Taxi from Another Planet: Conversations with Drivers about Life in the Universe

Insightful, good-humored essays on the possibilities of alien life and the uses of space exploration, based on an astrobiologist's everyday conversations with his fellow humans-taxi drivers, to be precise. If you've ever sat in the back seat of a taxi, you know that cabbies like to talk. Sports or politics, your job or theirs, taxi drivers are fine conversationalists on just about any topic. And when the passenger is astrobiologist Charles Cockell, that topic is usually space and what, if anything, lives out there. Inspired by conversations with drivers all over the world, Taxi from Another Planet tackles the questions that everyday people have about the cosmos and our place in it. Will we understand aliens? What if there isn't life out in the universe? Is Mars our Plan B? And why is the government spending tax dollars on space programs anyway? Each essay in this genial collection takes questions like these as a starting point on the way to a range of insightful, even poignant, observations. Cockell delves into debates over the inevitability of life and looks to both human history and scientific knowledge to consider what first contact will be like and what we can expect from spacefaring societies. He also offers a forceful argument for the sympathies between space exploration and environmentalism. A shrewd and entertaining foray into the most fundamental mysteries, Taxi from Another Planet brings together the wisdom of scientific experts and their fellow citizens of Earth, the better to understand how life might unfold elsewhere.

About the Author :
Charles Cockell is Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh, where he founded the UK Centre for Astrobiology. He formerly worked at NASA, the British Antarctic Survey, and the Open University. He has studied microbial life in many of Earth's extreme environments and published a variety of popular and academic books about life in the universe and the exploration of space.

Review :
Conversations with cab drivers lead to discussions about space exploration in this fun outing from astrobiologist Cockell…He does a great job blending cutting-edge science with philosophical considerations. This is a joy to read. Timely…Cockell makes us consider a gamut of new possibilities that boggle the mind. The single most interesting space book I’ve seen this year…I remain very grateful for Taxi from Another Planet, a book I will be returning to and recommending to others. While Cockell gives an insider, science-based understanding of space and its exploration, he’s not shy in offering his opinions, such as there being no Planet B to flee to after we finish wreaking havoc on this one. Far from being at odds, he persuasively argues, environmentalism at home and exploration in space are natural allies working to understand and protect biological life. Cockell gives readers a good, basic (and easy-to-understand) refresher course on life on Earth as he prepares to discuss life outside Earth…While this is surely a book for adults, older teens who study the skies and make plans for a home on the moon will appreciate it as well. Takes the reader on an engaging tour of leading topics and questions in astrobiology through a series of imaginary conversations with taxi drivers. [Cockell] seeks to shed some light on such existential dilemmas from a refreshingly non-academic perspective…The book is both entertaining and informative in equal measure, always thought-provoking, and is an illustration of the value of interrogating seemingly simple questions from a completely different viewpoint, sometimes leading to surprising new insights. An interesting and humorous approach to questions about the universe with relatively in-depth subject exploration. If you’re intrigued by the concept of life beyond Earth and space exploration, then Taxi from Another Planet will be an interesting read for you. Inspired by conversations with drivers around the world, Cockell spins them into engaging chapters that bring together observations and ruminations about human history and scientific knowledge. The power of this fascinating book is that it explains a lot of science in simple terms, and offers plenty of food for thought. I recommend this book to science teachers and students, to public libraries and to historians. From human societies on Mars to cosmic microbes and alien worlds, this superbly intelligent, erudite book offers an intoxicating look at how the cutting edge of scientific thought on life’s status in the universe connects to all of us. Faced with the fascinating questions of taxi drivers from around the world, Cockell is a convivial and inspiring passenger. Most astronomers find it hard to respond to questions from the public without lapsing into jargon or technicalities, but Charles Cockell is a natural communicator. Taxi from Another Planet conveys an array of ideas—all fascinating, and some profound—with a light touch and utter clarity. Accessible to anyone curious about the cosmos. In this unique book, Cockell takes us on a journey through astrobiology—one taxi ride at a time. Combining scientific inquiries with personal stories, Taxi from Another Planet is a fascinating conversation starter. Cab drivers spend mere minutes with their passengers, which motivates them to ask riders only the interesting questions: Could Martians be dangerous? Will talking to aliens be more enlightening than talking to a dog? Cockell’s answers from the backseat are clear and delightfully phrased in this informative and thoroughly entertaining book. The ever curious and creative mind of Charles Cockell takes us on a ride that is both whimsical and thoroughly insightful. Science, society, and history are woven together throughout this delightful book, resembling the many intertwining streets of Cockell’s journeys, and ours.