Alien Earths by Lisa Kaltenegger

Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the CosmosAlien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author is an astrophysicist originally from Austria who is now affiliated with Cornell University and the Carl Sagan Institute specializing in exoplanets. The book is written for the average reader, not scientists. Much of the beginning is taken up with a primer on how the galaxy and solar system and Earth formed, then does the same with the origins of life on Earth. Any long-time fan of the television show Nova has seen or heard it all before, but it is good background for the main topic of life on other planets. She peppers the book with digressions about her favorite rock songs or coffee or gushing over scenery at the conferences she attended. I could do without that. The meat of the book, a description of the various best candidate exoplanets along with their desirable characteristics, is saved for well into the second half, and is too sparse for my taste. Even so, I found that part worth the wait. Although there no great revelations, the style is very readable and the topic fascinating, so I enjoyed the book.

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