The Giant Leap - by Caleb Scharf (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A leading astrobiologist argues that space travel is an evolutionary event at least as important as life's first journey from sea to land

The story of life has always been one of great transitions, of crossing new frontiers. The dawn of life itself is one; so, too, is the first time two cells stuck together rather than drifting apart. And perhaps most dramatic were the moves from the sea to land, land to air. Each transition has witnessed wild storms of innovation, opportunity, and hazard. It might seem that there are no more realms for life to venture. But there is one: space.

In The Giant Leap, astrobiologist Caleb Scharf argues that our journey into space isn't simply a giant leap for humankind--it's life's next great transition, an evolution of evolution itself. Humans and our technology are catalysts for an interplanetary transformation, marking a disruption in the story of life as fundamental as life's movement from sea to land, and land to sky.

Inspired by Darwin's account of his journey on the Beagle, and packed with stories from the past, present, and future of space travel, The Giant Leap thrills at both life's creativity and the marvels of technology that have propelled us into the cosmos. And it offers an awesome glimpse of the grander vistas that wait in the great beyond.

Review Quotes

"When Caleb Scharf was 15 months old, on July 20, 1969, a human being stepped on another world for the first time, as significant a moment in the history of life as the day 370 million years ago when the first fish emerged from the sea onto dry land. Scharf, now a renowned astrobiologist, is convinced the landing of Apollo 11 was a mere stepping stone in life's transition from a planetary to a cosmic phenomenon. In this wide-ranging, exhilarating and engagingly written book, he makes his case brilliantly."--Marcus Chown, author of A Crack in Everything

About the Author

Caleb Scharf received the 2022 Carl Sagan Medal while director of astrobiology at Columbia University and is currently the senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA's Ames Research Center. He has written several previous trade books and is a frequent contributor to Scientific American and Nautilus magazine. He divides his time between Silicon Valley and New York City.