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Sharing the Universe: Perspectives on Extraterrestrial Life
Examines recent scientific discoveries that suggest there may be other life forms in the universe
- GenresNonfictionScience
206 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 3, 2014
I never knew my great-grandfather all that well. When I was young, he was already in his 90s, and had settled down in California, far from my midwestern home. After his death, at the miraculous age of 102, few memories of him remained with me. I learned more about him through the impressions he made on my relatives and the stories they told about him than I ever did in my own personal experience.
I was intrigued then, upon discovering Sharing The Universe in a pile of books in my childhood home, to find a folded sheet of paper under the cover of the book, which fell out when I picked it up. It was a letter thanking my great-grandfather for contributing to the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. The letter was dated March 16, 1999, meaning that my great-grandfather was 98 years old when he became an annual contributor to SETI.
Though it was a small contribution, it made an impression on me. What do you choose to support at the age of 98? I had never heard anything from my relatives regarding my great-grandfather’s beliefs or suspicions of the possibility of extraterrestrial life or intelligence. Yet it was something that, in his final years, he decided to support. And here I was, fifteen years later, reaching for a book that caught my eye and discovering a connection to a great-grandfather that I never really knew.
I’ve been interested in aliens of all types and incarnations for a long time. As a young child, I spent many years dreaming of becoming an astronaut. As I grew older, I fell in love with the depth and richness of the implausible and semi-plausible sci-fi universes of Star Wars and Star Trek, and soon stumbled upon the similarly engaging literary works of Dick, Asimov, Delaney, Herbert, and many others. As I grew older, I became interested in the ways that speculative fiction embodies the cultural attitudes and issues of the present, and am currently researching the ways in which artists today use speculative fiction to reflect current issues of race, gender, and sexuality. Recently, I’ve also discovered that a number of people that I respect and trust, smart people that range from close college friends to professional adults, do firmly believe in UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence.
I do not know if my great-grandfather and I held the same broad fascination with aliens in media, and, supposedly, real life. What I do know is that my great-grandfather, having been born in 1901, had lived through the birth and infancy of human aviation, and always had an eye on the sky. Though his eyesight disqualified him from being a pilot, he was dedicated to the airline industry, developing new technologies that eventually would earn him a place in the Aviation Hall of Fame. He grew up in an age in which flying was unusual and strange, but his wonder at the miracle of human aviation directed him to set his sights on the skies and imagine the possibilities.
It’s this wonder and imagination that provides the basis for speculation in both real life and fictional media. We are a society that is just barely beginning to explore our small corner of the galaxy, and what we know about our universe is far outstripped by what we don’t know. This blank in our knowledge can provide the space to imagine a better flight system, or a fictional society, or the real possibility that we’re not alone in the universe.
Shostak, in Sharing the Universe, treats the subject well. He admits that the existence of extraterrestrial life is entirely theoretical, but adequately supports all his ideas, as well as providing historical details of the development of astronomy through the ages and the search for extraterrestrial life both inside and outside the solar system. He does not aim to prove the existence of life amongst the stars, but rather to present the possibility and examine what that possibility might mean to us. He pokes fun at the illogical portrayal of extraterrestrials in the media with tongue-in-cheek references and witty remarks, and fully acknowledges the odds against making contact in the near future—but still insists that the search is worth it. Evidently, my great-grandfather agreed; I do too.
Though it’s just a book, one that, judging by its condition, he never even opened, it’s revealed a piece of my great-grandfather within me, an attitude and sense of wonder passed down through generations. I see it in my father, and my grandmother, and my other relatives—a blend of common-sense practicality and trust in hard science bound together with the joy of living in a world, in a universe, full of mystery. Mystery that makes it worth it to keep our eyes and ears and minds open. Perhaps I am more closely connected to my great-grandfather than I had thought.
R.I.P. Raymond D. Kelly, 1901-2003
I was intrigued then, upon discovering Sharing The Universe in a pile of books in my childhood home, to find a folded sheet of paper under the cover of the book, which fell out when I picked it up. It was a letter thanking my great-grandfather for contributing to the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. The letter was dated March 16, 1999, meaning that my great-grandfather was 98 years old when he became an annual contributor to SETI.
Though it was a small contribution, it made an impression on me. What do you choose to support at the age of 98? I had never heard anything from my relatives regarding my great-grandfather’s beliefs or suspicions of the possibility of extraterrestrial life or intelligence. Yet it was something that, in his final years, he decided to support. And here I was, fifteen years later, reaching for a book that caught my eye and discovering a connection to a great-grandfather that I never really knew.
