No Other Eden
Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe
by Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee
New York: Copernicus; Springer-Verlag, 2000
(333 pages; $27.50, cloth)
by Guillermo Gonzalez
Peter D. Ward, a paleontologist, and Donald Brownlee, an astronomer, are both at the University of Washington. Both are well known in their respective fields: Ward has written several books on life extinctions in Earth history; Brownlee is head of the Stardust mission to a comet, and his name has been applied to interplanetary dust particles collected in the Earth’s atmosphere—Brownlee particles. As a colleague in the same department, I know both scientists well. (I see Brownlee almost every day.) The three of us are currently working on a technical paper on habitable zones in the universe.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
Six print issues (one year) of Touchstone, plus full online access and PDF downloads for only $39.95.
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
31.6—November/December 2018
on Futility & the Open Door to Deliverance by Patrick Henry Reardon
37.5—Sept/Oct 2024
A Battle Plan for Peace While Growing Old by Anthony Esolen
22.5—June 2009
C. S. Lewis on Civilization & the Natural Order by Timothy L. Hall
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
