The Search for Life Continued: Planets Around Other Stars Author:Barrie W jones Publisher: Springer-Praxis 2008 ISBN:978-0-387-76557-0 Price: £19.99 (Pb), 278pp
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In September the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) held a seminar entitled ‘Project Daedalus: Three Decades On’. This re-examined the famous interstellar probe study, carried out by the BIS in the mid-1970s, updating what has been learned since in terms of exoplanets, technological advances and how these new developments might influence any future designs. I took this book with me to show some of the delegates. An astronomer and planetary scientist there immediately felt it would be an ideal text for his students. That comment in itself speaks volumes about Barrie Jones’ work.

The author, an Open University professor, covers a huge spectrum of science: physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology and planetary science. Jones guides the reader very logically outwards, from the basics of evolution on Earth, the classical habitable or ‘Goldilocks’ zone, the various methods of searching for exoplanets, known exoplanetary systems and potential undiscovered systems, to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, speculating on the forms of aliens possible based on their local stellar and planetary environments. This last section, by necessity, is quite slim!

The prose is easy to read; text boxes set out in more detail concepts introduced in the chapter you’re engaged with. There is a very good glossary and selection for further reading at the back. Illustrations – colour and black and white – comprise a mixture of photographs, diagrams and computer-generated artwork.

Speaking personally, whilst I enjoyed it I feel with my level of scientific education it is probably the sort of book which would benefit from a second reading. I struggled with many of the topics, although in fairness this may have been as I was encountering cascades of information: this is not a book to read in a few sittings. One thing a publication like this illustrates is how much astrobiology is a multi-faceted diamond, and no single individual can master the differing aspects involved in this multidisciplinary science.

Malcolm Smith