other planets or moons before, Kaufman says, is that we haven't known what to look for. Carbon-based life is possible elsewhere, either seeded by meteorites made of organic carbon or created by vibrant lightning-fed chemistry, but extraterrestrial life is more likely to be very different from us. Taking readers from the South Pole to the northernmost tip of Norway, from the world's deepest mines to Mars, Kaufman explores the science that may change the human perspective more than anything that came before. 8 pages of color photos. (Apr.)
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Review

“An up-to-the-minute look at the frontiers of the search for life outside Earth… Kaufman provides an invaluable summary of the current state of research into extraterrestrial life. An excellent preview of what may be the next big scientific breakthrough.”

—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Marc Kaufman traveled to the ends of the Earth to report this fascinating, awe-inspiring, and accessible book. Are we alone in the universe? Almost certainly not. Kaufman leaves the reader with a lucid sense of what we know and where the next wave of discovery will take place.”

—Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Ghost Wars

“In First Contact, journalist Marc Kaufman reveals how the extremes of life on Earth illuminate our search for life in the universe. Along the way, Kaufman invokes crisp, clear, and engaging narrative that, at times, leaves you to think you were conducting the research yourself.”

—Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History and author of The Pluto Files

“The search for life beyond Earth has now become the big scientific quest of our age. Kaufman skillfully weaves personal narrative and technical exposition to guide the reader through the challenges, both scientific and philosophical, that confront astrobiological researchers. An immensely readable book, infused with the thrill of the chase.”

—Paul Davies, author of The Eerie Silence and The Goldilocks Enigma

“Writing with cinematic clarity, Marc Kaufman provides a masterful, gripping tour along the frontiers of the search for extraterrestrial life and shows how this quest is inextricably linked with the struggle to understand life on Earth. As he transports readers from the parboiled netherworld of a South African platinum mine to Earth’s coldest, driest extremes, from an Alaskan volcano crackling with energy to microscopic Martian landscapes and ultimately to the ends of the cosmos, Kaufman brings into vivid focus the triumphs and frustrations of scientists as fascinating as the bizarre life forms they study.”

—Kathy Sawyer, author of The Rock from Mars

“Marc Kaufman brings to life the broad and increasingly successful effort by scientists to find signs of life beyond Earth. It's an exciting read about a scientific venture that will no doubt surprise and intrigue many people—especially when he takes us to incredibly exotic locations. Space, it seems, is the next frontier not only for exploration, but quite likely for learning about life as well.”

—Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors

“Marc Kaufman, a world-class reporter whose writing is clear and clean, is just the right author for First Contact. I found this book as thrilling as it is illuminating, as he takes us around the Earth and off into space in search of the beginnings of life here and probably elsewhere.”

—David Maraniss, author of They Marched into Sunlight and When Pride Still Mattered

"Fascinating . . . While genuine alien life, in any form, has yet to reveal itself, Kaufman’s tantalizing tour of the research that could achieve this breakthrough makes engrossing reading."

—Booklist

“With a child’s curiosity and a reporter’s skill, Kaufman delivers a concise, thorough, and utterly fascinating summary of the search for life elsewhere in the universe—and what it means for life on Earth. If you’ve ever wondered about life beyond Earth, let Marc Kaufman introduce you to the men and women who are searching for it. His explanations will make the night sky seem more vivid and the very life around you seem more improbable and precious.”

—Susan West, former executive editor of Smithsonian

“The range of this new field of astrobiology is exhilarating, and even though scientists are still learning how to sort out the hard science from the understandably infectious enthusiasm, getting to ride along with Kaufman is an expansive joy.” --The Washington Post

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (April 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439109001
• ISBN-13: 978-1439109007
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #642,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

