The Possibility of Life

Starred review from April 21, 2023

Science journalist Green (series editor, Best American Science and Nature Writing) ponders the age-old question of wondering if Earthlings are alone. She answers it by drawing from the current scientific studies on the search for extraterrestrial life, as well as from the recent discoveries of exoplanets, or planets beyond the solar system. The author explores the elements necessary for life on other planets and for that life to evolve into sentient beings with the ability to communicate and develop technologically. Green intersperses ideas from popular science fiction with findings from the fields of astrobiology, cosmology, philosophy, and the history of science. From television shows and movies (Star Trek; Arrival) to books such as Carl Sagan's Contact, she shows how these works have inspired people to search for other life-forms. VERDICT While many books have been written about the search for extraterrestrial life, Green's blend of scientific facts and science fiction reveals a sense of joy and wonder beyond the usual science-based cosmological studies or speculative fiction about aliens and UFOs. Ultimately, Green's work reflects upon the nature of life and what it means to be human.--Donna Marie Smith

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2023
An insightful examination of life--not only on Earth, but also where it might exist on the myriad of newly discovered planets and distant stars. Since the first exoplanets were discovered in 1992, numerous books have explored the subject. Accounts of the origin of life are also an established genre, but science journalist Green, the series editor of the Best American Science and Nature Writing, casts her net even wider, adding a compelling exploration of the nature of life as a whole. Almost everyone enjoys discussing the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe despite zero evidence to date. Life on Earth appeared surprisingly soon after the young planet cooled, so it may be inevitable under the right conditions--but what those are remains subject to speculation. Rather than taking up space with unnecessary conjecture, Green begins with history, revealing that few thinkers paid attention to the question until Copernicus and Galileo removed Earth from the center of the universe, after which writers imagined life everywhere, including the sun and moon. Twentieth-century advances turned life into a thorny but interesting problem, so scientists largely gave up cosmic fantasies. Most popular writers followed their lead, but Green gives science fiction a major role, which turns out to be a fascinating approach. The horrors of War of the Worlds play a minor role; Green's SF authors are a thoughtful group whose work--from Contact to Solaris to Arrival--explores deep questions. How would life operate without Darwinian evolution? Or light? How would an intelligent plant behave? Is there a language spoken without syntax or through smell instead of sound? Scientists point out that Earth is far from the oldest planet in the galaxy; older stars with older planets would have a few billion years' head start, so we may find them incomprehensible--"not just in the way a person from the Middle Ages couldn't imagine a computer, more like how we can't understand what it's like to be a bat." Ingenious writing about the cosmos and life itself.

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