FIRST CONTACT: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence <i> edited by Ben Bova & Byron Preiss (Plume: $12.95, illustrated).</i>

The authors of the 21 essays and stories in this anthology attempt to strip away the pseudo-scientific claptrap that clouds this potentially fascinating subject, and concentrate on the complex questions it encompasses. How common are stars with planets in the galaxy, and what conditions led to their formation? Is the development of life on a planet a freak occurence or is it the nearly inevitable result of certain physical and chemical conditions? Once life appears, does it necessarily evolve towards intelligence, and do intelligent beings necessarily create technological civilizations? Several efforts to communicate with extra-terrestrial beings are under way around the world, and this book explains how amateur astronomers can participate in them. After reading the various estimates of how many planets may exist in the Milky Way, how many of them may be inhabited by intelligent life forms, etc., the reader is apt to identify with Enrico Fermi, who reviewed these statistics and asked, “Then where is everybody?”