Book Description
Cursed by the god who shares his name, Seti was an Egyptian king who lost everything; his name, his kingdom, even the man he loved more than anything in the world. For centuries he's waited in a dusty, forgotten sarcophagus, until Logan comes along.Logan is a graduate student who stumbles on Seti in the basement of a museum and accidentally awakens him. Logan figures any way he looks at it, a missing mummy is going to be bad for his career, so he takes Seti with him until he can decide what to do. He doesn't want to be accused to theft, but who's going to believe in a mummy coming back to life?Seti and Logan have a lot more to worry about than the modern day police. There's a group of scientists that want Seti for more than decoration and a vengeful god with an agenda to get Seti gone once and for all. Logan has to deal with all of that, but his biggest problem might just be Seti himself, who's trying hard to get into Logan's pants, and his heart. ... Read more

Amazon.com
As many earthlings already know--including more than 2 millioncomputer users with firsthand experience--our best hope for finding extraterrestrial intelligence might just lie with an ingenious little screensaver. So it's not surprising that this introduction to searching for and communicating with intelligent life begins with some of the details behind UC Berkeley's groundbreaking, massively distributed SETI@home project, which processes intergalactic noise for pennies on the teraflop. But that's just the start of the story. Inventor and software developer Brian McConnell continues with an overview of whether and why we might find something out there, who's doing what to look for it (including the folks at Berkeley), and--once some ET picks up on the other end--what we might say and how we might say it.

This last problem, which occupies the final half of the book, proves to be the most thought-provoking, and McConnell has put together a methodical, nuts-and-bolts walkthrough of both the challenges involved and how binary code might be enlisted to solve them. If you've taken even a single computer-science class in your life, you'll probably skip ahead through explanations of data structures and Boolean arithmetic, but McConnell doesn't want to leave anyone behind in fleshing out his alien-friendly lingua numerica. The book's first half surveys various SETI projects, past and present, and includes generous sections on signal processing, what sort of radio and laser hardware has been mobilized for the search, and how exactly SETI@home works. (So, if nothing else, now you can know how your computer decides if it's talking to aliens while you're off having lunch.) --Paul HughesBook Description
"What do we need to know about to discover life in space?" --Frank Drake, 1961In the early 1960s, Frank Drake, a young astronomer with the NationalRadio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia,developed what is now known as the "Drake Equation" in an effort todetermine how many intelligent, communicative civilizations our galaxycould harbor. For forty years, the Search for ExtraterrestrialIntelligence (SETI) has combed the skies in search of signals from starsystems within the galaxy. In Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations, author Brian McConnell goesbehind the scenes and examineswhat goes into the search for intelligent life. SETI is a four-step process. First we have to know where to look; thenwe must be able to send and receive signals to that star system. Oncesignals arrive, scientists then need to be able to interpret thosesignals into something that can be understood. And although we haven'tyet received any signals (except for our own Earth-based transmissions),we'll eventually have to figure out a protocol for responding.Beyond Contact introduces you to:

• The history of SETI research, including the early searches ofProject Ozma, traditional radio astronomy, the search for intelligencein optical wavelengths (known as Optical SETI, or OSETI), and theSETI@home project.
• An overview of the Drake Equation and the Rare Earth Hypothesis,which scientists use to estimate the number of planets in our galaxythat could harbor intelligent, communicative life forms.
• How signals are sent and received over interstellar distances.The author explains the principles of signal and image processing, andhow SETI researchers identify and process analog signals using Fouriertransforms to see how the power in a signal is distributed acrossdifferent frequencies.
• How to build a general-purpose symbolic language for sendingsignals, and even computer programs, with present-day SETI equipment.The ability to transmit computer programs enables us to let anothercivilization know about our knowledge and technological capabilities.

Customer Reviews (10)

Interesting Premise and Valid Questions
This book examines the questions that will need to be resolved at some point in our existence (my opinion).It's good to ask and it's good to get thinking on this.It's rather weak in some areas (the previous comments explain well enough) but it's good to start the wheels turning.

Awesome!
This is the kind of book you need to understand the details of SETI, how does it work, what its limitations would be, and what technology is behind. It is an excellent addition to your personal library if you are a tech-savy and enjoy learning about science and technology.

