Our Cosmic Story: Exploring Life, Civilization, and the Universe

by Mathew Anderson

Our Cosmic Story is a big picture view of our Universe and the potential it has for life and civilization. We start by looking back at the story of Earth and its great civilizations, understand how life itself evolved Homo sapiens, review the challenges and risks that a species entails in developing a civilization and growing into a space-fairing entity, and then explore the makeup of the Universe to gain insight into the chance of other sentient creatures living elsewhere.

The quest to reach beyond the confines of our world is a natural consequence of being a very small part of a grand and dynamic Universe. Looking up at the sky instills within us some expectation that we are not alone, and we wonder if there is not something amazing happening out there somewhere. This sense of awe may not be exclusive to Earthlings; for in a galaxy truly far away, there could be creatures with similar musings as they peer towards our corner of the Universe. The idea that we share a common experience with others in the cosmos is something to keep in mind while reading this book.

Chapter Overview

Introduction
Chapter 1: Setting the Stage for Life and Civilization
Chapter 2: Evolution and the Building Blocks of Life
Chapter 3: The Rise of Civilization on Earth
Chapter 4: The Engine of Modern Civilization
Chapter 5: A House of Cards: The Downfall of Civilization
Chapter 6: Exploring the Cosmos
Chapter 7: The Boundaries of Habitability
Chapter 8: The Scale of Things
Chapter 9: Is Anybody Out There?
Summary

“The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what we know. Recently, we have waded a little out to sea, enough to dampen our toes or, at most, wet our ankles. The water seems inviting. The ocean calls.” - Carl Sagan

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2017

About the author

After his memoir about teaching English in China, 'China and the High Roads Beyond', Mathew worked on 'Our Cosmic Story' (now also published with associated short stories here on Goodreads).

Creating Our Cosmic Story was an amazing journey that started by speaking with experts in a multitude of fields. The new book describes the formation of our solar system, biological evolution on Earth, historical civilizations and the eventual exploration of space, to the chance of life and civilizations to occur elsewhere in the cosmos.

You can learn more about Our Cosmic Story at: http://www.ourcosmicstory.com

Reviews

[P.S. Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really a great book, whether or not you know much about not only our world but what is out in the cosmos, you will learn something in this collection of informative text. The author has done a lot of work and readers should be thankful, because now they can learn so much in this book packed full of knowledge. The writing is well done and concise. I found the book interesting, well written and definitely one to grab.

[Siddharth Panigrahi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, my first appreciable one after 5 extremely "non-mainstream" works.....(chuckle). One of my friends asked me to re-orient my privacy settings (which I did for the sake of both myself and my peers).
Hell of a ride.....starting from the beginning of time, delving into evolution of the universe from a state of extreme activity to the relatively stabler one of now. It takes you deep into the philosophy of existence and races you past the very fabric of counter-sustenance between man and nature. You get the most briefest of accounts ever on the history of mankind and how we ascended the stairs of enlightenment and exceeded the biological boundaries set for our species. The modern man defines the pinnacle of evolution for all the settlements that have ever seen the light of day on this planet.....The book culminates on our advent towards the final frontier-space and the unavoidable prospect of one day leaving our home planet and escaping into the unknown realms of the multiverse. As the author concludes, this is not a luxury but a necessity through which we will redeem ourselves and make our race everlasting or crumble into the very debris of the astounding civilisation that we have created like all the magnificent ones prior to us.

[Benjamin Valimont · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book a better rating but it hasn’t earned it. First, more than half the book is spent on topics other than space. Except for the introductory chapter, it is not until chapter 6 where the book takes up a space based subject. Second, there are too many subjects that were only touched on when the book needed them to be fleshed out. The book attempts to cover the entire history of human civilization in a single chapter. That topic is too broad to be adequately covered in an entire book let alone a single chapter. Third, the book assumes that no new technologies or techniques will be developed to open previously inaccessible resources.

[Michael A. Simmons, Sr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK.... but not great

The author puts forth a good effort, but lacks the writing skills to create a great book. Professional editing would help. Also, many "facts" that the author puts forth are simply false and poorly researched. From the "millions" who died at Chernobyl to the "Air Force" Captain (he was a Marine) in Independence Day. The premise of the book was good, the execution, not so much. I'm confident that the writer will improve with his future efforts and with the help of a skilled editor.

[Satya Raaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of the book explains what you will learn in this book. This is a must read if you want to take those first steps in exploring answers for the "big questions". Although be warned, you are not going to find any answers here. Just guesses on what they might be and a lot more new questions. For that alone you should read it! Have fun!

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and comprehensive overview of some big questions.