To report "First Contact," I spent more than two years traveling the globe to meet and learn from the scientists at the cutting edge of the search for life beyond Earth. The world of ET had not been a major interest of mine over the years (though I certainly am a fan of "2001: A Space Odyssey") but I was pulled in during a science-religion fellowship, and had come to see the search as far more than a curiosity. In fact, I came to see the worldwide effort to learn extraterrestrial life as a kind of stealth Apollo program -- massive in scope yet hidden in plain view. As a reporter and editor for more than 30 years, mostly at The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer, I've been primed to jump on the big story, and that's what I saw in astrobiology. I am now a science writer and national editor at The Post, but I believe my years working as a foreign correspondent trained me best to write this book. Why? My task was again to learn and understand new languages and cultures, only this time of a scientific nature. I also needed to find the individuals who might best bring the work and the story to life, and then to translate their research for those without their depth of training and experience. It was the education of a lifetime for me, and hopefully will be eye-opening and compelling for you.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are into the possibilities of life on distant world - Kaufman's work is the finest book on this topic - FIVE STARS !!! April 3, 2011

By A Customer TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

First Contact is a sophisticated and thoughtful examination of the possibility and in the author's opinion probability of finding intelligent life forms on planets other than our own. It is clear that the author is not shooting from the hip and has done an exhaustive survey of where we are in the search. A perusal of his other sources will reveal hundreds of books that thoroughly cover the topic.

If you were a child of the 50's and the 60's, this subject used to be covered under flying saucers and UFO's. In the 80's and 90's we moved towards concepts like the x-Files and Roswell, New Mexico. We have now entered the realm of serious science with serious funding trying to bring home the bacon in terms of being the first to prove the existence of alien life-forms. A generation ago, a serious scholar would be marginalized for working in this field. Today it is acceptable. Astrobiologists, a relatively new term are bending over backwards processing the reams of information coming in from space probes and new experiments in a rush to conclude if in fact we are alone.

Author Marc Kaufman has given us nine page turning chapters chock full of information that you simply will not find anywhere else. Even the chapter titles give you a good idea of what this book is about. They are:

* Biggest Discovery of them all

* Really Extreme Life

* What make something Alive

* The Spark of Life

* On the Trail of Life on Mars

* Three Eureka's on Hold

* Planet-Hunting

* Life and the Laws of Physics

* Far-Flung Intelligent World

* The Day After 1st Contact

Kaufman also points out and footnotes it that the Catholic Church has already held extensive internal symposiums to deal with the question of church policy if intelligent life is found on other planets. Whole pages of the book are dedicated to the concept of how the church will deal with the day after first contact. The author also discusses the implications for other religions in view of their historical beliefs and doctrines. Some religions apparently believe in multiple worlds with multiple life forms different from our own.

We also know that in 1958, the United States government composed a group of very fine scientists to deal with the effects if NASA which was in its early stages found conclusive evidence of life outside our planet. The decision was made at that time that if they did find life, the evidence would be stone walled, and the astronauts were ordered to sign secrecy documents if such an issue arose. Apparently this was another reason to select only astronauts that were military personnel because of the ability to control information flow.

The search for intelligent life outside the earth has led to new fields of science. One is exoplanets which is the study of planets outside our solar system, and the second field is exobiology which is the study of biological systems outside our planet as well. As you are probably aware, only in the last ten years have scientists for the first time proved the existence of planets outside out planetary system. This is done through the observation of very ultra slight distortions in the gravitational paths of other stars.

As a result of these studies, some 500 additional planets have been found and charted. Scientists are rapidly coming to the conclusion that the existence of planets may be as common as the existence of stars. If such is the case, than is it possible that the universe is teeming with life on many of those planets? If so what form would it take, and how evolved? Are we thinking about microbes here or a species capable of solving the issues of intergalactic space travel, which we have yet to solve?

As the book both carefully and meticulously points out, part of the problem up until now, is that we haven't known what to look for. Some scientists who we now refer to as extremophiles have taken to looking at the places on earth with the most extreme temperatures as in volcanoes. Another extreme area is the bottom of the oceans where the plates meet creating very hot pools of matter being forced out of the earth's crust. These very same scientists have now found new life forms in these extreme locations and previously it was not dreamed possible.

Other scientists thinking about other planets are fast coming to the conclusion that with life on earth being found in such previously thought impossible locations, we must now open ourselves up to the potential that this can be true on other planets in the galaxy that also have extreme temperature variations. It's all here in 191 pages of narrative followed by the exhaustive sections on both resources and foot notes.