Get's down to the skinny when it comes to communicating with aliens
This is a very all-encompassing book about extraterrestrial communication, and goes to considerable length explaining how it would be done through binary language.It is a very intelligent book about life on other planets, The Drake Equation, etc.People need to know what they're getting into if they buy this book - it really is for those who have a more technical/scientific bent towards the whole SETI process. If you think Speilberg's ET or Sagan's Contact are the bees knees when it comes to intellectual sci-fi, then this book is definitely not for you.I should point out that there is a direct correlation between a person's IQ and how high a score they give this excellent tome.

can't take it seriously
Here's a book that superficially looks like a serious technical discussion of SETI, even to the point where many potential readers may be intimidated by the diagrams, equations, jargon, and so on. But in reality, it's very lacking in solid scientific information.

For example: On page 116, one of the factors mentioned as a limit to OSETI (finding laser beacons and such) is extinction--the attenuation of light due to dust in the intersteller medium. This, it is said, limits our ability to see laser beacons to "a few dozens light years" for visible wavelengths. Really?? Then how come you can go and see stars farther away than that with your naked eye? Oh, because they're brighter! Well, how bright does a laser beacon need to be? How much attentuation is there, in per cent, dB or whatever, at, say, 100 light years? How much does a beam spread out over, say, 100 light years? How much variation in the signal is there over time as a result of dust? Not a BIT of quantitative data on this stuff!

Like all other SETI enthusiasts I've seen, they also ignore another issue: As communication techniques get more advanced, they look more and more like random noise. Our millions of chattering cell phones and internet hosts will almost certainly be undetectable to anyone outside the earth environment, let alone the solar system: Those transmissions have no directionality, they are low power precisely because they are efficient and advanced, and their advanced modulation causes them to look like white noise. Consider a 300 bps modem, with its old-fashioned tone signaling; then listen to a 56k modem, which, except when it's hooking up, sounds almost like rushing steam. It's hard to escape the idea that we will only pick up radio from ET if he intentionally beams it at us, a doubtful proposition unless he's within 60 light years, as he has no way to know of OUR radio transmissions.

A final word about copy editing: I've yet to read a book with absolutely no errors, but at least they could get three-letter words like "its" right. There are other serious errors, such as missing words, the ubiquitous "different than," and other less glaring mistakes. If they can't do better than that, perhaps they should just record audio tapes.

All in all, about a third of the way through, I decided that other books must surely be able to better satisfy my curiosity on this subject.

A decent review of the basics, but more than a little dry
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I like the idea of this book, but the execution left a bit to be desired.

The first two sections ("Are We Alone?" and "Getting a Dial Tone") do a passably good job of introducing some of the basics of interstellar communication, ably introducing both the fundamentals of radio and optical technologies and the unique challenges of communicating a signal (any signal; the details of the signal to be sent are reserved for Part III) across interstellar distances.

Problems with the first two sections are:

(1) inconsistent readability: the author seems not to have found a consistent tone for the book, and wanders between wide-eyed pie-in-the-sky speculation and bone-dry technical detail;

(2) organizational flaws: the author routinely discusses a concept or entity throughout early chapters without a decent introduction or explanation, only to treat the subject in question at length (with the proper explanatory introduction) later in the text -- the discussion of the SETI@home distributed computing project is particularly guilty of this;

(3) lack of investigative reporting: almost every piece of information in these sections could have come out of a textbook or a web search, and it's clear that the author hasn't bothered to interview the movers and shakers in the SETI community and find out anything much about the "story behind the story," which might have made for some interesting reading;

(4) bad editing: there is a typo every few pages, which is a minor beef but in the age of spell-checkers hardly excusable.

Nonetheless, if you've never read a "Scientific American" article about SETI, the first two sections of the book would be educational. If you have any exposure to SETI prior to picking up the book, chances are that you won't learn very much (except possibly about optical SETI/CETI, which relies on the production and/or detection of laser light aimed at a specific star system, and which is grossly undertreated in the literature).

The third section ("Communicating with Other Worlds") treats the specifics of the author's ideas about what sort of message could be sent by us (or, by extension, might be received by us from others). The author makes an analogy between modular messages encoded in binary code and genes encoded by DNA, and sets up one potential system that might be used to send a complex message from star A to star B. This section is definitely the weakest in the book, for the following reasons.

(1) It treats at punishingly great length only one possible system of a presumably great many for communicating with alien intelligences, glossing over other approaches in favor of a detailed treatment of the author's pet approach. While I don't have a specific complaint with the approach described, I will say that as a working biologist, I found the author's biologically motivated analogies ("igenes," "binary DNA") strained and in some cases laughable. It probably makes the material "sexier" in the computer-science and SETI literature, but as a life scientist I mostly winced a lot.

(2) In part because of this, the author doesn't put his approach in any kind of context -- e.g., how else might we do it?

