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| The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World | 
| Authors: Peter D. Ward, Donald Brownlee
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $3.98
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New (22) from $3.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 208280
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0805075127
Dewey Decimal Number: 550
EAN: 9780805075120
ASIN: 0805075127
Publication Date: January 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! Has a publisher remainder mark. 2004 Paperback.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 26 | | NEXT » |
 Mediocre October 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I recently came upon two other books by Mr. Ward in a discount bookstore, and, prodded, by their subject matters, decided to give both a chance. The first book was published in 2002, and was co-authored with a Donald Brownlee. It is called The Life And Death Of Planet Earth: How The New Science Of Astrobiology Charts The Ultimate Fate Of Our World, and is a followup to the duo's earlier Rare Earth. The second book is 2005's Life As We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search For (And Synthesis Of) Alien Life.
On the positive side, both books are better works than Gorgon. On the negative side, neither are, in any way, shape nor form, first class books of science, although both books fail for different reasons. That stated, let me just comment on a problem many science books have, and that is their lengthy subtitles. Most are simply pretentious, and as is the case with the second book, was the parenthetical really necessary, especially considering that NASA's search for alien life really has little to do with ward's book, which is more or less Ward's own pat on the back for believing he has come up with new ideas and classifications for life on earth, even though he has not, to this time, offered his `research' up to peer review; instead trying to gain public acclamation for his ideas, so many of which are retreads from not only earlier speculations by scientists, but from science fiction writers as early as the 1930s. This seems to be a recurring problem in Ward's books- his own overweening belief in his scientific knowledge, and a narcissism devoted to his own existence above the science he examines.
Fortunately, while that infects a good deal of Life As We Do Not Know It, it is far less recurrent in his co-authored text, The Life And Death Of Planet Earth. Still, even that book has some manifest flaws. Chief among them is the reliance on one of the oldest logical fallacies- that being the Fallacy of Uninterrupted Trends. While this may be a necessity for science fiction, for science fact, it's inexcusable. The idea behind Ward's and Brownlee's book is that life on earth- at least complex life, has only a few hundred million years to go, at best, before the earth slowly reverts, over the next five to seven billion years, to former states it had during its infancy, with bacterial life being the last thing remaining, as the sun becomes a red giant and burns earth to a cinder. In short, while the physical mass of the planet is still less than half its eventual age, life as we know it is in senescence
These predictions are based upon supposed `known facts,' which they see as rising levels of certain gases in the earth's atmosphere, and an increase in the brightness of the sun. Yet, the patterns of star development are still in their infancy, and life, more complex than it was in the past (although the duo gives some arguments against that- complexity in terms of diversity vs. in terms of individuals and species), also seems to exhibit a greater stranglehold over the biosphere than was previously thought. By its nature, evolution is unpredictable, so how future life might evolve- especially if aided by our superhuman descendents, to cope with such changes is a crapshoot, at best. In short, the arguments used by Ward and Brownlee are akin to reading an ancient text claiming that the moon will never be reached.
 Fascinating read.... July 11, 2008
"The Rare Earth" is, along with Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel," one of the two or three most interesting books I have ever read. "The Life and Death of the Planet Earth" is a fascinating compliment to The Rare Earth" that makes you feel like you were in a dark room of ignorance about life and the cycle of life on earth and then someone turned on the lights and you look around and suddenly it all makes sense. As a non-scientist (lawyer) I found the book immensely enlightening and easily readable. I would not only highly recommend this book, I think it should be mandatory reading, along with "The Rare Earth," for every high school student everywhere. Truly an enjoyable and rewarding read.
 Very good read September 17, 2007
Some parts of this book repeat several times (could have been edited better), but it is an eye opening book. The latest theories are represented here in a very logical progression. Very enjoyable and educational read.
Metric Conversion Chart February 22, 2007
I had a dream that I was transported 30 million years into the future but there were no humans; not anywhere ! Compared to 'Rare Earth' the writing is more general in nature, almost as if the book were written very quickly. I wanted the english measurements vs the metric ones being the layman that I am which I on occasion got but I'm too lazy to make conversions. ie: -65 degrees celsius is the temperature of the stratosphere when it begins but -65 degrees celsius has no meaning to me. I want to know the fahrenheit degrees and since I'm lazy, I still haven't done the conversion because I'm not a college student. Comparing the death of planet earth to Peter's dying grandmother was very sad and a little creepy. The anology may turn out to be right on the money but writing about it even now I'm feeling creeped out. There are a good number of ideas presented but not in any real detail. An example would be the intriguing notion of when plate tectonics might end due to a slowing of upwardly rising heat. A little more background would have been appreciated because the idea is so interesting but these are the kind of things that happen when you're writing to a strict deadline. I'm giving the book 4 stars because it's a decent generalist read. If you're not lazy like me you might even consider doing the conversions and following up the sections of interest with further research.
Earth systems logical thoght processes. July 11, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The ideas exposed in this book may not be shared by all astrobiologists/scientists however I find its Earth systems approach highly valuable, taking the reader through the thinking process behind most current astrobiological hypothesis on the evolution of a habitable planet. Thus it is not the conclusions it reaches which I personally find of the highest value but its underlying logical thought process and the manner in which the author approaches as well the non specialized reader by ways of powerful analogies. Ihrenes 2006.
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