In 1957 as Americans obsessed over the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite another less
noticed space-based scientific revolution was taking off. That year astrophysicists solved a
centuries-old quest for the origins of the elements from carbon to uranium. The answer they
found wasn't on Earth but in the stars. Their research showed that we are literally stardust.
The year also marked the first conference that considered the origin of life on Earth in an
astrophysical context. It was the marriage of two of the seemingly strangest
bedfellows-astronomy and biology-and a turning point that award-winning science author Jacob
Berkowitz calls the Stardust Revolution. In this captivating story of an exciting deeply
personal new scientific revolution Berkowitz weaves together the latest research results to
reveal a dramatically different view of the twinkling night sky-not as an alien frontier but
as our cosmic birthplace. Reporting from the frontlines of discovery Berkowitz uniquely
captures how stardust scientists are probing the universe's physical structure but rather its
biological nature. Evolutionary theory is entering the space age. From the amazing discovery of
cosmic clouds of life's chemical building blocks to the dramatic quest for an alien Earth
Berkowitz expertly chronicles the most profound scientific search of our era: to know not just
if we are alone but how we are connected. Like opening a long-hidden box of old family letters
and diaries The Stardust Revolution offers us a new view of where we've come from and brings
to light our journey from stardust to thinking beings.
