Children of the Stars: Our Origin, Evolution and Destiny

by Daniel R. Altschuler

Book Overview

Are we alone in the Universe? What is our place in it? How did we get here? We have long searched for the answers to questions such as these, and scientists are beginning to find some of the answers. In this beautifully illustrated book, Daniel Altschuler provides the reader with the elements to understand the questions and their answers as far as we know them. He explores subjects from physics and astronomy, to geology and paleontology. Along the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521812127
• ISBN13: 9780521812122
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 4.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.1" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

How chance and challenge shaped our destiny

In his fascinating and engaging book, Prof. Altschuler urges us to take the widest possible view of ourselves and of the vast universe which slowly, precariously, and unknowingly gave us life. He shows that in the most direct and literal way we are "children of the stars," because without their role as cosmic pressure cookers no complex atoms would exist from which to build us. As a physicist, astronomer, and former director of Puerto Rico's Arecibo observatory with it's 1000-ft. radio telescope, the author is superbly qualified to explain how humans have collaborated over the centuries to answer their deepest existential questions: Who are we, where did we come from, and where are we going? This slender, copiously illustrated volume wastes no words and packs an enormous quantity of lucidly-presented scientific information into a nine-chapter timeline beginning not long after the big bang and concluding in the present day with "The dark crystal ball," a discussion of man's ominous and growing ability to damage his home planet beyond repair. Each of the many photographs, illustrations and diagrams gives the impression of having been carefully chosen to make an interesting and easily-comprehended point supporting the book's core narrative. This stands in refreshing contrast to the mediocre stock graphics which often serve as little more than filler in science books aimed at the general reader. With his succinct yet remarkably comprehensive treatment of biological evolution in Chapter 5, the author puts what science has learned about life and its origin on Earth into perspective against the intimidating enormity of the universe. The reader is encouraged to appreciate the extreme improbability of our intelligent life in view of the myriad contingencies that could have irretrievably destroyed its essential precursors at any time in the last few billion years. Yet balanced against this precariousness are the stunning results of nature's relentless, blind experiments. With small random reproductive errors as a source of variation and natural selection as the nonrandom means for preserving helpful changes, evolution has produced (on average) an unbroken chain of increasingly complex life from bacteria to Bach. The uncanny appearance of intentional design is compelling but illusory, since there is overwhelming evidence that no mysterious pre-existing intelligence was required to produce the Homo sapiens example of a sentient creature. Could there be a more inspiring and edifying fact to contemplate? All in all, Children of the Stars is an admirable introduction to the cosmos and the life forms that give it meaning. The book is basic enough for beginners, yet sufficiently detailed and advanced to enlighten serious students of history and science. Perhaps its primary message is that nature's deepest and most baffling secrets will inevitably yield, slowly but surely, to those who approach her with patience, hard work and (above all) open minds

Excellent

From the rising of a beautiful sunny summer day, and enjoying life, to looking up at the stars, and seeing them in a different light. This book was very enjoyable. Most books on Astronomy, Evolution, Atmosphere, Geophysics etc. are basically just that, one subject matter and lightly cover over all others. In this book we are first taken on a journey of those that have contributed in most fields of science from the ground up as well as to the extremes of the universe. It brings tomind the responsibility that all mankind has and how all mankind should have at least a basic knowledge of the sciences. It also becomes apparent that people have become unconcerned ordisinterested in what goes on, on our beautiful planet, and this magnificent universe that we are privileged to be a part of. This book should be read by professionals as well as those who know very little about the sciences. It could very well change peoples mind for the better, and get them interested in real science instead of dwelling on the fictional part of it. Hopefully, after reading this book people will come to realize that they also have a part to play in the world of science. It reminds us that it is time for each one of us to be responsible citizens of the world.

How we came to be here, and whether we are alone

Children Of The Stars: Our Origin, Evolution And Destiny by Daniel R. Altschuler (Director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center's Arecibo Observatory) is a marvelously presented scientific tour through the mysteries of the cosmos, looking at what science has to say about how we came to be here, and whether we are alone in the universe. Written in plain terms easily accessible to the non-specialist general reader, and illustrated with beautiful color drawings and photographs, Children Of The Stars is a remarkable and enthusiastically recommended vision of galactic enigmas and beyond. Highly recommended for personal, school, and community library astronomy reference collections.

A folkbook, for the naturalist at heart.

A friend gave me a copy of Altschuler's book "Children of the Stars". Once I started reading it, it dawns on me that this guy can write. It is a bit of a tour de forces on the scientific foundations of the natural world, but written with clarity, a sense of humor and a great deal of passion. His prose is eminently readable, and I swear I sensed some of Gould, Dawkins, and Alan Lightman ability to describe while preserving focus. This is a book for the scientist and the scientist at heart. The author goes from the first few seconds of the universe to the wanders of molecular biology, showing the threads that ties it all into a unified entity, nature.