What Does a Martian Look Like? [Paperback]

Jack Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2004

Most books about alien life are by astrophysicists, and spend their time arguing whether other planets and solar systems are habitable. This one is different. The authors point out that aqueous planets are common and where water exists life is likely. The test here is to find those features of life and evolution that are universal, and then to work out how they might have operated to produce life in other worlds. Along the way, the authors use examples of the aliens on offer via films, books and TV. Many have entirely reasonable biologies, others - cuddlies like ET, or dragons like the Alien - fail to measure up to the tests the authors set, but help narrow the search for the 'scientific alien'. The authors conclude that humans are not alone as intelligent entities, and that many others have appeared, and will appear, on other planets. And now, they argue, we can even surmise what they will look like and why.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

The authors of this book also see a possibility of extraterrestrial life. "We now know that there are many planets out there in the galaxy, and we have good grounds for supposing that a number of these will have life." It may be strange life, though, they say, nothing like what we know on Earth. On those principles, Cohen and Stewart (respectively, a reproductive biologist and a professor of mathematics at Warwick University in England) lay a basis for what they call xenoscience--knowledge of the strange. They draw on serious science--biology, chemistry, astronomy and physics--and also on science fiction, because the best of it has "made some useful contributions to the scientific understanding of possibilities for alien lifeforms."

Editors of Scientific American --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A fascinating and useful handbook to both the science and science fiction of extraterrestrial life. Cohen and Stewart are amusing, opinionated, and expert guides. I found it a terrific and informative piece of work – nothing else like it! (Greg Bear)

"I loved it." (Larry Niven)

"Ever wonder about what aliens could be like? The world authority is Jack Cohen, a professional biologist who has thought long and hard about the vast realm of possibilities. This is an engaging, swiftly moving study of alien biology, a subject with bounds and constraints these authors plumb with verve and intelligence." (Gregory Benford)

"A celebration of life off Earth. A hearteningly optimistic book, giving a much-needed antidote to the pessimism of astrobiologists who maintain that we are alone in the universe – a stance based on a very narrow view of what could constitute life. A triumph of speculative non-fiction." (Dougal Dixon, author of After Man: A Zoology of the Future) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ebury & Vermilion (February 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0091886163
• ISBN-13: 978-0091886165
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,746,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This will sell many titles!, January 6, 2003

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Does a Martian Look Like? The Science of Extraterrestrial Life (Hardcover)

Apart from being mis-titled for North American readers, this is a mind-expanding view of "what's out there" - or might be. Released as "Evolving the Alien" in the UK, this book examines numerous and too often poorly considered suggestions about how life might evolve in other places.

Note "places," since Cohen and Stewart don't limit their conjectures to planets alone. Noting the impact of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" as a starting point for how we think about life elsewhere, Cohen and Stewart divide the book between evidence from hard science and the conjectures of "SF" [speculative fiction] authors. Including themselves. In their view, both exobiologists and novelists have been remiss in considering how alien life might evolve. They do a comprehensive job, presented with the kind of wit expected of collaborators of Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame.

Recognizing they are entering a relatively unexplored area, they abandon old terms like "astrobiology" or "extraterrestrial life" to suggest a new, all encompassing term - xenobiology. They condemn outright the narrow views expressed by some scientists, notably Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee in "Rare Earth." Cohen and Stewart argue that limiting life to DNA-based forms is far too restrictive. Different environments are capable of producing life in ways "we can't even imagine." Magnetic fields in suns or neutron stars, silicon-based chemistry, unusual energy uses are all part of the panorama nature has in its recipes in making life start. Our localized experience is too limited, they argue, and we should look further with more open minds.

Those who have attempted a more open view have traditionally been limited to writers of speculative fiction. Cohen and Stewart sprinkle the text with examples of this genre, accompanied by an analysis of what is right or wrong with the ET life presented. "Science fiction" might just as easily be labelled "fictional science" in the eyes of these authors. Too little attention has been given to environmental complexity by the legions of writers seeking to entertain readers with simple plots and much action. Among that phalanx, however, there are some writers who strive to bring reality to the fictional worlds they create. Jack Cohen has been called into the story-building process as a consultant by several authors. The result, once the dust had settled, was SF with a reality check. The authors give accounts of some of
these efforts and the resulting books should be sought out and compared to those less favoured by the authors of this book.

Jack&Ian [as they style themselves] have provided a rich trove of ideas for nearly everyone. Scientists can gain fresh areas of research to consider, while fiction readers may find a whole new list of interesting readings. The book isn't footnoted, but there is a divided bibliography of "Popular Xenoscience Reading" and "Technical Xenoscience Reading" at the end. If you fail to find new concepts to consider here, you haven't tried.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It Isn't Easy Bein' Green, December 14, 2002

By 

Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Does a Martian Look Like? The Science of Extraterrestrial Life (Hardcover)

Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart are interesting thinkers and writers in the guise of Jack&Ian, and What Does A Martian Look Like? is a very good, thought provoking read. This book takes an optomistic view of the possibilities of life and intelligence elsewhere in the universe and proposes a broad xenoscience as an antidote to what Jack&Ian see as the narrow view of astrobiology. Rare Earth by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee comes in for the most criticism [not for the writing, but for the opinions], being one of the most popular books on astrobiology in the last few years. Stewart and Cohen do their best when they discuss their ideas in the context of science fiction stories and hit bottom when their criticisms of mainstream astrobiology begin to sound petty. Fans of mainstream SF should be prepared for the dressing down of their favorite aliens. If it'll hurt your feelings to find out that aliens probably won't look humanoid, do not read this book. Although not a perfect book, What Does A Martin Look Like? [especially if paired with the book Rare Earth] will take the reader's thinking to the far corners of the universe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatment of the subject, August 13, 2009

By 

K. Bunker "KBunker" (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: What Does a Martian Look Like? The Science of Extraterrestrial Life (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book, and one of the more "liberal" treatments of the subject. The authors themselves contrast their views with more conservative "exobiologists" such as the authors of Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe. Rather than seeing the possibility of only Earth-like life in Earth-like environments on Earth-like planets, their speculations range into life based on nuclear (rather than chemical) interactions, life based on magnetic vortices, and much more. Even if one were to "rerun" the development of life on Earth, they convincingly argue, random variations within the wealth of possibilities would result in life very different from what we now have around us.

This is a serious, carefully thought out book -- perhaps more serious than the title suggests. A lot of hard science, as well as open-minded speculation, is brought to bear on the subject. But the book is well written, and an engaging, easy read. I found some nits to pick, but overall I felt it deserves much more popularity and a higher rating among Amazon reviewers than it currently has .