Iosif Samilovic Shklovskii Knihy

'Careful scientific argument laced with a dash of speculation. It is a heady mixture . . . Sagan and Shklovskii have explored, with great verve and absorbing detail, what could lie outside us'. JOHN DAVY/THE OBSERVER This book, the product of a unique collaboration between a world-famous Russian astronomer and a leading American space scientist, is the first popular and modern discussion of the entire panorama of natural evolution. It covers the origins of the universe, the evolution of stars and planets, the beginnings of life on earth, and the development of intelligence and technical civilisations among galactic communities. While acknowledgedly speculative in many place — in, for example, the detailed discussions of interstellar contact — it is an outstanding summary of the present state of scientific knowledge and philosophical interest in these arresting areas of contemporary research. 'I am overjoyed . . . The brotherhood of science is a vital aspect of contemporary life and may offer one road to safety amid the dangers that press upon us. There mere existence of this book by two such authors under today's conditions is a triumph for those of us who cling to this hope'. ISAAC ASIMOV 'A unique collaboration' NEWSWEEK