Life as We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search for (and Synthesis of) Alien Life [Hardcover]

Peter Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2005

Peter Ward is a distinguished professor, scientist, and author whose earlier book Rare Earth, with its dim view of the possibilities of complex life beyond our planet, created a rift in the science community so controversial he was featured on the front page of The New York Times. With Life as We Do Not Know It, Ward again challenges our notions of extraterrestrial life with a significantly revised look at life in the universe and a novel hypothesis about the origins of life on Earth.

A principal investigator for the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which funds a program to study “life as we do not know it”—investigating the possibility of life on other planets or, more controversial, creating non-DNA life in the laboratory—Peter Ward presents the latest data on the range of life that are scientifically possible on Earth and beyond. Authoritative and eye opening, Life as We Do Not Know It is sure to provoke wonder and heated debate among both professional researchers and lay readers alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ward's Rare Earth (coauthored with Donald Brownlee) suggested the unlikelihood of our finding an alien race as complex and evolved as humankind; if such beings exist, they're too far away for us to make contact with. But what about more basic forms of life right here in our solar system? Ward, an investigator with NASA's Astrobiology Institute, believes researchers might be taking the wrong approach by looking only for earthly DNA-based life forms. Truly alien life, he argues, might have completely different origins; even Earth has untold numbers of viruses composed entirely of RNA, and scientists have created similar genetic material in laboratories, so who's to say silicon-based life-forms are impossible? After introducing readers to the building blocks of life and the new ways they might be arranged, Ward speculates on what types of microbes we might find on other planets and their satellites. He recommends that future manned space expeditions include paleontologists and biochemists to follow up on suggestive evidence collected by space probes. The science is neatly laid out, and readers willing to follow his daring, scientifically based speculations will find their imaginations spurred. (On sale Nov. 7)
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From Booklist

Paleontologist Ward--who has written previously about extinctions (Gorgon, 2004), evolution (Future Evolution, 2001), and planetary geology (Rare Earth, 2003)--indulges in some freewheeling yet reasonable speculation on what forms of life we are likely to discover on other worlds. In the past five years, astronomers have uncovered much new environmental data on the planets and satellites in our solar system, most notably from the two Martian rovers that are still scuttling about on the surface. The problem with recognizing alien life, as Ward sees it, is that science defines it too narrowly; biologists must expand their definition to encompass forms that do not resemble terrestrial carbon-and-DNA-based packages. He begins by declaring that viruses are alive and goes on to classify other exotic chemical combinations that could evolve in an alien environment. Ward says that machines like the rovers are not set up to detect "life as we do not know it" and that it will take missions with human crews to discover what we don't expect. Certainly thought--provoking. George Eberhart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (November 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670034584
• ISBN-13: 978-0670034581
• Product Dimensions: 14.7 x 1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,766,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched & written, but has its shortcomings, March 20, 2006

By 

Richard Peterson (San Diego, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life as We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search for (and Synthesis of) Alien Life (Hardcover)

This book offers a detailed look at the possibility of life elsewhere in the Solar System. Ward starts off examining how life got started on Earth, in order to understand how it could get started elsewhere. He comes across as very knowledgable on the subject and gives a very interesting survey of the various theories and their problems. His discussion of how life can hitchhike on meteors is very convincing, as he demolishes the objections one by one. He discusses all the possible types of 'alien life', including some I had never encountered before. He then looks at Mars, Europa, Titan and the upper atmosphere of Venus as the most likely abodes of life.

Overall, this is a very good book. Peter Ward packs a lot of information into a moderately sized book and does so in a very readable fashion. I found this book hard to put down. He also scores some definite hits: his speculation that viruses not only qualify as life (a somewhat controversial point) but also are representatives of the earliest type of life, with cellular life coming later, (a very controversial point) has been bolstered by recent research, including the discovery of a super virus with more genes than the simplest bacteria. His suggestion that the Moon is a source of pristine fossiles from early Earth, Mars and Venus via meteor transfer (an incredible 2% of the rocks on the Moon are believed to have originated elsewhere) provides a real justification for returning there.

On the other hand, Ward has a tendency to make claims he can't, or doesn't, prove. His off-hand claim to have solved the cause of the Permian/Triassic extinction (by far the worst on record) would be disputed by most scientists in the field, who consider the question still open. His dismissal of the possibility of life in the atmosphere of Jovian planets would be more convincing if he explained why the lack of iron was a show-stopper. He also claims that ammonia has been found in the Martian atmosphere, something categorically denied by the ESA; a demonstration of why you don't treat unsubstantiated rumor as fact.

Perhaps the most annoying part to me is the bibliography. Ward does not footnote every assertion, not unreasonable in a popular book, but for many of the more interesting or controversial points, there is no reference in the bibliography. This leaves the reader stuck with either accepting Ward's statements as gospel or having to do a lot of research to doublecheck them.

So, not a perfect book, but still a very strong one. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crackpot or Jackpot?!?!, November 27, 2005

By 

Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life as We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search for (and Synthesis of) Alien Life (Hardcover)

I am a big fan of GWCW [Geologists Who Can Write] and Peter Ward is at the top of that list. Most of Ward's books deal with paleontology, Earth history, evolution, and extinction, but many readers know him mainly from his [in]famous [and often misunderstood] book Rare Earth coauthored with Don Brownlee. Life As We Do Not Know It brings us up to date on the search for [and synthesis of] alien life. In several places in the book, Ward goes way out on a limb [of the Tree of Life] and proposes several new levels in the taxonomy of life. We also get a tour of what we might find on other planetary bodies in our solar system. Life As We Do Not Know It is not as well written as Ward's other books [such as On Methuselah's Trail, Rare Earth, or Future Evolution] and therefore I must rank it 4 stars, but still recommend it highly to anyone interested in astrobiology and the study of life in general.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking on what all may constitute life, BUT with unwarranted sweeping generalizations elsewhere, July 6, 2006

By 

S. J. Snyder "De gustibus non disputandum" (Various, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life as We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search for (and Synthesis of) Alien Life (Hardcover)

Ward is at his best when making statements that are based on the best and latest studies in molecular biology, evolutionary biology and related fields, such as classifying viruses as living.

He's about as good when conjecturing that in other ways, we may have too limited a view of what constitutes life here on Earth.

He combines this with his paleontologist's knowledge of geography to say that we ... especially "we" being folks like NASA, SETI, etc., may have way too narrow of a view of what constitutes life on other planets, and just what "alien" life may involve.

But, from here, he goes into the unwarranted generalizations.

First, even allowing for the diversity of alien types of life, I think he is unempirically and irrationally optimistic about the existence of life elsewhere in our solar system. The amount of methane on Mars or Titan may be due neither to extant life nor volcanism, contrary to his possibly false dichotomy, for example.

Also, his souped-up overhaul of cladistics, with new classification levels above that of kingdom, have a bit of horn-tooting at times.

From these two observations, it's not too far to Point C, as in, "Look at me! I'm on the cutting edge of astrobiology!"

And, along with other reviewers, I'd have to agree with observations on the paucity of footnotes. Frankly, this seems connected with Point C.

Finally, as a paleontologist, he has some non sequiturs about manned space exploration. He seems to blithely assume that humans can survive longer solar system trips, dodging bullets of cosmic radiation. However, recent research has indicated even a manned trip to Mars could be fraught with peril, not to mention his lusted-after visit to Titan.

I was on the borderline of a fourth star, based on the good points, but I'm sure that someone else will come on with a more sober, and more in-depth, coverage of this fascinating topic soon enough.