A brilliant and controversial work on the absolute certainty of intelligent life in the universe from the bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem .

For thousands of years, it was the visionaries and writers who argued that we cannot be alone-that there is intelligent life in the universe. Now, with the discoveries of the Hubble Telescope, data emerging from Mars, and knowledge about life at the extremes, scientists are taking up where they left off. Amir Aczel, author of Fermat's Last Theorem, pulls together everything science has discovered, and mixes in probability theory, to argue the case for the existence of intelligent life beyond this planet.

Probability 1 is an extraordinary tour de force in which the author draws on cosmology, math, and biology to tell the rollicking good story of scientists tackling important scientific questions that help answer this fundamental question. What is the probability of intelligent life in the universe? Read this book, and you'll be convinced, by the power of the argument and the excitement of the science.

"A wonderfully clear picture of past and present scientific findings and . . . a leap into the future." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"There are two reasons for recommending [ Probability 1] to any person interested in the debate: It is clearly and gracefully written and it is up-to-date in its astronomical data." -Martin Gardner, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"For one practiced in dealing with numbers, Amir Aczel certainly has a way with words . . . Before reading Aczel's book, you might find it easy to shrug off his conclusions. After you've finished Probability 1, you may find it harder to do so." - Astronomy