Conclusion

If you read First Contact with an open mind, you will enjoy, better yet relish a journey about man's need to find out that he is not alone in the universe. You will also have a much better understanding of our planet due to Kaufman's travels to the extreme habitats of our own blue earth, which at times can be a very uninhabitable place. It is the author's opinion that sometime in the remainder of this century, we will find life forms on worlds not our own, and we must be intellectually and culturally prepared to deal with this issue. The book does an excellent job in laying the groundwork for just such a happening. I thank you for reading this review, and I know that you will enjoy this book.

Richard C. Stoyeck

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First Contact-A Fascinating Book on Extraterrestrial Life April 26, 2011

By A. Peabody

Format:Hardcover

As a child of the 20th Century, I remember our voyages into space as the adventure of a lifetime. Now Marc Kaufman has done an excellent job pointing us way beyond the orbital flights and trips to the moon with his thorough analysis and exciting description of the science behind the near-certainty that we are not alone in the Universe. The very first sentence affirms that "...before the end of this century, and perhaps much sooner than that, scientists will determine that life exists elsewhere in the Universe." This will, as Kaufman says be The Biggest Discovery of Them All.

But the book is much more than an enthusiast's proclamation of what will soon be learned. It is a deep analysis of the reasons scientists are increasingly sure that life beyond Earth will be found, from the presence of life under extreme conditions throughout the Earth to the ubiquity of chemical precursors in and beyond our Galaxy to the ever-increasing number of planets now being discovered around other suns.

The latest developments in SETI and Astrobiology are explained in layman's terms without sacrificing accuracy, and a believable scenario for a possible first contact is described. An extensive bibliography and index will help you find your way around in the subject and guide your further study.

My recommendation: buy this book and share it with your friends.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Irresistibly fascinating May 31, 2011

By Jaylia3 TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Author Mark Kaufman believes that before the end of the century, maybe well before, scientists will have determined that life exists elsewhere in the universe, and his book makes a fascinating and compelling case for it. Before they can do that however, scientists will have to determine exactly what life is, a question that is surprisingly hard to answer because it is not always clear what is alive and what is not. One example is the case of desert varnish, an extremely slow growing patina found on desert rocks that may be showing properties of life. Or maybe not, that's still being researched.

The more scientists learn about life on Earth, the stranger it seems. It used to be taken as scientific gospel that all forms of life reproduce regularly, need an energy source, and depend on having an environment that isn't exceedingly hot, cold, acidic, alkaline, or salty, and isn't under crushingly high pressure or full of radiation, but living things have been found in all of these circumstances. Extremophile life forms manage just fine in scalding hot hydrothermal ocean vents, highly acidic rivers, arsenic filled lakes, glacial ice, clouds high in the sky, and rocks that are miles underground. Finding life in these almost other worldly places may mean life can exist in other harsh seeming environments, like under the Martian surface or in the icy oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa.

It turns out that Mars was much more habitable than Earth in the long ago days when the Earth was recovering from a collision with another planet that broke off what is now our moon. Mars became the barren landscape it is now after it somehow lost its magnetic field and atmosphere, but if some form of life was already established it may still survive deep underground, since scientists have found that life exists in similar conditions on Earth.

The elements that are needed for life on Earth, which include carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen, are found all over the universe, so scientists are aiming strong telescopes at distant stars looking for planets that might be able to support life as we know it, or maybe life as we've never conceived of it. The nebulas that form stars produce complex carbon molecules and these may be seeding any nearby planets with the building blocks of carbon based life.

Kaufman is confident that there is life elsewhere in the universe, but he does a thorough job presenting the conflicting opinions and many unsolved issues of the extraterrestrial life question, including the controversies surrounding the 1976 Viking mission to Mars and whether the Muchison meteorite from Austraila shows evidence of otherworldly organic carbon. The last chapter covers the moral, religious and ethical implications of discovering that we may be sharing the universe with other, possibly intelligent, living beings. What obligations would we have to such creatures? What would they mean for the world's religious beliefs? These issues are part of an ongoing discussion by ethicists, philosophers, and religious leaders, including the Vatican.

If you follow news reportage about extremophiles, exoplanets and the search for life, this book will connect the dots and provide context to stories as recent as the "Goldilocks" planet, the new revelations about the famous "primordial soup" experiments, and the microbes found with high levels of arsenic in Mono Lake, California. First Contact is so irresistibly interesting I found myself reading the best parts aloud to whoever happened to be around me at the time.