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Title: Beyond UFOs: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Its Astonishing Implications for Our Future
ISBN: 0691135495
Author:
Jeffrey Bennett
Publicate Date: 2008-02-24
Publish: 2008-02-24
List Price: $26.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $16.77
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $10.98
Amazon Merchant Price: $19.67
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Fascinating book!
This is not a book about UFO! Rather, it is a fascinating book recommended to laymen who like to explore "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life". In a scientific approach, Bennett reviewed 'what', 'where' and 'how' to look for life in the universe. The first step in such a search is to understand what we are searching for (what is 'life'?). The next step is to decide where to look? (in the solar system and among the stars). With the Allen Telescope Array in Hat Creek, California, our chances are better than ever to listen for alien communications.
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2: With much speculation
With much speculation and lots of generally known scientific facts. The factual information is generally known and accessible to anyone who has had a minimum of formal scientific exposure. The book is obviously written for the layman and uses a very elementary approach on the subjects of biology and astronomy. Perhaps this was the intended approach as a means of reaching a general audience. Do UFOs exist? Maybe, but probably not (he is a skeptic). Is there life elsewhere in the universe? There is a high statistical probability of this being true but maybe not (cf. 'Rare Earth' Argument). Conclusions?? Who knows?? I did not learn anything from this book and that was somewhat of a disappointment. I am sure the author is a fine textbook writer but I was not looking for a textbook. Also, There were no "astonishing implications" as advertised.
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3: Great Book
This book is very scientific in it's approach to the topic. I learned a lot of interesting facts about other worlds, the universe and biology. Very well written. Great book!
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4: A good introduction for the very general reader
I do think this is a good book, though (like another reviewer) I skipped much of it for reasons given below, and have a few gripes.
Firstly, as the title only half-implies, it isn't about UFOs at all, but about astrobiology - that is, the scientific study of what the conditions might be for life (even just microbes) to exist on other planets or moons. Bennett concludes, as do many others, that it's quite likely there is a huge amount of intelligent life out there in the universe.
Though the book is apparently aimed at the general (adult) reader, its tone and content is in parts somewhat dumbed down, as if for high school students. For example, we are informed that the name Ptolemy (the Greek astronomer) is pronounced 'TOL-e-mee', and are astonished to learn that a light-year is the distance light travels in a year. There are patient, somewhat lengthy explanations of evolution, the history of astronomy, scientific method, etc. which I had to skip, and much of which educated readers could be expected to have a fair grasp of already, particularly if they have any interest in science.
On a minor point, Bennett adopts the annoyingly PC habit of referring to all people of unspecified gender (in his made-up examples) as 'she', even at one point calling a waiter 'she' - wouldn't such a person be a 'waitress'?
Finally, Bennett repeatedly pleads for scientists and religious people not to fall out with each other, making the somewhat strong claim that science is perfectly compatible with the Bible, even for fundamentalists. But surely the book of Genesis, and biblical miracles, aren't compatible with science? I assume Bennett means they are if you interpret them non-literally; that is, everything in the Bible is true, except for the bits that aren't. But given such a weak criterion of compatibility, almost anything is compatible with science; even Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.
It seems that Bennett is largely motivated here to appeal to Christian fundamentalists in the US, and devotes a fair amount of space to the topic of 'intelligent design'. It is understandable but a shame he has to do this: in places such as Europe, where more sanity prevails, such creationists barely exist, and are almost universally regarded as dangerous nutcases - and rightly so.
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5: For the scientifically illiterate
This review will probably sound elitist to a lot of readers. Oh, well. I call 'em as I see 'em.
If you're virtually scientifically illiterate and believe in flying saucers and don't believe in evolution, I highly recommend this book. It will be a profoundly educational experience and a real eye opener for you. For you, I rate this book five stars. It is scientifically accurate and it will be like a baby eating pabulum, it will be so easy for you to understand it. Just have an open mind, that's all that's required.
For the scientifically literate, you're going to have to wade through almost 200 pages of stuff you already know like the back of your hand. There will be long sections you barely skim because you'll be so familiar with the material, like what DNA is and how the various parts of the cell work, or how big the universe is and how common planets are. Yawn...
I found about 20 pages in the whole book that were actually worth reading, but chances are you're familiar with that stuff, too. The details he gives on some of the moons of the gas planets filled in a few gaps in my knowledge and his discussions about why the atmosphere of Venus is so heavy (because the carbon dioxide was unable to form carbonate rocks due to the high temperature) also filled in a few gaps. There's bound to be a few things that you may have missed in your perusal of dozens of other books on popular science. But how much of it directly addresses the interesting questions posed on the dust jacket? What is the probability that extraterrestrials are "out there" and know about us, and why haven't we detected them? He goes to lengths to show that UFOs do not actually report on these extraterrestrials, and why, but you've read all this stuff elsewhere many times before.
It's only in the last 10 pages that he discusses the Fermi Paradox: "Where is everybody?" I was hoping the *whole book* would be a discussion of this question. That's what the scientifically literate person actually needs, not this pabulum. I'll give the book 4 stars, 5 for the scientifically illiterate, and 3 for the rest of us, because at least the science is good (if tediously elementary) and up to date, even if the book itself says very little about where all the aliens out there actually are.
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