| The Fifth Miracle: The Search for the Origin and Meaning of Life Contributor(s): Davies, Paul (Author) |
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ISBN: 068486309X ISBN-13: 9780684863092 Publisher: Simon & Schuster OUR PRICE: $16.15 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2000 Annotation: An award-winning, bestselling author shows how recent and imminent scientific discoveries will transform the understanding of life's origins and raise the fundamental question: Are we alone in the universe? 11 drawings. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Philosophy & Social Aspects - Science | Life Sciences - Evolution - Science | Life Sciences - Biology |
| Dewey: 576.83 |
| LCCN: 98033421 |
| Physical Information: 0.75" H x 6.18" W x 9.24" (0.75 lbs) 304 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Are We Alone in the Universe? In this provocative and far-reaching book, internationally acclaimed physicist and writer Paul Davies confronts one of science's great outstanding mysteries -- the origin of life. Three and a half billion years ago, Mars resembled earth. It was warm and wet and could have supported primitive organisms. If life once existed on Mars, might it have originated there and traveled to earth inside meteorites blasted into space by cosmic impacts? Davies builds on recent scientific discoveries and theories to address larger questions of existence: What, exactly, is life? Is it the inevitable by-product of physical laws, as many scientists maintain, or an almost miraculous accident? Are we alone in the universe, or will life emerge on all earthlike planets? And if there is life elsewhere in the universe, is it preordained to evolve toward greater complexity and intelligence? Through his search for answers to these questions, Davies explores the ultimate mystery of mankind's existence -- who we are and what our place might be in the unfolding drama of the cosmos. |
Contributor Bio(s): Davies, Paul: - PAUL DAVIES is Director of the Beyond Center at Arizona State University and the bestselling author of more than twenty books. He won the 1995 Templeton Prize for his work on the deeper meaning of science. His books include About Time, The Fifth Miracle, and The Mind of God. |