Rare Earth

Contents Preface to the Paperback Edition Preface to the First Edition Introduction: The Astrobiology Revolution and the Rare Earth Hypothesis Dead Zones of the Universe Rare Earth Factors 1 Why Life Might Be Widespread in the Universe 2 Habitable Zones of the Universe 3 Building a Habitable Earth 4 Life’s First Appearance on Earth 5 How to Build Animals 6 Snowball Earth 7 The Enigma of the Cambrian Explosion 8 Mass Extinctions and the Rare Earth Hypothesis 9 The Surprising Importance of Plate Tectonics 10 The Moon, Jupiter, and Life on Earth 11 Testing the Rare Earth Hypotheses 12 Assessing the Odds 13 Messengers from the Stars References Index

"...likely to cause a revolution in thinking..."The New York Times "...[the book] has hit the world of astrobiologists like a killer asteroid..."Newsday (New York) "...a sobering and valuable perspective..."Science "...a startling new hypothesis..."Library Journal "...Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee offer a powerful argument..."The Economist"...provocative, significant, and sweeping..."Northwest Science & Technology "...a stellar example of clear writing..."American Scientist