Other Worlds: Ten Great Mysteries of Science

When the discoveries of the first-confirmed extra-solar planets and evidence for ancient life in a meteorite from Mars were announced within six months of each other in 1996, a spate of titles on the subject of life in the universe became inevitable. Fortunately, this ""work of journalism rather than... scholarship,"" as described by Lemonick (The Light at the Edge of the Universe), senior science writer at Time, favors careful reporting over sensationalism, conveying extraordinarily well both the excitement and the challenge of the famous Drake Equation, which makes a concise mathematical prediction of the number of intelligent, communicating civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. Lemonick explores the Drake Equation term by term, describing in clear and engrossing detail both the human and scientific stories of the technological wizards, like San Francisco State scientists Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler, whose work has taken us to the edge of discovery of other Earth-like worlds, using spectroscopy, the projected NGST (Next Generation Space Telescope) and other innovative technologies and methodologies. Although cautious readers may argue with Lemonick's prediction that we may have proof within a decade or two of life on other planets, few would dispute the power of his energetic work to carry readers to the frontier of scientific knowledge, technological creativity and human curiosity. (May)