Civilized Life in the Universe: Scientists on Intelligent Extraterrestrials
George Basalla (2006)
ISBN: 0195171810

Despite the ribbing that wild-eyed alien abductees (do they suffer from Stockholm syndrome at the hands of their alien tormentors, one wonders?) receive in the press, many a distinguished scientist has argued the case for the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. In this particularly engaging book, George Basalla, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Delaware, examines the reasons why such brilliant scientific minds believe what many consider to be fanciful. The inevitable consequence of the greatest scientists in history deliberating over whether or not aliens exist is that they argue their case, right or wrong, in a spectacular and often dramatic fashion. Perhaps it was fatigue from tirelessly mapping out the shape of planetary orbits that led Johannes Kepler to conclude that moon dwelling alien engineers were burrowing out bunkers to provide themselves with shelter. Prominent physical scientist Christiaan Huygens went about setting Kepler straight (lots of strong black coffee, perhaps) on his bizarre speculations, only to succumb to his own imaginative calculations on alien life forms. Huygens apparently used the laws of probability to provide proof positive that "planetarians" (never underestimate the power of euphemism to prove a point) on other planets were similar to humans, complete with an appreciation for the visual arts. Despite his invaluable contributions to science, Carl Sagan will most likely be remembered by non-scientists for his musings on extraterrestrials. Sagan wrestled with his on-again-off-again belief in alien populations, but he reasoned that if they did exist they would have a technology at least, if not better, than our own; especially if they had developed the interstellar travel required to visit Earth. But Stephen Hawking disagrees with this concept, stating that intelligence is highly overrated and far from being a necessary adaptation for survival in the universe. Whether it is comparing technology or biology, Basalla shows how easily scientists slip into the habit of anthropomorphizing possible alien civilizations with little or no evidence to bear out such speculations. A clue as to why this may be the case is when Basalla explains the surprising influence that popular culture has had on science. Summing up the evidence, Basalla implies that in its enthusiastic quest to find a neighbor in this lonely universe, humanity is most likely jumping at its own shadow.

The Rock from Mars: A Detective Story on Two Planets
Kathy Sawyer (2006)
ISBN: 1400060109

Once upon a time 16 million years ago, an asteroid smashed into the Martian surface, causing rubble to spew out and disperse into space. Falling under the influence of the Earth's gravitational pull, one of the rocks from the Martian cataclysm eventually crashed down somewhere near the Earth's southern pole. The discovery of that rock by geologist Roberta Score in 1984 was to spark one of the most bitter and spiteful scientific clashes of all time. Space science and technology writer Kathy Sawyer, who has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, brings to life a real life epic tale of the exhilaration, awe and jealousy felt by those who wished to posses the ring… err, rock. In 1993, after Score's find was mistakenly shelved for close to a decade due to some administrative botch-up, NASA geochemist Donald "Duck" Mittlefehldt claimed that the rock was a meteorite from Mars. Further inspection by specialist Chris Romanek revealed that the rock was not only of Martian origin, but that it came complete with the fossilized remains of ancient Martian life! There was only one small drawback: they were wrong. But that fact was not to dampen the initial enthusiasm and hysteria that accompanied their claim. Sawyer relates that when Science magazine broke the news about NASA's claim that they had in their possession proof of Martian life, emotions ran high among academia, government departments and even president Bill Clinton. All, apparently, were working out how they were going to get a piece of that mysteriously lucrative rock action. For some, the rock represented an opportunity to resurrect their fading science careers, while for others it was a chance to ride home to reelection victory basking in the reflected glory of scientific achievement. Sawyer's brilliantly written The Rock from Mars could easily be a best seller as a work of fiction, but what makes it so much more appealing is that it all really happened.