A stray entry on this website's Guestbook from David Grinspoon dated
June,
2001 (you can see it here)
led to him commissioning
Borin to produce illustrations and cartoons for his new book: 'Lonely
Planets: the natural philosophy of alien life'
published in the US in
October, 2003 by Harper Collins (ISBN: 0060185406) and in the UK in
November
by Ecco (ISBN 0060185406) Hardcover, 464 pages.
The link was Borin's work on DNA over the years, in the making of
seriously
abstruse science accessible to the layman. The Buddha, garlanded by
flying
saucers, showed up during initial preparations, but sadly had to be cut
during later severe editing of the book:
The award-winning author of
'Venus revealed' examines the most compelling
question of our day...
IS ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE?
Examining scientific data, reviewing historical records and analyzing
folk
beliefs, Grinspoon presents a comprehensive history of ideas about
extraterrestrial
life and offers scientific speculation on where, when and how we may
eventually
find it.
More information on Lonely
Planets can be found on David's
Funky
Science website (see the link here.)
Since 1990, Professor David Harry Grinspoon has studied Venus as a
Principal
Investigator for NASA's Planetery Atmospheres and Venus Data Analysis
Program.
In 1997, his Funky Science project produced the book 'Venus Revealed: a
new look below the clouds of our mysterious twin planet' (ISBN
0-201-32839-9).
He also plays rhythm electric guitar. He lives in Denver.
The double-spread which covers the evolution of the multiverse from Big
Bang to Jimi Hendrix and fission chips (sorry about that).
Sample illustrations from the
book and website:- ----
Winnerof the
2004 PEN center USA Literary Award
With a new
foreword
by the author about 2004's amazing new
Mars Discoveries
REVIEWS
Grinspoon tackles E.T. in a style that will satisfy science nerds and
English
majors alike. Drawing on astronomy, biology, and pop culture, the NASA
adviser
validates the big bang theory, traces the human search for aliens, and
suggests
that extraterrestrial life, at least on a microbial level, is out
there.
Read closely: Illustrations such as the Cosmic Evolution chart that
puts
Hendrix at the peak of complex civilization offer some of the wittiest
insights.
-- Jessica Hilberman (WIRED
Magazine
December, 2003)
Kirkus Reviews says (in a
starred review):
An exuberant, provocative look at the possibility of extraterrestrial
life,
what it might be like, and what it might mean.
In his opening pages, Grinspoon (Astrophysics and Planetary
Science/Univ.
of Colorado; Venus Revealed, 1997) lays down the history of scientific
interest
in life beyond Earth, from the discovery that the planets are worlds
like
ours to the many theories that those other worlds might be inhabited.
The
second section summarizes scientific opinion on ET life, especially as
seen
by the new discipline of astrobiology. Our knowledge about life is
confined
to specimens from our world, Grinspoon reminds us; discovery of even
one
organism on another world would dramatically alter our perspective. He
points
out that the Drake equation, meant to estimate the prevalence of life
in
the universe, depends heavily on the expected lifetime of advanced
civilizations.
On the other side of the debate, Fermi's Paradox states the key
problem:
if intelligent life is common in the universe, why can't we detect it?
Grinspoon
devotes some attention to possible answers, from the worst-case
scenario
(we are alone in the universe) to the possibility that ETs are already
here,
secretly making contact with selected humans. The third portion
explores
the far fringes of the subject, from UFO conspiracy theories and
abductions
to crop circles and mutilations of farm animals. The author resists the
temptation to look down his nose at the true believers, pointing out
that
organized skepticism often has trouble recognizing truths that don't
conform
to the scientific model. He concludes with the suggestion that our
civilization
could be a mere stepping stone to some higher form of consciousness,
and
that truly advanced life forms may be immortal. Wisecracks,
philosophical
musings, and personal anecdotes make his text as lively as it is
authoritative.
The best look at this subject since Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection
(1973).
"Entertaining and
thought-provoking . . . David Grinspoon provides
a masterful synthesis of the history,
science, philosophy, and even theological
implications of extraterrestrial life."- Science
-
-
-
-
-