The Possibility of Life

Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos

By: Jaime Green

Narrated by: Jaime Green

“Every page of this book makes our shared universe feel larger and more interesting than ever before, a true gift of fascinating science and engrossing storytelling.” —Matt Bell, author of Appleseed

A spellbinding exploration of alien life and the cosmos, examining how the possibility of life on other planets shapes our understanding of humanity

One of the most powerful questions humans ask about the cosmos is: Are we alone? While the science behind this inquiry is fascinating, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is a reflection of our values, our fears, and most importantly, our enduring sense of hope.

In The Possibility of Life, acclaimed science journalist Jaime Green traces the history of our understanding, from the days of Galileo and Copernicus to our contemporary quest for exoplanets. Along the way, she interweaves insights from science fiction writers who construct worlds that in turn inspire scientists. Incorporating expert interviews, cutting-edge astronomy research, philosophical inquiry, and pop culture touchstones ranging from A Wrinkle in Time to Star Trek to Arrival, The Possibility of Life explores our evolving conception of the cosmos to ask an even deeper question: What does it mean to be human?

a sweet book about falling in love with wonder

There's enough science to tempt listener/readers to go deeper, and a pretty good review of the highlights of a lot of this research. Definitely a book by a member of a media saturated generation, author reaches out by the shared experience of books and TV. But the heat of this book is the wonder of how planets form, how life arises, and what shapes us, as one such lifeform

The Best Narration

Even though some of it was a little bit over my head, I really did enjoy this book. The author looked at all the possibilities of life on other planets in a thought provoking way. She cited history, science, science-fiction books and movies, as well as her own musings. She covered topics such as linguistics, how might the life forms spread or develop to other planets, how we might interact. She just really did cover it all. This book would be suitable for all ages of inquisitive minds although it did contain one curse word (but it wasn't too shocking).

The narration (by the author) was so good. I would love to have all the books I listen to read by Jaime Green. I think I my mind would have wandered had this book been narrated by anyone else.

More like a book review than a book

If I had wanted to listen to someone tell me the plot lines of every science fiction book dealing with alien contact, then this would have been a great choice. Otherwise, no. All this book does is talk about other books, movies, and TV shows dealing with the topic of extraterrestrial contact. Really, just a terrific waste of time, except that I did add a few of the books mentioned into my Audible Wish List 😊

Live out there.

Good. Very imaginative. The book looks at the possibilities more than the stats. could there be others?

Lots of Interesting Ideas

This book is a bit “all over the map.” That said, it’s definitely fun. Lots of references to Science Fiction and the plausible ideas and those maybe not so. Thoughts on linguistics and communication and just how magnificent we humans are that we can think such things.