I’ve been interested in aliens of all types and incarnations for a long time. As a young child, I spent many years dreaming of becoming an astronaut. As I grew older, I fell in love with the depth and richness of the implausible and semi-plausible sci-fi universes of Star Wars and Star Trek, and soon stumbled upon the similarly engaging literary works of Dick, Asimov, Delaney, Herbert, and many others. As I grew older, I became interested in the ways that speculative fiction embodies the cultural attitudes and issues of the present, and am currently researching the ways in which artists today use speculative fiction to reflect current issues of race, gender, and sexuality. Recently, I’ve also discovered that a number of people that I respect and trust, smart people that range from close college friends to professional adults, do firmly believe in UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence.
I do not know if my great-grandfather and I held the same broad fascination with aliens in media, and, supposedly, real life. What I do know is that my great-grandfather, having been born in 1901, had lived through the birth and infancy of human aviation, and always had an eye on the sky. Though his eyesight disqualified him from being a pilot, he was dedicated to the airline industry, developing new technologies that eventually would earn him a place in the Aviation Hall of Fame. He grew up in an age in which flying was unusual and strange, but his wonder at the miracle of human aviation directed him to set his sights on the skies and imagine the possibilities.
It’s this wonder and imagination that provides the basis for speculation in both real life and fictional media. We are a society that is just barely beginning to explore our small corner of the galaxy, and what we know about our universe is far outstripped by what we don’t know. This blank in our knowledge can provide the space to imagine a better flight system, or a fictional society, or the real possibility that we’re not alone in the universe.
Shostak, in Sharing the Universe, treats the subject well. He admits that the existence of extraterrestrial life is entirely theoretical, but adequately supports all his ideas, as well as providing historical details of the development of astronomy through the ages and the search for extraterrestrial life both inside and outside the solar system. He does not aim to prove the existence of life amongst the stars, but rather to present the possibility and examine what that possibility might mean to us. He pokes fun at the illogical portrayal of extraterrestrials in the media with tongue-in-cheek references and witty remarks, and fully acknowledges the odds against making contact in the near future—but still insists that the search is worth it. Evidently, my great-grandfather agreed; I do too.
Though it’s just a book, one that, judging by its condition, he never even opened, it’s revealed a piece of my great-grandfather within me, an attitude and sense of wonder passed down through generations. I see it in my father, and my grandmother, and my other relatives—a blend of common-sense practicality and trust in hard science bound together with the joy of living in a world, in a universe, full of mystery. Mystery that makes it worth it to keep our eyes and ears and minds open. Perhaps I am more closely connected to my great-grandfather than I had thought.
R.I.P. Raymond D. Kelly, 1901-2003
December 31, 2021
I’m not really sure what was up with Shostak when he wrote this book. I can’t say I enjoyed it (although some parts were interesting). It seems he had a bit of a bone to pick on much of the beliefs regarding extraterrestrial life — as he even noted in one chapter that he was beating a dead horse ad nauseam.
As you might guess this book was a long, speculative expose on SETI and the possibilities of life outside of Earth. However, many of those speculations fall outside the realm of science into many other categories - especially sociology. The problem with that speculation is that each topic on if, how many, what type, how advanced, what beliefs an extraterrestrial society may have are just unknowns. Given that, yes, it is fun to speculate but not for as much filler as Shostak put in the book.
Another issue for me was that there wasn’t a lot of science overall - something that would have made for some deeper understanding of how SETI is engineered or the deeper biological understanding of how life might arise. Also, as you might guess he throws the UFO/UAP topic under the bus which, considering that this book is entirely speculative, could have been an interesting component.
Shostak uses his scientific background as clout for the book - when in actuality, the topic would be better served by sociologists, philosophers, theologians, psychologists, futurists, computer scientists, historians and political scholars.
As you might guess this book was a long, speculative expose on SETI and the possibilities of life outside of Earth. However, many of those speculations fall outside the realm of science into many other categories - especially sociology. The problem with that speculation is that each topic on if, how many, what type, how advanced, what beliefs an extraterrestrial society may have are just unknowns. Given that, yes, it is fun to speculate but not for as much filler as Shostak put in the book.
Another issue for me was that there wasn’t a lot of science overall - something that would have made for some deeper understanding of how SETI is engineered or the deeper biological understanding of how life might arise. Also, as you might guess he throws the UFO/UAP topic under the bus which, considering that this book is entirely speculative, could have been an interesting component.
Shostak uses his scientific background as clout for the book - when in actuality, the topic would be better served by sociologists, philosophers, theologians, psychologists, futurists, computer scientists, historians and political scholars.
August 2, 2022
Apparently hunger has been eradicated, all people live in nice AC homes, like Shostak here, so what's wrong with taxpayers keeping a whole building of Shostaks for the sole pleasure of hearing about magical creatures?
Unlike the swindlers of the Middle Ages, warlock Shostak doesn't even bother to pretend to offer wealth, or protection, just some dry written books for which you have to pay, as if you haven't paid enough ransom to Shostak so far.
