The Hunt for Life on Mars [Paperback]

Donald Goldsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0452278554 | ISBN-13: 978-0452278554 | Edition: Reprint

In August 1996 scientists from NASA stunned the world with the announcement that an ancient meteorite that had plunged to Earth from Mars revealed signs of primitive life. The first book detailing this remarkable discovery, "The Hunt for Life on Mars" tells the complete dramatic story of the scientific detective work that led to the compelling evidence for extraterrestrial life .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is the first book to attempt a full account of NASA's August 1996 announcement that an ancient Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica may contain evidence of extraterrestrial life. Goldsmith treads carefully, knowing full well that this purported finding could become the cold fusion phenomenon of the 1990s--bogus science that misleads the public. The book shows several signs of its hasty composition, but such is the price of beating the competition to market. Mars fans may also want to examine The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin and Are We Alone? by Paul Davies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

While this book understandably focuses on the now-famous Martian meteorite purported to harbor signs of ancient organisms?which would make it the first evidence of extraterrestrial life?respected astronomer Goldsmith (The Astronomers, LJ 3/15/91) is as keen for his readers to understand the scientific process involved in this discovery. He employs a sometimes distracting though generally useful analogy of a Simpson-like trial to describe the burden of proof that must be met by the scientists behind the startling August 1996 announcement. The history of the rock, from its formation on Mars and its discovery on Antarctica to its eventual identification, is effectively and succinctly related, leaving room for other quite valuable and interesting material on origin-of-life theories, the possibility of current life on Mars, and future missions to the continuously fascinating, surprising Red Planet. Recommended for popular science collections.?Patrick Dunn, East Tennessee State Univ. Libs., Johnson City
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452278554
• ISBN-13: 978-0452278554
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,338,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good study, September 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hunt for Life on Mars (Hardcover)

I found it to being quite a good study on our current knowledge of the possibility of life on Mars.

The writer uses a court case allegory to discuss 'ALH84001' the Marian rock found by NASA to review the case.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile objective look at the martian meteorite, February 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hunt for Life on Mars (Hardcover)

Except for that atomic bomb thing back in the forties, the most important scientific news event of the twentieth century may have happened last summer, when NASA scientists announced circumstantial traces of life inside a meteorite believed to have originated from Mars. Astronomer-and-science-writer Donald Goldsmith competently reviews the evidence and reasoning on both sides of the controversy. His presentation is better than Time or Newsweek, without the annoying distractions of advertising and coverage of Dole's VP selection (which wasn't cosmically significant). Goldsmith's writing lacks the evocative imagery of Sagan, but he gets his facts straight with clarity and there is poetry in that. While being fair with practically everyone else, he does give short shrift to those who see Martian artifacts at Cydonia. As he points out, though, future space probes will soon resolve that issue as well as many others about just how far Martian life progressed. This book will prepare you for revelations to come

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slightly dated but fair overview of topic, February 1, 2002

By 

Kevin W. Parker (Greenbelt, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hunt for Life on Mars (Hardcover)

This is a good overview of the possibility of life on Mars, using the evidence found in the meteorite ALH84001 as a starting point. Goldsmith uses a legal trial as a somewhat overprecious analogy, but overall this book is a fair and detailed summary of the arguments both for and against life on Mars based on current evidence.

It also covers future missions to Mars and somewhat dates itself while doing so, since Pathfinder and Global Surveyor are presented in the future tense.

Still, this is a useful and interesting book.