We Are Not Alone: The Continuing Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

by Walter Sullivan

A thoroughly revised edition of the best-selling account of science's search for extraterrestrial life gives clear evidence of the existence of alien civilizations and reveals the distant planetary systems found by powerful telescopes.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Carol Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's truly amazing how far we've come in science in the last 60 years. When Sullivan wrote this book we had not been to the moon, didn't have the Hubble Telescope, did not have rovers running around on Mars collecting data, and had not experienced the airplane-like landing abilities of the space shuttle. Although this meant that the book is dated, it was actually fun for me to travel back to my childhood and remember how exciting and new space was at that time (I was born in 1956).

The discussion of "are we alone?" could still take place (and probably does) today. We have still not received any signals or communications from another planet as far as we can tell. Space is still inconceivably vast. We do know that other planets exist, but we have not taken any steps to visit them yet. So, regardless of the scientific progress we've made, we still have a lonnnnggggg..... way to go!

[Boštjan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book from a second-hand bookstore in USA and had it shipped. It's an excellent book offering a glimpse into scientific thinking of the era it was written (1964), right after the Cuban missile crisis and when SETI was still in its infancy.
The book discusses decades of astronomical discovery, Cold War politics, and philosophical debates. One part I vividly remember is his coverage of the early Soviet and American efforts in radio astronomy. The search was global and competitive from the very start.

If you’re serious about understanding the roots and trajectory of SETI, this is essential reading. It’s aged remarkably well and still feels relevant, even as our tools and theories evolve. Highly recommended for anyone who wants both depth and storytelling in their science books.

[Kashaf Bin Shamim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that is undervalued, it tells us about the technologies and rational language and symbols human have develoed or learnt to communicate with the intelligent beings of the world. As well about the sci-fi novels that had smybolic meanings related with the communication with other worlds such as the Gulliver's travel.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit of a science geek until a poor AP Chemistry class in high school and disagreeable US foreign policies turned me towards the social sciences. I was also intrigued by UFO literature, keeping an irregular sky watch from our suburban backyard, with a cheap reflector, for aerial anomalies. Indeed, I had applied--and been rejected--for a program in telescopic lens grinding at the Adler Planetarium.

Too young to borrow books from the adult section of the Park Ridge Public Library, too proud to enter the children's section downstairs, I spent weekend hours haunting the upstairs, reading Scientific American and pulling books from the shelves for reading in the sunlit periodical section. That's where I found this.

It's been a long time since I read Sullivan and what I gleaned from him has been much overlaid by subsequent readings since. What I do remember, however, was being exposed to the idea of 'exobiology' by this book--a concept new and alluring to me at the time.

[Dwer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting, but out of date

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Good popular science.

[Marilynn Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

1965 theories..interesting

[Signor Mambrino · Rating 1 out of 5]

Booooooring