First Contact – Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth by Marc Kaufman; Simon & Schuster; New York, New York; $26.00 (hard cover); 2011.

The author is a science and space reporter for the Washington Post – and capitalizes on his aptitude to write an engaging, clear, insightful and fact-filled account of the search for life elsewhere.

What’s particularly striking is Kaufman’s talent to pull the reader along. He’s got panache for on-the-scene detail, but doesn’t skimp on what is puzzling.

Kaufman kick-starts his book with a simple statement: “If it’s just us in this universe, what a terrible waste of space.”

What follows in over 200 pages is a uniquely crafted and on-the-road tale. The personalities engaged in astrobiology are spotlighted throughout the book and, unsurprisingly, the reader will find many a twist and turn in the viewpoints of these individuals.

From discussion of extreme life to planet-hunting and SETI, to the day after first contact, Kaufman provides up-the-minute accounts of scientific inquiry from astronomers, biologists, geologists, chemists and physicists from around the world.

What I found particularly compelling about this volume is not hanging the story on just Mars. So often, too much copy is spent on red planet exploration.

Kaufman has what he tags as his own “extended encounters” with astrobiology. In doing so, he surveys, in detective fashion, three options. I’m not going to spoil your reading pleasure by listing them and his conclusions – but only to say the author senses that we’re likely headed for a dramatically changed cosmos.

For more information on this book, go to:

http://books.simonandschuster.com/First-Contact/Marc-Kaufman/9781439109007

Also, check out Kaufman’s website:

http://habitablezones.com/

And go to a nifty NPR “Fresh Air” show that features the author as he discusses his new book:

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135040012/the-high-probability-of-finding-life-beyond-earth

By Leonard David