Life Beyond Earth: The Intelligent Earthling's Guide to Life in the Universe

by Gerald Feinberg, Robert Shapiro

Preface
List of Figures
List of Plates
Credits
Authors' Note About Units & Notation
Life in the universe
Earthlife
The architecture of life; Fable 1; Earth's biosphere and what it eats; How Earthlife evolved; Fable 2; The origin of Earthlife: an unsolved problem
Life
What is life?; Conditions for life
Life beyond Earth
Chemical life; Mars; Fable 3; Life on small, cool objects; Homes for life: the outside universe; Physical life; The creatures of elsewhere; A universe full of life & how to find it; The levels of COSMEL
References
Index

Genres: Nonfiction

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Andrew Breslin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided a lot of interesting ideas about the possibilities for life in the universe. But I couldn't help but be reminded of a song parody about Star Trek featuring the voice of Spock saying "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it." Because this intellectual exploration primarily addresses the possible existence of life forms that are far removed from what we think of as life. Entities that exist on the surface of stars themselves, for example, composed of plasma, preserving and replicating ordered patterns through magnetic interaction. Or maybe life exists within huge gas clouds, or deep in the cores of terrestrial planets like our own, under conditions of incredible pressure. Maybe.

All the speculation on alternative life forms is very interesting, but these weird gas beings are never going to come to Earth and ask us to take them to our leader. I can only hope that if those more traditional and familiar aliens do show up, that they address that request to someone with some sense, otherwise they'll end up sitting down with Glenn Beck. And then doubtless conclude that their own search for other intelligent life in the universe was an abysmal failure.

[Arthur Hinds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though some of the science in this book may be dated, the intellectual exercises here are still of great value. The wonderful variety of life possibilities are explored and the reader is forced to abandon preconceptions. Great read for the inquisitive mind.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is explains the possible variations of life on other planets, covering even more exotic forms such as lifeforms living in nebulas or stars. While its scientific explanations are simplistic, it was highly entertaining, informatative and inspiring for me as a child.