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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

Throughout the twentieth century, from the furor over Percival Lowell's claim of Canals on Mars to the sophisticated Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), otherworldly life has often intrigued and occasionally consumed science and the public. Is our species biologically unique - in the sense of mind and intelligence - in the universe? Are there other histories, religions, and philosophies outside of those on Earth? Do extraterrestrial minds ponder the mysteries of the universe? The attempts to answer these often-asked questions form one of the most interesting chapters in the history of science and culture, and The Biological Universe is the first book to provide a rich and colorful history of those attempts during the twentieth century.

(Extracted from the dust jacket)

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Contents.

-List of Illustrations and Tables.

-Acknowledgments.

-Abbreviations.

-Introduction.

-1. From the Physical World to the Biological Universe: Democritus to Lowell.

-2. Plurality of Worlds and the Decline of Anthropocentrism.

-3. Life in the Solar System: The Limits of Observation.

-4. Planetary Systems: The Limits of Theory.

-5. Extraterrestrials in Literature and the Arts: The Role of Imagination.

-6. The UFO Controversy and the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis.

-7. The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Extraterrestrial Context.

-8. SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

-9. The Convergence of Disciplines: Birth of a New Science.

-10. The Meaning of Life: Implications of Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

-11. Summary and Conclusion: The Biological Universe and the Limits of Science

-Select Bibliographical Essay.

-Index.

OUR REVIEW

In such special moments as those we are living today, when hardly a few months ago repeated vestiges of extraterrestrial ancient life on Mars have been announced, a book like the one we have in our hands is doubly suitable, not only to update the question of the existence of other living beings in the universe, but also to examine the consequences of all kinds, social, scientific, etc., that the real presence of other creatures would mean for us. This is then a rigurous work, where its author narrates from most viewpoints and with a historical perspective, everything that has to do with extraterrestrial life and the subsequent debate developed throughout this century.

Dick flees from the topics we are so used to hearing, and reviews in a most interesting way each one of them, putting them in their place. Besides providing us with a great deal of information, his history of the debate on extraterrestrial life has the virtue to cool down those who are too optimistic about this, as well as heat up those who are wholly sceptical in this respect. No doubt, this is a work that has a great value for those who want to study this theme, and also for the general readership.