Alien Lifesearch: Quest for Extraterrestrial Organisms

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

When was the “dawn” of artificial intelligence? Which country
produced the world’s first calculator in 1671? What is the Drake
equation? Besides Earth, which of our solar system’s planets or moons
do scientists believe are capable of supporting life? If you’re having
a hard time distinguishing a biochip from an integrated circuit, if you
don’t know an android from a cyborg, or if you can’t seem to
remember which galactic neighbor of Alpha Centauri was recently
discovered to have its own solar system, this four-volume science series
is designed to bring you up to date quickly and painlessly.

Alien Lifesearch explains how scientists from around the world are
using the latest technology to scan the heavens in search of
extraterrestrial life (myths and sci-fi movie aliens are also
discussed). Artificial Intelligence traces humanity’s age-old quest to
create a machine that not only works like a human but also thinks like
one. Cloning looks at how recent advances in the field of genetic
engineering have raised many ethical issues, such as how humans in the
future will raise food, cure diseases, and even reproduce their own
species. Cyberspace explores the revolution of personal computers, the
Internet, virtual reality, and information technology over last 10 years
and their impact on society.

Each book features highly informative, easy-to-understand prose,
fascinating full-color photographs and illustrations, a timeline
providing a historical overview of the subject, and a large glossary to
help readers surf through the scientific words. Although the series is
aimed at intermediate to advanced readers, adults will appreciate the
text and prereaders will love the illustrations. Highly recommended.