Overview

The Provocative Classic The Privileged Planet in a Fully Revised, 20th Anniversary Edition! Are we just an accident of cosmic evolution? Is Earth a “lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark” as the late Carl Sagan put it? Or is there more to the story? In this provocative book, Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards marshal a staggering array of scientific evidence to counter the modern dogma that Earth is nothing more than the winner of a blind cosmic lottery.   When The Privileged Planet was first published in 2004, it garnered both praise and rage. But its argument has stood the test of time. In this completely revised 20th anniversary edition, Gonzalez and Richards show how thousands of discoveries of extrasolar planets over the last two decades have only strengthened their case.   They take readers on a mind-expanding journey through our solar system and beyond. Along the way, they explore the mystery of total solar eclipses, the crucial role of water and carbon, the fine-tuning of physics that makes advanced life possible, and the beginning of cosmic time. From our cozy blue planet to the edge of the known universe, they show how earthlike planets are exquisitely fit not only to sustain life but to provide the best platform to discover the hidden wonders of the cosmos.   The Privileged Planet compels us to reconsider our place in the universe. Far from a cosmic fluke, our world is ingeniously designed not just for life but for discovery.

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9781684517022

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Praise for The Privileged Planet: “In a book of magnificent sweep and daring, Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards drive home the argument that the old cliché of no place like home is eerily true of Earth. Not only that, but if the scientific method were to emerge anywhere, Earth is about as suitable as you can get. Gonzalez and Richards have flung down the gauntlet. Let the debate begin; it is a question that involves us all.” —Simon Conway Morris, author of Life’s Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe “This thoughtful, delightfully contrarian book will rile up those who believe the ‘Copernican Principle’ is an essential philosophical component of modern science. Is our universe designedly congenial to intelligent, observing life? Passionate advocates of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) will find much to ponder in this carefully documented analysis.” —Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, author of The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolution of Nicolaus Copernicus “Not only have Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards written a book with a remarkable thesis, they have constructed their argument on an abundance of evidence and with a cautiousness of statement that make their volume even more remarkable. In my opinion, The Privileged Planet deserves very careful attention.” —Michael J. Crowe, Cavanaugh Professor Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame and author of The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750–1900 “The Privileged Planet will surely rattle, if not finally dislodge, a pet assumption held by many interpreters of modern science: the so-called Copernican Principle. Gonzalez’s and Richards’s argument is so carefully and moderately presented that any reasonable critique of it must itself address the astonishing evidence. I expect this book to renew the whole scientific and philosophic debate about Earth’s cosmic significance. It is a high-class piece of work that deserves the widest possible audience.” —Dennis Danielson, Professor of English at the University of British Columbia and editor of The Book of the Cosmos

Author Information

Guillermo Gonzalez, PhD, is a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle. He received his PhD in astronomy from the University of Washington and has worked at the University of Texas, Austin; the University of Washington; Iowa State University; Grove City College; and Ball State University. He is co-author of the second edition of the textbook Observational Astronomy and has published over ninety peer-reviewed scientific articles. He is also co-author of the children’s book The Farm at the Center of the Universe. Jay W. Richards, PhD, is director of the DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family and the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, including two New York Times bestsellers, and has appeared on over a thousand radio and television programs.

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