Robert Shapiro

Reviews:

“Professor Shapiro, of New York University, is a chemist, and to judge from this splendid book, a natural writer. He shifts through the various hypotheses about the origin of life and demonstrates that most are scientifically implausible or are simply forms of creation myth, sometimes in the guise of science.”


“Here is a first-rate scientific mind enlivened by wit and wisdom throwing a brilliant light upon the perennially interesting question of the origin of life; and performing this seemingly difficult task in a most delightfully readable manner. ORIGINS is certainly the most original and right-headed book ever written on the subject, at once illuminating, highly informative, and vastly entertaining, and while likely to cause some bats in academic belfries to blush, the reader will find it an exhilarating experience.”


“Superbly written…To walk through its arguments is to come upon the process of science, the veil of self-deception, and the questing nature of speculation.”



Excerpt:

“’There are those who believe that life here began out there.’ A phrase of this type was repeated at the start of each episode of a recent space-opera series. As it was spoken, the screen showed a fleet of spacecraft headed for the planet Earth, in a massive galactic Exodus. The scope of these events, and the backdrop of star-studded space, sent a clear message. Our presence on this planet was not merely the result of some local accident but rather had cosmic importance, affecting the entire galaxy.

The heavens on a bright night are a magnificent sight. I find it impossible to look up at them and not be overwhelmed by their majesty. I was spared this experience for much of my childhood, as I grew up under the hazy, glare-filled skies of New York City. Only occasionally, when my family was on vacation in the Catskills and I was allowed to stay up unusually late on a summer evening, could I enjoy the full experience. More often, I saw it in simulation, under the artificial sky of the Hayden Planetarium. Whatever the circumstances, once I had seen the effect, I could understand the emotions of those who wished to move our origins out into the cosmos. They were similar to those of a chambermaid in a fairy tale, who secretly hoped that she had been born a princess and that someday her true identity would be revealed.”