Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:
The Quest To Discover Life Beyond Earth.
"The 'dreams' that I write of are not the usual ones, the images that come up in our minds involuntarily during certain stages of sleep, but rather the hopes and expectations that we have lavished upon other worlds around us."-from the Preface.
The surprisingly long history of debate over extraterrestrial life is full of marvelous visions of what life "out there" might be like, as well as remarkable stories of alleged sightings and heated disputes about the probability that life might actually have arisen more than once. In Planetary Dreams, acclaimed author Robert Shapiro explores this rich history of dreams and debates in search of the best current answers to the most elusive and compelling of all questions: Are we alone?
In his pursuit, he presents three contrasting views regarding how life might have started: through Divine Creation, by a highly unlikely stroke of luck, or by the inevitable process of a natural law that he terms the Life Principle. We are treated to a lively fictional dinner debate among the leading proponents of these schools of thought-with the last named group arguing that life has almost surely formed in many places throughout the universe, and the others that life may well be entirely unique to our own blue planet. To set the stage for a deep exploration of the question, the author then leads us on a fantastic journey through the museum of the cosmos, an imagined building that holds models of the universe at different degrees of magnification. We then journey deep into inner space to view the astonishingly intricate life of a single cell, and learn why the origin of such a complex object from simple chemical mixtures poses one of the most profound enigmas known to science.
Writing in a wonderfully entertaining style, Shapiro then reviews the competing theories about the start of life on Earth, and suggests the debate may best be settled by finding signs of life on the other worlds of our solar system. He takes us on a guided tour of the most likely sites, from the underground hot springs of Mars to the ice-covered oceans of Jupiter's airless moons.
Along the way, he shares a wealth of fascinating stories about the ways in which our views of the heavens have changed, from the theories of ancient philosphers, who argued that the Moon was inhabited, to the current Origins and Astrobiology initiatives of NASA. He describes the probes that will be sent out in the near future in pursuit of the first compelling physical evidence of life beyond Earth, and concludes with a radical suggestion about how this quest might be supported through the next millennium. As we launch into an exciting new era of space exploration, Planetary Dreams offers a thoughtful and entertaining exploration of both the history of our hopes and expectations and a vision of a possible future in which the discovery of life elsewhere will provide a new view of our place in the universe.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-298) and index.
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Publishers Weekly Review
Controversy rages in scientific circles over where next we should search for life in our solar system. Some argue that Mars is still the likeliest place to harbor life, despite the maddeningly inconclusive results to date, while others advocate probing the moons of Jupiter. Shapiro (Life Beyond Earth, etc.) uses his background in biochemistry to ponder the possibility that life exists on other worlds and to posit the best places to find it. He presents a convincing case that bizarre creatures may be found in the ammonia clouds swirling around Jupiter or high in the noxious sulfuric acid clouds that choke Venus. Going further than most authors in the field, Shapiro examines the possibility of life forms not dependent on oxygen and water. Unfortunately, his book isn't as well organized or as rigorous as some other recent books on the subject, such as John Lewis's Worlds Without End (1998). Shapiro dawdles through three introductory chapters before getting down to the substance of his book, and many of his digressions into fantasy scenarios and discussions of creation science add little to his argument. At times, though, Shapiro's teaching skills shine through; his use of imaginary scale models to explain distances, for example, conveys superbly the almost unimaginable vastness of space. 8-page color insert. Agent, Katinka Matson. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
School Library Journal Review
-Recently, there have been several fine books reporting on the latest developments in the scientific quest to understand life. Here, Shapiro looks at the fascination these questions exert on the human imagination, and treats readers to many perspectives on life-its nature and origins, and the possibility of its existence on other worlds. Through an entertaining exploration of ancient myths, the tabloid journalism of the 19th-century and the pseudoscience of the 20th, and our own age's scientific explorations, he shows that dreams of life beyond Earth are as old as humanity itself and as new as today's headlines. Shapiro recognizes not just the views of scientists, but also the perspectives of religionists (including, but not limited to, creationism). Through various devices, he makes vast concepts accessible; readers tour an imaginary museum of time and space, and sit in on a lively conversation that includes various scientists. Arguing persuasively for support of future scientific efforts to look for life beyond our planet, the author evokes a sense of wonder worthy of science fiction. Though some readers might enjoy reading this book straight through, others will prefer to browse its colorfully titled sections. It is enlivened with good black-and-white and color illustrations drawn from biochemistry, space science, and fiction, and its extensive notes and index should make it useful for assignments.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
CHOICE Review
Shapiro (chemistry, New York Univ.) is an expert on DNA research and coauthor of the 1980 book by Gerald Feinberg, Life beyond Earth: The Intelligent Earthling's Guide. This new book is at least as much about how people think about scientific controversies as it is about extraterrestrial life, and scientists such as Fred Hoyle and Gilbert Levin (who believes that his experiment on the Viking landers found evidence of life on Mars) are given more coverage than in other books on this subject. The author has even talked with religious fundamentalists, and his discussion of their ideas is insightful and original. The style is somewhat stream-of-consciousness and egocentric, and readers wishing a coherent introduction to the subject of extraterrestrial life will not find it here. But those who want exposure to speculative and unconventional thinking will enjoy many sections of this book. Recommended for libraries that have the standard books on extraterrestrial life and wish to broaden their holdings. General readers; undergraduates. T. Barker; Wheaton College (MA)
Booklist Review
Shapiro, a biochemist by profession, evinces by this engaging book the artful skills of science popularization. Since his subject is exobiology, potentially the most philosophically profound arena of scientific research, his underlying question is why looking for alien life proceeds sporadically: two biology labs land on Mars in 1976, with no follow-through in the quarter century since. The flotilla headed there now is geology oriented, but to get the public excited about space exploration requires, Shapiro argues, the search for life. Rocks, even if named Yogi, are still boring rocks. Shapiro recounts the search's sf pedigree that imagined lunar civilizations, and he describes philosophical worldviews promoting the barrenness or fecundity of the universe. Convinced that the question is insoluble until human colonization of space begins, Shapiro reviews the biochemical situations around the solar system and the missions that could investigate them. Combining many narrative elements, including a description of his fanciful institution, the Museum of the Cosmos, Shapiro's imaginative, multifaceted work should meet the yearnings of space enthusiasts and of the wider public, as Carl Sagan's books did. --Gilbert Taylor
