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9781617230066

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Graceful... the best book I have read about exoplanets, and one of the few whose language approaches the grandeur of a quest that is practically as old as our genes. -- New York Times Book Review Will leave readers who aren't rocket scientists slack-jawed -- New York Times Newly Released Column Lee Billings, an American science journalist, has written a definitive guide to astronomy's hottest field. -- The Economist This book is sweeping in scope, from the creation of the coal belts in Pennsylvania to the moving details of a single canoe trip across the Canadian wilderness. In these juxtapositions, Billings performs a brilliant sleight of hand...the ending is a poignant reminder that humankind may yet find a way to the stars, but people -- the ones we know, the ones we love, the ones we lose -- are our entire history and our full universe. -- The Washington Post .. .the search for Earth-like worlds orbiting distant stars is just a step in the age-old quest to learn whether or not we are alone in the universe. In his compelling, wide-ranging survey, Billings steps back to look at this broader picture, largely through richly textured portraits of some of the giants of the field...[an] extraordinary tale of scientific discovery. -- Scientific American Science writer Lee Billings deftly captures both behind-the-scenes ructions and landmark discoveries in his tour of this multidisciplinary field, its history and its players. The seamlessly interwoven narrative is strong on big personalities, from astronomer Frank Drake, a pioneer of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) whose work is now overshadowed by glamorous finds in exoplanetary science, to astrophysicist Sara Seager, a scintillating star in that very field. - Nature journal Fascinating... A great outline of the subject, bringing what's often treated as science fiction down to Earth where it can be understood

Fascinating... A great outline of the subject, bringing what's often treated as science fiction down to Earth where it can be understood. --Kirkus Reviews In this elegant book, Billings writes with energy and brilliance about a big question, possibly the biggest of all: are we all alone in the universe or are there other forms of life out there somewhere? His portraits of the scientists in pursuit of answers to this timeless question are realized through the sharpest lens. --RICHARD PRESTON, author of THE HOT ZONE and THE WILD TREES Lee Billings has done something remarkable. He has not just written a deeply-researched account of the search for life beyond our solar system. He's also captured the spirit of the search--the science-fiction-fueled dreams, the joy of discovering planets around other suns, the melancholy realization that our species may not have the long-range focus to complete this mission. The result is a beautiful, richly detailed study of what it means to be alone--for now--in the universe. --CARL ZIMMER, author of A PLANET OF VIRUSES and EVOLUTION Five Billion Years of Solitude is 'awesome' in that term's strictest sense. This mind-blowing book has ideas like a greenhouse has orchids. Yet, at its somber core, this is an engaged meditation on intelligence in the universe--not just our intelligence, but anybody's, anywhere, at any time. --BRUCE STERLING, author of SCHISMATRIX and VISIONARY IN RESIDENCE Billings imbues the quest for other Earths and other technological civilizations with an intimate immediacy that makes our planet and our lives seem all the more precious. From unruly telescopes to political machinations, from environmental degradation to broken friendships, he has seamlessly crafted a portrait that is not only about our looking to the stars but also the place from which we gaze. --CHRISTOPHER COKINOS, author of THE FALLEN SKY and HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATH

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Lee Billingsis a science journalist whosework has appeared in Nature, New Scientist, Popular Mechanics, and Scientific American. He lives in New York. This ishis first book.

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