Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, author of The Cosmic Detective.

“In his exciting new book, Dr Mani Bhaumik builds on recent developments in science to bring us new pictures, larger views and insights about the magnificence of our universe. He challenges us to look at the beauty, complexity and appeal of the newly made images of the cosmos,” Dr Dr Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut, writes. A recent newspaper report confirms that the Vatican has begun to resurrect its programme to investigate the presence of other forms of lives in the universe. This publication can be used as a valid guide, for Dr Bhaumik lists a galaxy of relevant questions.

“Are you feeling a little lonely in the vast universe? Find out who your neighbours are in this spectacular and thrilling guide to the deepest mysteries of the cosmos.” In seven crisp and thrilling chapters, Dr Bhaumik elucidates man’s search for life, and the presence of cosmic architecture to facilitate such undertaking. Dr Bhaumik gives his readers a clinical overview of our solar system, starting with the sun and continuing to Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, asteroids and meteors, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—with clear and concise photographs using the latest sills in the art of photography. “The third planet in our solar system from the sun is Earth, at an average distance of 92,957,000 miles.”

Life, he writes, abides on Earth even in the most inhospitable places. Salt lakes, hot mineral springs, deep oceans, the top of the atmosphere, or on top of ice, life can be supported everywhere on the planet. “Our Earth, alone among the members of the solar family, is a haven for life. Life blossoms in its air, water, mountains and rainforests. In fact, life is hard to avoid anywhere on Earth. Could life exists elsewhere in the solar system, at least in a rudimentary form?” Dr Bhaumik’s bio-data reflects a compelling analysis of his academic and scientific achievements, one which measures up to his contemporaries. Among them are his rare distinction of being elected by his scientific peers as a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is also the author of the international bestseller Code Name God.

The Cosmic Detective is not written in deep scientific language and is quite readable by a SEA student or a university graduate. It can be read, not just for academic or scientific purposes, but as a form of entertainment and inquiry. Dr Bhaumik rightly summarises the universe in the penultimate chapter in page 85, “We know there is great suffering in the world, as well as the everyday disappointment and ugliness. But you can rise above all of this if you recognise yourself as an indispensable part of the entire universe, and try to comprehend your kinship with the stars. Remember that we are all made of stardust. That bond of infinity can never be destroyed.”