In this exhilarating new book Paul Davies, bestselling author of The
Mind of God and The Goldilocks Enigma, reveals the very latest findings
in our search for alien life in the universe.
On April 8, 1960, a young American astronomer, Frank Drake, turned a
radio telescope toward the star Tau Ceti and listened for several hours
to see if he could detect any artificial radio signals. With this
modest start began a worldwide project of potentially momentous
significance. Known as SETI—Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence—it
is an amalgam of science, technology, adventure, curiosity and a bold
vision of humanity's destiny. Drake has said that SETI is really a
search for ourselves—who we are and what our place might be in the
grand cosmic scheme of things.
Yet with one tantalizing exception, SETI has produced only negative
results. After millions of hours spent eavesdropping on the cosmos
astronomers have detected only the eerie sound of silence. Paul Davies
asks, what does that mean? Are we in fact alone in the vastness of the
universe? Is ET out there, but not sending any messages our way? Might
we be surrounded by messages we simply don't recognize? Is SETI a waste
of time and money, or should we press ahead with new and more sensitive
antennas? Or look somewhere else? And if a signal were to be received,
what then? How would we—or even should we—respond?
The Eerie Silence takes us on a journey through close encounters
past and present, looks towards the future, and examines the
foundations of carbon-based life on this planet to question whether we
will ever find it anywhere else.
About The Author
Paul Davies has achieved an international reputation for his ability
to explain the significance of advanced scientific ideas in simple
language. He is the author of some twenty books and has written and
presented a number of TV and radio programmes. He has also won the
prestigious Templeton Prize, the world's largest award for intellectual
endeavour, and a Glaxo Science Writers' Fellowship. He is currently
Professor at Arizona State University as well as the Director of
BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science.
Industry Reviews
A magnificent cosmic tour d'horizon of what we know, and what we might yet encounter out there, in the apparent emptiness of deep space -- Christoper Hart * Sunday Times * An immensely readable investigation of the SETI enterprise -- Michael Hanlon * New Scientist * Davies is the most engaging of writers -- Clive Cookson * FT * In an area more given to fabulation than fact, [Paul Davies'] level-headedness is positively refreshing. If you ever start worrying about why no one is talking to us, this is the book to calm you down -- David Papineau * Observer *