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saraphinasnape's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best textbooks I’ve ever read. Very readable and enjoyable.
clarks_dad's review against another edition
3.0
As far as textbooks go, this one isn't half bad. Life in the Universe is a smattering of all of the sciences that are involved in the search for life (intelligent or otherwise) in the universe. As such it's something of a basic primer in chemistry, physics, statistics, astronomy, biology, evolution, and Earth sciences relevant to the quest for life. The tone of the book is remarkably reserved and the authors check their enthusiasm for the subject by allowing reality to check their optimism. The universe is a remarkably large place and the distances between oases for potential life vast.
I think this is a great all around science book. It lacks the narrative pull of a book like [b:A Short History of Nearly Everything|21|A Short History of Nearly Everything|Bill Bryson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433086293s/21.jpg|2305997], but has a significant amount of wonder and awe for a textbook of its kind. This might be a great book to teach a physical sciences course at the high school level. It covers relevant topics and information all people should know about science, but it has a direction and purpose to its narrative. It fits the science into a broader, more interesting question that I think would make these subjects more interesting for the nonscientifically inclined.
It's incredibly unfortunate that the class that went along with it was poorly managed, had no transparency in its grading system, and reduced a really interesting subject to really tedious tasks.
I think this is a great all around science book. It lacks the narrative pull of a book like [b:A Short History of Nearly Everything|21|A Short History of Nearly Everything|Bill Bryson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433086293s/21.jpg|2305997], but has a significant amount of wonder and awe for a textbook of its kind. This might be a great book to teach a physical sciences course at the high school level. It covers relevant topics and information all people should know about science, but it has a direction and purpose to its narrative. It fits the science into a broader, more interesting question that I think would make these subjects more interesting for the nonscientifically inclined.
It's incredibly unfortunate that the class that went along with it was poorly managed, had no transparency in its grading system, and reduced a really interesting subject to really tedious tasks.