Rare Earth
Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe
Ranked #22 in Marine Biology, Ranked #66 in Life Sciences — see more rankings.
What determines whether complex life will arise on a planet, or even any life at all? Questions such as these are investigated in this groundbreaking book. In doing so, the authors synthesize information from astronomy, biology, and paleontology, and apply it to what we know about the rise of life on Earth and to what could possibly happen elsewhere in the universe. Everyone who has been thrilled by the recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and the indications of life on Mars and the Jovian moon Europa will be fascinated by Rare Earth, and its implications for those who... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Rare Earth from the world's leading experts.
Adam Maloof This book looks at a classic Carl Sagan idea that if there are zillions of stars and bazillions of planets in the universe, then there must be at least millions of habitable planets with complex life. (Source)
James Kasting They are very pessimistic about the chances of complex life outside Earth, by which they mean animal life, and, of course, that includes intelligent life. (Source)
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