Unlike the swindlers of the Middle Ages, warlock Shostak doesn't even bother to pretend to offer wealth, or protection, just some dry written books for which you have to pay, as if you haven't paid enough ransom to Shostak so far.
June 29, 2014
Too many unsupported hand-waving assumptions.
September 6, 2015
author seems to have a chip on his shoulder
August 30, 2019
Good, but limited
Shostak spends some time correctly pointing out how unlikely the Hollywood-style aliens are, and how massively unlikely it is that any ET's would make the trek to Earth. There's a forward by Francis Drake of the Drake equation fame. The book examines the how and why of discovering intelligent life elsewhere from a scientific POV. He does this in a readable fashion but adds little that is new. Fermi's famous "Where are they?" is addressed. My position is that is doubtful that intelligent life forms will find any reason to replicate throughout the galaxy. Reproduction is just part of the delusion say the highest philosophers on this planet. I suspect it might be the same elsewhere. Shostak seems to allow that life is probably plentiful, but intelligent life less so. Most saliently, he points out that the life span of any civilization is probably limited, thereby greatly reducing the probability of contact.
This is a good book, but Aliens: Can We Make Contact with Extraterrestrial Intelligence? (1999) by Andrew J. H. Clark and David H. Clark covers more ground and is more up to date. With so many advances being made today in technology and technique, we need frequent updates to keep abreast of what is going on. I hope Shostak favors us with another book soon where he might speculate on the non-Hollywood forms extraterrestrial life might realistically assume. Could intelligent life be as small as insects? Or microbes? How about non-biological life forms? Energy beings? It might be good if scientists sometimes, especially in the later years of their careers, worried less about possible academic criticism, and let their well-trained and knowledgeable minds run free, and share their speculations with us.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
Shostak spends some time correctly pointing out how unlikely the Hollywood-style aliens are, and how massively unlikely it is that any ET's would make the trek to Earth. There's a forward by Francis Drake of the Drake equation fame. The book examines the how and why of discovering intelligent life elsewhere from a scientific POV. He does this in a readable fashion but adds little that is new. Fermi's famous "Where are they?" is addressed. My position is that is doubtful that intelligent life forms will find any reason to replicate throughout the galaxy. Reproduction is just part of the delusion say the highest philosophers on this planet. I suspect it might be the same elsewhere. Shostak seems to allow that life is probably plentiful, but intelligent life less so. Most saliently, he points out that the life span of any civilization is probably limited, thereby greatly reducing the probability of contact.
This is a good book, but Aliens: Can We Make Contact with Extraterrestrial Intelligence? (1999) by Andrew J. H. Clark and David H. Clark covers more ground and is more up to date. With so many advances being made today in technology and technique, we need frequent updates to keep abreast of what is going on. I hope Shostak favors us with another book soon where he might speculate on the non-Hollywood forms extraterrestrial life might realistically assume. Could intelligent life be as small as insects? Or microbes? How about non-biological life forms? Energy beings? It might be good if scientists sometimes, especially in the later years of their careers, worried less about possible academic criticism, and let their well-trained and knowledgeable minds run free, and share their speculations with us.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
April 3, 2026
Very excited that they mentioned the drake equation AND the book contact
June 1, 2014
For a book of reasonable brevity Seth Shostak convinces even the most skeptical reader that yes, there is probably intelligent life on earth, and yes we are not alone. Considering the age of this book now- it almost gives a slightly disingenuous or cynical view of the possibilities of E.T...
In one sweep of the broom Seth cleans all UFO, crop circle, and similar Alien tom foolery safely into the dust pile- and it seems the author has a way with words appropriate for the context of the novel. Analogies such as "Like a goldfish trying to infer our behaviors..." are both amusing and insightful.
Well written and as scientific as was possible at the time of writing (many assumptions are made)- a joy to read.
#Drake Equation #Fermi's Paradox #Scientific skepticism
In one sweep of the broom Seth cleans all UFO, crop circle, and similar Alien tom foolery safely into the dust pile- and it seems the author has a way with words appropriate for the context of the novel. Analogies such as "Like a goldfish trying to infer our behaviors..." are both amusing and insightful.
Well written and as scientific as was possible at the time of writing (many assumptions are made)- a joy to read.
#Drake Equation #Fermi's Paradox #Scientific skepticism
August 8, 2016
Wasn't a bad read, there were definitely some interesting parts that made me think hard about the universe and it's size but the author is very opinionated and when I was craving for more scientific facts about the cosmos he stops and gives an opinion on extraterrestrial life.
June 8, 2011
A well written expose from an astrophysicist about the scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and how Hollywood has shaped public opinion for better and (mostly) worse.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews