A stray entry on this website's Guestbook from David Grinspoon dated June, 2001 (you can see it here) led to him commissioning Borin to produce illustrations and cartoons for his new book: 'Lonely Planets: the natural philosophy of alien life' published in the US in October, 2003 by Harper Collins (ISBN: 0060185406) and in the UK in November by Ecco (ISBN 0060185406) Hardcover, 464 pages.

The link was Borin's work on DNA over the years, in the making of seriously abstruse science accessible to the layman. The Buddha, garlanded by flying saucers, showed up during initial preparations, but sadly had to be cut during later severe editing of the book:

The award-winning author of 'Venus revealed' examines the most compelling question of our day...
IS ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE?
Examining scientific data, reviewing historical records and analyzing folk beliefs, Grinspoon presents a comprehensive history of ideas about extraterrestrial life and offers scientific speculation on where, when and how we may eventually find it.
More information on Lonely Planets can be found on David's Funky Science website (see the link here.)

Since 1990, Professor David Harry Grinspoon has studied Venus as a Principal Investigator for NASA's Planetery Atmospheres and Venus Data Analysis Program. In 1997, his Funky Science project produced the book 'Venus Revealed: a new look below the clouds of our mysterious twin planet' (ISBN 0-201-32839-9). He also plays rhythm electric guitar. He lives in Denver.

The double-spread which covers the evolution of the multiverse from Big Bang to Jimi Hendrix and fission chips (sorry about that).

Sample illustrations from the book and website:-
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By Intergalactic Demand . .
NOW IN PAPERBACK!

LONELY PLANETS
ISBN: 0060959967
$14.95 ($20.95 Can.)

Winner of the 2004 PEN center USA Literary Award
With a new foreword by the author about 2004's amazing new Mars Discoveries


REVIEWS
Grinspoon tackles E.T. in a style that will satisfy science nerds and English majors alike. Drawing on astronomy, biology, and pop culture, the NASA adviser validates the big bang theory, traces the human search for aliens, and suggests that extraterrestrial life, at least on a microbial level, is out there. Read closely: Illustrations such as the Cosmic Evolution chart that puts Hendrix at the peak of complex civilization offer some of the wittiest insights.
-- Jessica Hilberman (WIRED Magazine
December, 2003)

Kirkus Reviews says (in a starred review):
An exuberant, provocative look at the possibility of extraterrestrial life, what it might be like, and what it might mean.
In his opening pages, Grinspoon (Astrophysics and Planetary Science/Univ. of Colorado; Venus Revealed, 1997) lays down the history of scientific interest in life beyond Earth, from the discovery that the planets are worlds like ours to the many theories that those other worlds might be inhabited. The second section summarizes scientific opinion on ET life, especially as seen by the new discipline of astrobiology. Our knowledge about life is confined to specimens from our world, Grinspoon reminds us; discovery of even one organism on another world would dramatically alter our perspective. He points out that the Drake equation, meant to estimate the prevalence of life in the universe, depends heavily on the expected lifetime of advanced civilizations. On the other side of the debate, Fermi's Paradox states the key problem: if intelligent life is common in the universe, why can't we detect it? Grinspoon devotes some attention to possible answers, from the worst-case scenario (we are alone in the universe) to the possibility that ETs are already here, secretly making contact with selected humans. The third portion explores the far fringes of the subject, from UFO conspiracy theories and abductions to crop circles and mutilations of farm animals. The author resists the temptation to look down his nose at the true believers, pointing out that organized skepticism often has trouble recognizing truths that don't conform to the scientific model. He concludes with the suggestion that our civilization could be a mere stepping stone to some higher form of consciousness, and that truly advanced life forms may be immortal. Wisecracks, philosophical musings, and personal anecdotes make his text as lively as it is authoritative.
The best look at this subject since Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection (1973).

"Entertaining and thought-provoking . . . David Grinspoon provides a masterful synthesis of the history, science, philosophy, and even theological implications of extraterrestrial life." - Science

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