(3) It's way too long and inappropriately detailed: a great deal of theory of computation stuff that's not at all unique to SETI or the challenge of communicating with a non-human intelligence ends up in this section, and I don't think that benefits the reader more than just saying, "We'll send computer programs using the benefit of knowledge reaped from the maturing fields of cryptography and computer science and our impressive knowledge of the physical universe," and focusing more on reasons why any approach like this has shortcomings and might not work regardless of how clever you are.

All that having been said, this is an OK book. I wouldn't recommend that it be the only thing that you read about SETI, nor would I recommend that you read it cover-to-cover (unless you have troubles with insomnia), but if you're an avid reader of the SETI literature, it certainly can't hurt to pick this one up. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unedited interviews of varying interest
This book is a collection of interviews Swift conducted with sixteen scientists and engineers who played significant roles in starting a scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence (a seventeenth interview of a younger researcher is tacked on at the end). The interviews vary widely in substantive interest. Unfortunately, Swift gives us the full contents of each interview, including what he said himself.This forces the reader to wade through a lot of marginal verbiage to get to the nuggets of thought-provoking material.The book would be far more readable, and shorter, if Swift had been tougher about editing his own work.The concluding chapter provides some interesting sociological analysis. ... Read more

Book Description
If you are interested in how researchers plan to search the heavens for signs of intelligent life, you should have this book.SETI 2020 is a new, and remarkably comprehensive study of how scientists busy with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) should direct their efforts between now and the year 2020.Distilling the work of dozens of top SETI experts, astronomers, and technology mavens, this book gives an overview of the problem of finding evidence for extraterrestrial technologies, and how to best address it.New radio telescopes consisting of large arrays of relatively small antennas are proposed and detailed.So are new types of antennas that can survey the entire sky at once.Of particular interest is the extensive treatment of optical SETI - the search for signals beamed our way using high-powered, pulsed lasers or their equivalent.A book that's interesting for both the layman and the technically sophisticated, SETI 2020 is the definitive publication in this fascinating field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Reality and SETI
SETI 2020 is essential reading for everyone with a serious interest in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence or, indeed, radio astronomy in general. More than fifty of the World's leading experts contributed to this work which has been finely crafted into one coherent volume
Originally intended to encourage financial contributions-at which it has succeeded admirably-this book describes the historical development of the Institute's work and looks forward to methods which depend on currently developing technology. Reality is already catching up with its predictions, which shows how realistic the expectations of the Institute are.
Much of the book describes the science and technologies specific to the search, but there are also discussions about topics of wider interest such as the origins of the "Fermi Paradox", high-powered lasers, various ways of measuring time, and many others.

Technically impressive, but not stirring
This book reports the recommendations of a scientific and technical working group that met periodically from 1997 to 1999 to chart the future of research and technology development for SETI, the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence.That group was assembled and funded by the SETI Institute, the leading institution in the field.The report focuses first on strategic objectives, then on search strategies and options for new telescope and computer designs.

This document was intended to be a landmark comparable to the visionary Project Cyclops report published in 1972.Technological advances since then -- particularly in computer technology -- clearly justified a fresh review. SETI 2020 recommends broadening the frequency range of searches to include optical and infrared wavelengths, looking for both continuous wave and pulsed signals, and using multiple beams per telescope in microwave searches.The report recommends that the SETI Institute undertake the development and construction of a One Hectare Radio Telescope, and an omnidirectional SETI system that could allow continuous, all-sky coverage for the low end of the microwave window.The Working Group also endorsed some existing strategies: using systems for both targeted searches and sky surveys, and focusing on beacons.

Nearly half of this book consists of technical appendices.The most intriguing of them is Jill Tarter's review of the Project Cyclops report from the perspective of 25 years later.Not only hastechnological advance improved our capabilities and widened our options; we also know more about the science involved.

Those readers with a serious interest in the technical means astronomers use to search for evidence of intelligence beyond the Earth will find this book very informative. It will tell most readers all they want to know about the technology issues, though less about the science.While the language is clear and straightforward, it lacks the stirring, visionary quality of the Cyclops report.Perhaps that is a sign that SETI has matured.Or it could be the result of drafting by committee. Those readers who are looking for an introduction to SETI or a general overview of that field should look elsewhere, particularly in view of the outrageous price. ... Read more

Amazon.com
In 1976, NASA's Viking orbiters photographed the surface of Mars and sent pictures back to Earth. What some people see in these pictures, a distinctly humanoid face, has been hotly debated ever since, prompting the question, "Are there artificial structures on Mars?" If you haven't heard of the face on Mars, then you haven't been paying attention to the news about the photos taken by the recent Mars Global Surveyor mission or Art Bell's late night radio talk show about paranormal phenomena or even the covers of the supermarket tabloids. The face is nearly everywhere.

