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parsed(2024-12-31) - pubdate: 01/25
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pub date: 1735624800
today: 1739944800, pubdate > today = false

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Mixed Signals

Alien Communication Across the Iron Curtain

December 31, 2024 | Hardcover
ISBN: 9781509556915
$42.55
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Description

In the shadow of the Cold War, whispers from the cosmos fueled an unlikely alliance between the US and USSR. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (or SETI) emerged as a foundational field of radio astronomy characterized by an unusual level of international collaboration--but SETI's use of signals intelligence technology also served military and governmental purposes.

In this captivating new history of the collaboration between American and Soviet radio astronomers as they sought to detect evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations, historian Rebecca Charbonneau reveals the triumphs and challenges they faced amidst a hostile political atmosphere. Shedding light on the untold stories from the Soviet side for the first time, she expertly unravels the complex web of military and political interests entangling radio astronomy and the search for alien intelligence, offering a thought-provoking perspective on the evolving relationship between science and power.

This is not just a story of radio waves and telescopes; it's a revelation of how scientists on both sides of the Iron Curtain navigated the complexities of the Cold War, blurring the lines between espionage and the quest for cosmic community. Filled with tension, contradiction, and the enduring human desire for connection, this is a history that transcends national boundaries and reaches out to the cosmic unknown, ultimately asking: how can we communicate with extraterrestrials when we struggle to communicate amongst ourselves?

About this Author

Rebecca Charbonneau is a historian at the American Institute of Physics, as well as an affiliate of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the St. Andrews SETI Post-Detection Hub. She holds an MSc in the history of science, medicine, and technology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. Rebecca lives in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with her husband, Jim, and their cat, Sputnik.

ISBN: 9781509556915
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Publisher: Polity Press, Polity Press
Published: 2024-12-31

Reviews

Praise for Mixed Signals


"With this work the torch passes to a new generation of SETI historians, who analyze not only the science of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence but also its cultural, religious, and political aspects. Focusing on the 1950s through the 1980s, Rebecca Charbonneau brilliantly explores both human and extraterrestrial communication, while vividly portraying CETI/SETI in the context of the Cold War."
Steven J. Dick, former NASA Chief Historian and author of Astrobiology, Discovery, and Societal Impact

"Charbonneau has accomplished here the rare hat-trick of innovative research, incisive argument, and delightful writing, making this book an invigorating pleasure to read and a vital view of science history to engage with. A must-read for scientists, historians, and anyone curious about what - and whom - we seek in the stars. Charbonneau offers a new and compelling way to understand the search."
Jaime Green, author of The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos

"Does intelligent life exist beyond our planet? Scientists have been searching for evidence of it for decades. Now historian and SETI researcher Rebecca Charbonneau offers an engrossing and surprising history of those efforts on both sides of the Iron Curtain and shows that what we seek in outer space has repeatedly led us right back to earth."
Greg Eghigian, author of After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon

"Any scientist who attempts to find, or communicate with, alien life possesses curiosity about and openness to hypothetical lives lived very differently from their own. In Mixed Signals, Rebecca Charbonneau offers the first investigation into those scientific attempts as they played out during the Cold War, among American and Soviet humans who were often alien to each other. Mixed Signals is an insightful, rigorously researched history that swirls the celestial and the terrestrial together. Too often, astronomical science is divorced from the earthly conditions it inhabits, eschewing politics for purity; Mixed Signals is an antidote to that attitude, showing science's influence on politics, politics' influence on science, and the overlap between communicating on Earth and communicating to the cosmos. The events and people detailed in this book show that humans' attempts to learn about life in the universe are, in the end, fundamentally about our home planet."
Sarah Scoles, science journalist and author of Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

"With clarity and insight, Rebecca Charbonneau has given us a beautifully written tour of the early history of SETI. More than just a description of who did what when, Charbonneau reveals the intricate webs of influence that knitted the deepest questions scientists can ask (Are we alone?) together with the prosaic realities of international politics and conflict. A must-read for anyone interested in SETI or in the intersections of science and culture."
Adam Frank, University of Rochester and author of The Little Book of Aliens

"Charbonneau offers a truly fresh take on the often-told story of the origins of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Through interviews and examination of the historical record, she has unearthed fascinating anecdotes about Sagan, Drake, Dyson, Shklovskii, and other SETI pioneers that illuminate how the field emerged from the military and political tangles of the Cold War. Charbonneau shows how the problem of communication and collaboration across the Iron Curtain closely mirrored the problem of communication with alien life. An instant must-read for students of SETI and those who want to know how the quest to answer the biggest question in astronomy truly began."
Jason T. Wright, Director of the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center

"A fascinating dive into the Cold War-era history of humanity's search for alien life, filled with a treasure trove of remarkable events and encounters and supported by meticulous research. Charbonneau brings to life the personalities who gave rise to the modern age of SETI. She highlights how SETI is as much a search for the human condition as it is for alien life."
David Kipping, Columbia University

"a well-researched and splendidly entertaining account of humanity's search for alien life in the era of the US-Soviet 'space race'"
Tony Barber, Financial Times

"eye-opening ... a vigorous blend of scientific and political history."
Publishers Weekly

"Charbonneau has a good eye for eccentric characters, who abound in this story."
Sophie Pinkham, The New Yorker

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