What does a martian look like? : the science of extraterrestrial life /

Stewart (mathematics, Warwick Univ., UK) and reproductive biologist Cohen write with hostility toward traditional views on chemistry, physics, and life sciences, making their harshest attack on astrobiology. If readers overlook the hasty dismissal of the second law of thermodynamics, a good segment of traditional chemistry and physics, and astrobiology (which the authors want to replace with "xenoscience"), what remains is an excellent discourse on the meaning of life as it applies to the universe as a whole. The authors consider concepts of alien life ranging from science fiction's depictions of aliens to carefully constructed objective descriptions of likely directions that evolution would be expected to take in an alien environment. Throughout, they present well-reasoned arguments for avoiding an Earth-centered view of life in the universe, and their discussion of universal and parochial characteristics of living organisms is particularly interesting. Their insistence on avoiding a restrictive interpretation of what constitutes life is laudable. Especially for general readers, it is advisable to read something like Stuart Clark's Life on Other Worlds and How to Find It (CH, Sep'00) or David Darling's Life Everywhere: The Maverick Science of Astrobiology (CH, Nov'01) to get a more balanced view of the maligned field of astrobiology. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All levels. P. R. Douville emeritus, Central Connecticut State University