‘The Copernicus Complex: The Quest for Our Cosmic (In)Significance’ by Caleb Scharf
Caleb Scharf’s latest book investigates the tension between the Copernican Principle (that there’s nothing particularly special about us or our planet) and what he insists on calling the Anthropic Principle but would be better described as the Rare Earth Hypothesis (that Earth-like levels of habitability are very rare or, perhaps, even unique). I’ll come back to why I object to it being called the Anthropic Principle later but that really is my only complaint with this excellent book. The book begins with a fairly conventional tour of the historical background to Copernicanism but with the...
Read More‘Oxygen: A Four Billion Year History’ by Donald E. Canfield
Donald E. Canfield, a Professor in ecology and originator of the Canfield Ocean Model, offers an excellent multidisciplinary introduction to how oxygen became so irrevocably intertwined with the history of life on our planet, and also how it has been shaping the geology and atmosphere of Earth. The first chapters cover a wide range of topics connecting oxygen to life on Earth and comparing Earth’s atmosphere and geology to those of several other planets and moons in the Solar System. Canfield explains how oxygen had become tied in with the evolution of life on Earth, but also how life was...
Read More‘Lucky Planet: Why Earth is Exceptional, and What That Means for Life in the Universe’ by Dave Waltham
In Lucky Planet, David Waltham argues that Earth’s teeming, complex biosphere is a rare anomaly in an almost sterile cosmos. From the start, he acknowledges that many of us have strong intuitions to the contrary: isn’t Earth just another planet orbiting just another star? There are trillions of stars; most have planets, many of them in the so-called habitable zone. Why should the one planet on which we happen to find ourselves be special? The answer to this, Waltham explains, is that we find ourselves on it. Wherever intelligent observers arise, they will necessarily find conditions just...
Read More‘Cosmic Heritage: Evolution from the Big Bang to Conscious Life’ by Peter Shaver
Peter Shaver guides the reader through the 13.7 billion year history of the galaxy, spanning the origin of the universe, the origin of life, the possibility of life beyond Earth, and the evolution of consciousness and cognition. The main purpose of the book is to provide an overview of the big questions that remain unanswered in modern science by means of a narrative throughout the history of the universe. A retired astrophysicist, Shaver set out on a quest to broaden his own scientific horizons, writing this book in the process. The book is admirably comprehensive, spanning a truly...
Read More‘Astrobiology: A Very Short Introduction’ by David Catling
As someone with a scientific background in physics but new to the field of astrobiology I found this book to be an excellent introduction to the subject of astrobiology. David Catling manages to explain a large number of complex ideas in a simplified manner making them accessible to a wider audience. The first chapter sets up the field, discussing the difficulties of coming up with a definition for life and how explaining the origin and evolution of life on Earth is integral to astrobiology. He then goes onto the formation of the stars and planets with a focus on the solar system and the...
Read More‘Life Beyond Earth: The Search for Habitable Worlds in the Universe’ by Athena Coustenis & Thérèse Encrenaz
A broad, informative, if not at times slightly whistle-stop review of the current state of astrobiology and planetary exploration. Coustenis and Encrenaz do a fantastic job of bringing the reader up to speed with the most recent astrobiological missions, as well as the resulting developments in our understanding of the history of and current environment on a wide range of worlds in our Solar System and beyond. At times however, the narrative does become lost amidst a sea of facts and figures and very rarely are the thoughts and opinions of the authors expressed, the exception to this being...
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