The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy

What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens - and Ourselves

By: Arik Kershenbaum

Narrated by: Samuel West

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

From a noted Cambridge zoologist, a wildly fun and scientifically sound exploration of what alien life must be like, using universal laws that govern life on Earth and in space.

Scientists are confident that life exists elsewhere in the universe. Yet rather than taking a realistic approach to what aliens might be like, we imagine that life on other planets is the stuff of science fiction. The time has come to abandon our fantasies of space invaders and movie monsters and place our expectations on solid scientific footing.

But short of aliens landing in New York City, how do we know what they are like? Using his own expert understanding of life on Earth and Darwin's theory of evolution - which applies throughout the universe - Cambridge zoologist Dr. Arik Kershenbaum explains what alien life must be like: how these creatures will move, socialize, and communicate. For example, by observing fish whose electrical pulses indicate social status, we can see that other planets might allow for communication by electricity. As there was evolutionary pressure to wriggle along a sea floor, Earthling animals tend to have left/right symmetry; on planets where creatures evolved in midair or in soupy tar, they might be lacking any symmetry at all.

Might there be an alien planet with supersonic animals? A moon where creatures have a language composed of smells? Will aliens scream with fear, act honestly, or have technology? The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy answers these questions using the latest science to tell the story of how life really works, on Earth and in space.

©2021 Arik Kershenbaum (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"'Are we alone?’ In his book The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy, Arik Kershenbaum takes a novel and rewarding approach to this question.... A wonderful mix of science-based speculation and entertaining whimsy.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Helpful definitions and explanations guide the reader through concepts such as chaos theory, natural selection, form versus function and convergent evolution.... Through these examples, which he mixes with humor and even references to science fiction books and films, Kershenbaum relays fascinating scientific concepts in layman’s terms. The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy will appeal to anyone who ponders what life is like among the stars.” (BookPage)

“In his entertaining and thought provoking The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Cambridge University zoologist and mathematical biologist Arik Kershenbaum provides readers with a tentative sketch of the nature of potential alien life on other potentially habitable planets.” (Science)

Ate this book up.

Finished it in two days. Absolutely entranced by the picture the author paints. If you have any interest in astrobio or zoology, read this book.

Not what I expected, but better

This book takes a scientific look at life on Earth and what it predicts about life or elsewhere in the universe. I enjoyed it immensely and found it very thought-provoking

I felt tricked, in a good way

I came to this book for the aliens but stayed for the Zoology lesson. The author shows his professorial skills as he engages the reader, captures our attention, turns it into an interest, and then teaches us something. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as entertainment while learning about both the diversity and sameness within the Earth’s life forms. I recommend this especially for non-science types who want to get a good introduction to Zoology.

Good information on the status of evolution

Interesting read. However, I have trouble hearing the reader when he often drastically lowers the volume at the end of long sentences (as he runs out of breath?). I wonder why the editors allow that.

Perfect science/science fiction grounding

Great macro look at Astrobiology and the rules that can be conferred onto it by our current understanding of evolution and physics. Helps the author is a Star Trek: Next Generation fan. Great further reading/annotations throughout.

Makes You Think

This book is an interesting dive into life, evolution, and what it is to be an animal - on this, or any other planet.

A enchanting peek at who we may meet in the future

Arik Kershenbaum has created a very intriguing template for use when realistically trying to predict what beings from other worlds might be like. He took characteristics from life on Earth and scaled it back to its most basic qualities and then looked at how and why those characteristics evolved here on our planet. He then projected all of that onto the blank screen of our minds as possibilities of how "aliens" may have evolved and what they may be like. In so doing, he teaches us a lot about ourselves and why we are the way we are. All-in-all, this is a very entertaining as well as educational book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in such endeavors.

Excellent Selfish Gene-like Writing and Reasoning

An enjoyable trip through evolutionary biology as it might reveal characteristics of life universally. Only brief consideration of post-evolutionary effects, such as artificial intelligence and gene editing, but that’s not surprising given the author’s expertise and stated purpose of the book.

Audio is slightly low.

Great Concept

Excellent book if you're interested in evolution. A bit reiterative, and can be intimidating to people with no background knowledge of biological concepts, but well worth it.

Makes a good case for commonalities of all life

No matter what it looks like, or how it goes about living, aliens will have things in common with life on Earth. It just may take some time to see it.

This book does a great job of getting you to analyze Earth creatures so you can see the behaviors that could be universal.

The narrator is great, and reads the book as if he wrote it. And I never felt lost, even during concepts that could be difficult. Very interesting read.