The Case for the Face examines the original NASA images using a battery of different techniques, from stereo imaging to fractal analysis, in an effort to determine if the face is simply a trick of the light or a structure fabricated by an extraterrestrial intelligence. Rather than handing out unchallenged assumptions, The Case for the Face explains how the evidence is gathered, what tests are used for analysis, and gives the reader a crash course in geometry, Martian geology, and computer-image enhancement. The authors present a strong case for the belief that the face, and many other structures in the area, were artificially constructed. In doing so, they also make a compelling argument for opening a new era of manned space exploration and further investigation of this enigmatic portrait in stone. --Brian Patterson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Just Read the Book
Don't let your preconceived notions about what is possible and what is not possible prevent you from reading this book.It is objective and reasonable and quite possibly the best book on the subject I have read.Keep an open mind and understand the scientists who wrote this book just want a chance for a scientific study of the evidence, but the current climate at NASA is denying them the opportunity.How many other marvelous discoveries have been lost to us because of other people's closed minds?Why is it so impossible for people to believe there may have been an ancient civilization on Mars?We have them on Earth!They came from somewhere!Let them have their objective investigation, but don't close the door on the means to find out the truth, one way or the other.If the truth is stifled then we all loose out on what may be the most profound discovery of human history. We need to know one way or the other!

Give Me a Break
I can drive to Utah and Arizona tomorrow and see over 1000 rockformations, in a 1-week trip, which all resemble something, from Snoopy onhis doghouse(near Sedona), to giant mittens(Monument Valley), to hugearches and phallic symbols(Arches Nat'l Park). Oh, and there are also amillion rocks that look like...uhhhhhh....nothing but ROCKS. Bigsurprise!

The truth is, human beings throughout history have some bizarreneed to look at things in the natural world(rock formations, clouds, etc)and somehow correlate them to man-made formations or animated objects. Whena rock or a volcano or a canyon or whatnot, especially in conjunctions withshadows, the right combination of light, and viewed from a specific angleor distance, looks like some kind of symmetrical man-made form, there is aword for this kind of phenomenon; COINCIDENCE. With the billions of rockson this world and other planets, I find it quite comical that people aredoofus enough to not realize that, given enough wind and rain and erosion,a LOT or rocks are going to look like something besides a rock.

Sober and provocative cosmic wake-up call
"The Case for the Face" is a thoroughly sensible and compelling account of a small handful of resarchers with the intellectual clout to tackle an enigma mainstream science has labled "off-limits": thepossible existence of alien artifacts in our solar system.Thecontributors raise fascinating possibilities that we would be wise toexamine in depth.Validating the existence of probable artificialstructures on Mars is an opportunity we can't afford to miss through fearof offending the status quo.

DRY, IMAGINATIVE and very FACTUAL
This book is a valuable tool and aid to anyone interested in obtaining certain information about the anomalies located on Mars.Some chapters are very interesting and provide compelling evidence for alien artifacts whileothers are very dry leaving the reader slightly bored. The book candefinitely be used as a research aid from the library, but I do notrecommend it for casual reading purposes.Although quite imaginative andinformative I believe there are probably better books to read on theMartian anomalies than this one.I would consider other sources beforechoosing to purchase this book.

This is a mustreadforeveryastronomer .
The remarkable and revealing story of a group of dedicated scientists and engineers. Their testimony, details one of the most exciting and dramatic ongoing investigations of the 20thcentury. The compelling evidence forancient alien ruins on Mars. ... Read more

Book Description
What an alien&#8217;s SETI program can really learn about Earth? A lot, actually. But it won&#8217;t be a Beatles anthology or &#8220;I Love Lucy&#8221; reruns. "SETI in Reverse" looks at what aliens could learn about Earth from their own equivalent SETI program, and the methodology used to derive that information. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Skeptical Inquirer, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 3493 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: SETI requires a skeptical reappraisal: early SETI efforts were marked by overly optimistic estimates of the probable number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest and to take a more down-to-earth view. Earth may be more special, and intelligence much rarer, in the universe than previously thought.(From SETI to ASTROBIOLOGY: Reassessment and Update--Four Views)
Author: Peter Schenkel
Publication: Skeptical Inquirer (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 30Issue: 3Page: 26(5)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Skeptical Inquirer, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1218 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Cosmic Haystack is large.(From SETI to ASTROBIOLOGY: Reassessment and Update--Four Views)
Author: Jill Tarter
Publication: Skeptical Inquirer (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 30Issue: 3Page: 31(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more