This book is divided, fairly conventionally, into three sections, the first covering the astronomical background, the second covering the origin and evolution of life, and the third covering intelligence and intelligent activities. The first chapter on stars, galaxies and the origin of chemical elements provides a brief summary of stellar populations, including the hypothesized Population III stars, molecular clouds and stellar evolution in a reasonable level of detail. The second chapter moves onto planet formation, building on the earlier discussion of accretion disks in the context of star formation to discuss planet formation in the Solar nebula and planet migration; it then focuses on the Earth–Moon system, the heavy bombardment of the early Solar System and the differentiation of the Earth. The third chapter on the search for extrasolar planets discusses the different search methods and includes a section on circumstellar disk observations. The fourth chapter discusses habitable zones around different spectral classes of stars and atmospheric gas retention, and gives a good account of the concept of the continuous habitable zone, the carbon cycle, greenhouse/glaciation climates, the stabilization of the Earth’s inclination by the Moon and the Drake equation. The fifth chapter, the first of the second section, on life and its origin on earth, discusses the basics of biochemistry and biochemical processes, the molecular clock and the tripartite division of life. A short section (which I felt could have been longer) on the last common ancestor, the origin of the genetic code, Urey–Miller experiments and the RNA world concludes the chapter. The sixth chapter on evolution was the best chapter of the book – following a brief foray into evolution, endosymbiosis and the emergence of eukaryotes were covered well, including the oxygen catastrophe, mitosis/meiosis, multicelluarity and a rapid discourse on the evolution of multicellular creatures. Mammalian evolution was covered including the evolution of primates and its climatic context. From this followed a brief description of the emergence of australopethicines and hominids, brain evolution, and tool use. In particular, the Gould/Conway Morris debate is covered, the author leaving the last word to Conway Morris. I personally do not agree that this argument is settled – indeed, I would suggest that evolutionary convergence is applicable only to physical morphologies and not to behavioural repertoires. Behavioural repertoires are not subject to the same physical constraints as morphology and behavioural strategies often evolve despite physical constraints, for example sexual selection. The seventh chapter on the search for extraterrestrial life considers the possibility of life within our and other solar systems, with an emphasis on Mars concluding with a short critique of UFO sightings (which I think was unnecessary). The eighth chapter on the future of mankind envisages the future development of space flight and humanity’s expansion through the Solar System, including O’Neill colonies, interstellar voyages, the creation of artificial life forms and the development of intelligent robots. The chapter concludes with showstoppers to this vision such as bolide impacts, climatic change, astronomical catastrophes and, of course, humanity’s greatest enemy, itself. The ninth and final chapter considers the Fermi paradox in relation to the Drake equation and the SETI quest.

I had mixed feelings about this book. In one respect, it encapsulated a quick survey of relevant fields relating to the question posed in the title. Although a laudible attempt, the vast expanse of coverage inevitably meant some significantly sketchy treatment. I felt that the author was so severely constrained by the page limit that a scalpel had been ruthlessly applied. Often, something tantalizing would crop up and very little indication was given as to where more information could be sought. Furthermore, things appeared where I did not expect them or things were covered more than once, for example Drake equation was covered in two separate places. There was nothing particularly novel about the book either – in many respects it was similar in coverage to so many popular science and first-year textbooks in astrobiology. My feeling was of a book that could not figure out its target audience – a hybrid between a popular science book and a technical tract, satisfying neither. That said, I liked the coverage of some of the biological aspects, particularly multicellularity and the evolution of mammals/primates, and felt that this could have been expanded further as these aspects could have added a stamp of uniqueness to an astrobiology text that generally covered microbiology. The book included a reference list that could have been larger given the coverage (and it contained too many Internet references – an academic bugbear of mine). However, I do not wish to give the reader a false impression – despite my reservations, this is a good book with some interesting tit-bits but it hovers uncertainly between popular and professional science. It could potentially fill a niche as a supporting text to an undergraduate astrobiology course, rather than as a primary text.