(posted on my blog: davenichols.net)

Planetary scientist David Grinspoon presents a robust presentation centered on alien life in the universe. An interesting and popular subject, this book was somewhat underwhelming overall, though it had some interesting and enjoyable passages.

While the book presumes to be a "natural philosophy" of the subject, the actual philosophy in the book is largely contained in a few sections of a few chapters. Most of the book describes historical or scientific fundamentals necessary for understanding the alien discussion, including histories of planetary science, alien philosophy, and biology. Except for the history of alien philosophy, which was the best part of the book for me, the history and science sections were good but not great. And while it is necessary to understand these basics, Grinspoon takes several hundred pages to get to his "philosophy". By that time, the decent narrative felt overly-drawn out.

Still, the book is a decent read for anyone with an interest in this sort of subject matter. But don't expect too much if you are an experienced reader, Grinspoon doesn't cover a great deal of original ground here, and except for the history of alien theories, I've read much better treatments of the history and science matters. Additionally, SETI dominates much of the discussion in a way which I found a bit off-putting, though I honestly can't say why. I like Grinspoon and love his enthusiasm, but I came away from Lonely Planets with a sense that it needed to be condensed and reorganized significantly. Three stars. ( )

Wow, this was quite a book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but definately to anyone who is interested in astrobiology. The author is a great writer, and writes with a sense of humor. I enjoyed the first two sections, History and Scienece, the most with the third section, Belief, only a little bit less. One of the best books I have read in a long time. ( )

There is about one book a decade that when you finish it you just sit there for 10 minutes and think "Wow!" Trinity by Leon Uris was such a book. As was How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn. Lonely Planets is another that did that to me. I finished it after reading for an hour and a half in a coffee shop. My coffee was cold. My leg had fallen asleep. And my mind was in some other place. Wow, indeed.

This is a book that was recommended to me by an astronomer who had been reading my book list and thought I would enjoy this book. It is an absolutely honest and unflinching look at planetary science today. (Well, as it was in 2003. As I read the book I kept finding news articles that relate to the story.) This is a book that unsettled me because it changed some of my ideas about what I thought I knew and believed. I hope Grinspoon plans a sequel. It will be VERY high on my list! ( )

440 pages of jaunty (sometimes smartassy) writing. A better astrobiology book than the Ben Bova effort. (www.funkyscience.net)