Life on Other Worlds: The 20th-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate [Hardcover]

Steven J. Dick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521620120 | ISBN-13: 978-0521620123 | Publication Date: September 28, 1998 | Edition: 1

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).

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

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.

Review

"Amazingly comprehensive, as well as highly entertaining...I almost wish it would put an end to the outpouring of books on the subject; nothing more need be written, until the feared/long-hoped for moment of Revelation!" Sir Arthur C. Clarke

"Life on Other Worlds is a wondersome synthesis of scientific criticism, historical narrative and socio-philosophical analysis of a theme that has captured the human imagination since the first stargazers." Joshua Lederberg, The Rockefeller University

"First published in subject until new discoveries lead closer to or futher away from the moment when we know how alone we are in the universe" The Astronomical Society of the Pacific

"...chapters on the search for planets outside our solar system, UFOs and the SETI project...pack a good deal of information and make skillful use of tables and figures...illustrations throughout." Publisher's Weekly

"Amazingly comprehensive, as well as highly entertaining...I almost wish it would put an end to the outpouring of books on the subject; nothing more need be written, until the feared/long-hoped for moment of Revelation!" Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE

"Life on Other Worlds is a wondersome synthesis of scientific criticism, historical narrative and socio-philosophical analysis of a theme that has captured the human imagination since the first stargazers." Joshua Lederberg, The Rockerfeller University

"One of the most exciting stories of the twentieth is the search, observational and theoretical, for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Steven Dick in his Life on Other Worlds has told that story with accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness. He is to be congratulated for this achievement, especially for the accessibility of his presentations and for the balance with which he has handled a history that at many points has been filled with controversy." Michael J. Crowe, University of Notre Dame

"...Steven Dick has written an intelligent and sober book." National Post

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (September 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521620120
• ISBN-13: 978-0521620123
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,787,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine introduction to the ET debate and its implications, February 20, 2001

By 

Jay W. Richards "author of Money, Greed, and God" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life on Other Worlds: The 20th-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate (Hardcover)

Steven Dick have given the general reader a first rate overview of the contemporary debate over extraterrestrial life. The book is an academic contribution, but is accessible to the non-specialist.

He may be at his best in describing what he calls "the biophysical cosmology," which has functioned as a wide-ranging worldview for many of its advocates. The book combines first hand astronomical experience with sophisticated philosophical and sociological reflection.

He describes warring parties in careful, measured prose, and doesn't grind any axes. I especially appreciate his treatment of the theological reflections on and implications of the debate--a discussion often ignored in popular treatments of the debate over extraterrestrial life. I highly recommend this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Toward a new view of the universe, November 21, 1999

By 

Allen Tough (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life on Other Worlds: The 20th-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate (Hardcover)

In recent years, scientists have moved toward a new worldview. The universe now seems much friendlier to life than it was in the old cosmology of lifeless rocks and stars. Steven Dick captures this new worldview in LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS. It is breathtaking in its broad sweep of decades of debate and progress, and highly relevant for understanding today's science. This abridgment and update of "The Biological Universe" is even easier to read than the longer version.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent discussion of the current status of Astrobiology, August 18, 1999

By 

Douglas A. O'HANDLEY (Morgan Hill, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Life on Other Worlds: The 20th-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate (Hardcover)

This book covers the topic of science and theology and the field of Astrobiology in a comprehensive manner. It is thorough in the discussion of most aspects of the debate on life elsewhere in the Universe. I look forward to future discussions by this writer as the fields of physics, biology, astronomy, and mathematics reveal the complex origins of biological life in the Universe and couple it with the realization the creation is not a singular event. It continues as you read this review.