Stardust Revolution - Jacob Berkowitz

This is a fascinating book.  It presents the story of how everything in the universe is basically the product of stardust.  It seems all the elements are created during the various stages of a stars lifecycle.   They are the source of all the elements that make everything in the universe, including us.  He discusses why carbon and oxygen are both building blocks of life chemistry and at the same time among the most common elements in the universe.
There is also a fascinating discussion of the fact that both water and organic molecules such as amino acids are found in what was once considered empty space.
The vision is of one giant continuum from the stars to living beings with no hard, fast line between the living and the nonliving.  These are also deep religious concepts or visions...  This book reminds me of something I read long ago - I think it is a passage in the Bhagavad Gita when the god figure reveals to Arjuna a mind boggling vision of his true nature - it is a cosmic vision.  This is a passage I want to find and reread.

Sometimes the writing style is a bit annoying; the author seems to drag out explanations at times.  But the ideas are so fascinating that you just keep plowing through.

Definitely a reread.


To find:
work of Carl Sagan

- the book itself has an excellent list of sources at the back too long to transcribe here.