Extraterrestrial Civilizations by Isaac Asimov (review)

Leonardo, Vol. 16, No. I, pp. 63-78, 1983 Pergamon Press Ltd. Printed in Great Britain Readers are invited to recommend books to be reviewed. In general, only books in English and in French can be reviewed at this stage. Those who would like to be added to Leonardo’s panel of reviewers should write to the Editor, indicating their particular interests. Einstein for Beginners. Joseph Schwartz and Michael McGuinness. Pantheon Books, New York, 1,979.173pp.. illus. Paper, $2.95. ISBN:0394 -73801-2. Reviewed by Nan Canklin’ A curious book. It is one of a ‘documentary comic-book series’, the others being Marxfor Beginners. The Anti-Nuclear Handbook, and Lenin for Beginners. Both the drawing and the words have a distinctly comicbook flavor, sometimes terribly cute. About half the book is devoted to recounting Einstein’s (referred to as Albert) early life and the influences on him, both personal and scientific. It is only when the authors set out to explain Einstein’s theories that the use of the peculiar mode of presentation seems justified. The explanation of the SpecialTheory of Relativity, complete with the usual moving railway cars, is cleverly done, and the drawings in this case are a help. In the thick of it there appears the statement: ‘Don’t get worried. Among physicists there’s a saying, “You never really understand a new theory. You just get used to it.”’ Since I am more or less used to the Special Theory and not at all used to the General Theory of Relativity, I was disappointed to find that the authors only mention its existenceon the last page. It issurely much moredifficult to explain in non-mathematical terms and might also yield to the book’s somewhat flippant approach. There are, throughout the book, quotations from Einstein and other physicists, and they are often apt and amusing. My favorite forms the caption for the frontispiece photograph of Einstein: ‘If relativity is proved right the Germans will call me a German, the Swisswill call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist. If relativity is proved wrong the French will call me a Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German and the Germans will call me a Jew.’ The somewhat strange tone of the book is perhaps best illustrated by the bibliography. Under Magazines: ‘Science magazine in the U.S. has some decent muckraking journalism.’ Science ‘muckraking’? ‘Narure in the U.K. (is) shot through with the conventional view of science as a neutral activity propelled along the paths of logic by the force of special genius.’ Surely not a bad view to be shot through with. Perhaps Einstein is included in the series because of his belief in ‘the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.’ This is, then, not simply a book explaining Einstein’s scientific work, but a mixture of history, politics and science. Extraterrestrial Civilizations. Isaac Asimov. Crown Publishers, New York, 1979. 282 pp. %10.00.Reviewed by Ralph J. Turner** The subject is evocative. Our information is minuscule. But explorative space probes and intellectual development have brought us to a point where we must think about intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Is such life possible or probable? Is it within reach? Most of our activity is in the form of deduction. We know a few facts about stars and planets; we assume some reasonable possibilities and then we project some conservative action. Asimov’s book is certainly not the first on this subject in the last 20 years. Walter Sullivan’s We Are Not Alone (1964) recorded the basic *Clay Road, North Thetford, VT 05054, U.S.A. **Rock Creek Experimental Station, Rt. 2, Box 167, Sheridan, OR 97378, U.S.A. statistics. Carl Sagan and the Russian Shklovskii jointly wrote Intelligent Life in the Universe (1966). a disjointed but richintroduction. Sagan continues to write from different starting points. A recent example is The Dragons of Eden (1977). If a work deals with material that has already been discussed, then it should do one of two things. It should organizetheold materialina new way, perhaps refining...