Ward_Rare Earth-Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe.pdf

Praise for Rare Earth . . .

“ . . . brilliant and courageous . . . likely to cause a revolution in thinking.”

—William J. Broad

The New York Times “Science Times”

“A pleasure for the rational reader . . . what good books are all about . . . ”

—Associated Press

“If Ward and Brownlee are right it could be time to reverse a process that has been

going on since Copernicus.”

— The Times (London)

“Although simple life is probably abundant in the universe, Ward & Brownlee say,

‘complex life—animals and higher plants—is likely to be far more rare than is

commonly assumed’.”

— Scientiﬁc American , Editor’s Choice

“ . . . a compelling argument [and] a wet blanket for E.T. enthusiasts . . . ”

— Discover

“Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee offer a powerful argument ....”

— The Economist

“[ Rare Earth ] has hit the world of astrobiologists like a killer asteroid ....”

— Newsday

“A very good book.”

— Astronomy

The notion that life existed anywhere in the universe besides Earth was once

laughable in the scientiﬁc community. Over the past thirty years or so, the laugh-

ter has died away . . . . [Ward and Brownlee] argue that the recent trend in scien-

tiﬁc thought has gone too far . . . . As radio telescopes sweep the skies and earth-

bound researchers strain to pick up anything that might be a signal from

extraterrestrial beings, Rare Earth may offer an explanation for why we haven’t

heard anything yet.”

—CNN.com

“ . . . a sobering and valuable perspective . . . ”

— Science

“Movies and television give the (optimistic) impression that the cosmos is teeming

with civilizations. But what if it isn’t? . . . Life elsewhere in the universe may never

reach beyond microbes, which, the authors note, could be much more widespread

than originally believed.”

— Sky & Telescope

“It’s brilliant . . . courageous.... It’s rare in literature and science that a stance goes

so far against the grain.”

—Dr. Geoffrey W. Marcy

Extra-solar planet discoverer

University of California at Berkeley

“It’s a thought that grips most everyone who stares into the unfathomable depths of

a star-speckled night: Is there anybody out there? The odds, say Peter Ward and

Don Brownlee, are probably more remote than you think.”

— The Seattle Times

“Alien life is more likely to resemble the stuff you scrub off the tiles in your shower

than Klingons, Wookies or Romulans, say Ward and Brownlee.”

— Popular Mechanics

“Ward and Brownlee have taken an issue that is much in the public domain and

treated it thoughtfully and thoroughly, but with a lightness of touch that draws

the reader on .... Rare Earth is an excellent book for both specialists and non-

specialists.”

— The Times Higher Education Supplement (UK)

“A provocative, signiﬁcant, and sweeping new book . . . Rare Earth is a fast-paced,

thought-provoking read that I gobbled like popcorn. It’s one of those rare books that

is at once delightful, informative, and important: an end-of-the-millennium synthesis

of science that tackles the central question of our past, place, and destiny.”

— Northwest Science & Technology

“ . . . well thought out and intriguing . . . ”

— Icaru s

“ . . . a startling new hypothesis . . . Highly recommended.”

— Library Journal

“ Rare Earth will surely appeal to those who would dare to disagree with icons Carl

Sagan and George Lucas.”

— San Gabriel Valley Tribune

“ . . . a timely, entirely readable account.”

— Toronto Globe & Mail

“ . . . a stellar example of clear writing . . . ”

— American Scientist

“ . . . thought-provoking and authoritative . . . ”

— Physics Today

“In this encouraging and superbly written book, the authors present a carefully rea-

soned and scientiﬁcally statute examination of the age-old question—‘Are we alone

in the universe?’ Their astonishing conclusion that even simple animal life is most

likely extremely rare in the universe has many profound implications. To the aver-

age person, staring up at a dark night sky, full of distant galaxies, it is simply incon-

ceivable that we are alone. Yet, in spite of our wishful thinking, there just may not

be other Mozarts or Monets.”

—Don Johanson

Director, Institute of Human Origins

Arizona State University

“A fabulous book! If we’re to believe what we see in the movies, extraterrestrials

thrive on every world. But this unique book, written by two of the top scientists in

the ﬁeld, tells a different story. As we know it on Earth, complex life might be very

rare, and very precious. For those of us interested in our cosmic heritage, this book

is a must-read.”

—David Levy

Co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy

“Ward and Brownlee take us on a fascinating journey through the deep history of

our habitable planet and out into space; in the process they weave a compelling ar-

gument that life at the level of an animal should be vastly rarer in the universe than

life at the level of a lowly bacterium.”

—Steven M. Stanley,

Author of Children of the Ice Age and Earth and Life Through Time

The Johns Hopkins University

“Microbial life is common in the universe, but multicellular animal life is rare. A

controversial thesis, but one that is well-researched and well-defended. A must-read

for anyone who is interested in whether life exists beyond Earth.”

—James Kasting

Pennsylvania State University

Rafted ice covering the subterranean ocean of Europa (moon of planet Jupiter), a possible life habitat in

the outer solar system. NASA image from the Galileo spacecraft. Courtesy of NASA.

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