The Copernicus Complex: The Quest for Our Cosmic (In)Significance - Hardcover

The Copernicus Complex delivers its argument with comparable clarity, insight and humour. There is much to enjoy along the way, including a compelling account of the extraordinary diversity of planetary systems we now know to exist (Telegraph)

The Copernicus Complex addresses a perennial mystery: the cosmic significance (or perhaps the insignificance) of life on Earth. Caleb Scharf summarizes current debates on how life began and how pervasive it is, explaining how our perspective has been changed by the recent discovery that there are millions of Earth-like planets in the Milky Way. He sets his theme in a historical context, writing in an engaging and accessible style (Sir Martin Rees, author of Just Six Numbers and From Here to Infinity)

A tantalising approach to the mysteries of the universe (Peter Forbes Independent)

[A] witty, adroitly marshalled treatise on human significance (Robin McKie Observer)

An intoxicating collection of questions answered with other questions, and startling discoveries that make creation even more mysterious . . . Books such as these remind us that we are lucky to be here at all, and even luckier to be here now (Guardian)

How reasonable is it to think that we are alone in the vast expanses of space? And how significant is life on Earth on the Universal (or multiversal) scale? These are the questions that astrobiologist Caleb Scharf addresses intelli¬gently and comprehensively in his beautifully written The Copernicus Complex (Nature)

Sweeping in reach and lucid in exposition, The Copernicus Complex raises profound questions and offers provocative insights on our ongoing quest for life's cosmic context (Ray Jayawardhana, astrophysicist and author of Neutrino Hunters and Strange New Worlds)

Scharf covers a lot of ground, and his entertaining, accessible approach offers valuable insight not just into science, but also into the way our assumptions can make a difficult task, like finding life in the universe, even harder (Publishers Weekly)

This lyrical tale describes how we have opened our minds to appreciate our cosmic insignificance as we explore the true wonder of the cosmos, including the fascinating question of whether we are alone in the Universe. Caleb Scharf highlights the newly discovered possibilities for housing life in the cosmos, but-just as important-the new ways we might find out if it is out there. This voyage of discovery demonstrates that scientific progress requires us to transcend the often myopic intuition that evolution has saddled us with, and let nature be our guide (Lawrence M. Krauss, Foundation Professor and Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, bestselling author of A Universe from Nothing and The Physics of Star Trek)

[The Copernicus Complex] is an engaging book that covers a lot of scientific ground . . . Scharf handles complex concepts gracefully (Times Higher Education Supplement)