By the time I was two chapters into this book, I was texting my brothers and friends telling them that they need to go read it right away. The premise of the book is an exploration about the possibility of life on other worlds, but it is about so much more than that. Frank covers everything any space-geek anthropologist might find worthy of consideration, from the early days of SETI and planet-finding technology to how humanity might find its place among a larger galactic community.
Light of the Stars isn’t just a scientific exploration of current conundrums, though. What Frank is really able to accomplish is what probably was most successfully done by Carl Sagan – brining the science to a population with little scientific knowledge, and doing so in a way that makes it fascinating. Frank makes the science of life “out there” completely relevant to life “down here.” He covers in a friendly, conversational tone everything from ethics and climate control to technology and economy. This is not just a book for people interested in astronomy or aliens or space exploration – this is a book for anyone interested in humanity.