Are the key events that took life from simple cells to astronauts unique occurrences that would be unlikely to occur on other planets? By focusing on what life does - it's functional abilities - rather than specific biochemistry or anatomy, the authors provide plausible answers to this question. Systematically exploring the various pathways that led to the complex biosphere we experience on planet Earth, they show that most of the steps along that path are likely to occur on any world hosting life, with only two exceptions: One is the origin of life itself - if this is a highly improbable event, then we live in a rather "empty universe". However, if this isn't the case, we inevitably live in a universe containing a myriad of planets hosting complex as well as microbial life - a "cosmic zoo". The other unknown is the rise of technologically advanced beings, as exemplified on Earth by humans. Only one technological species has emerged in the roughly 4 billion years life has existed on Earth, and we don't know of any other technological species elsewhere. If technological intelligence is a rare, almost unique feature of Earth's history, then there can be no visitors to the cosmic zoo other than ourselves.

Preface.- Introduction.- Part I - The Cosmic Zoo Hypothesis.- The Cosmic Zoo Hypothesis.- The Evolutionary Tool Set.- Pre-Conditions for Complex Life.- Part II - Major Transitions in Earth's Life History.- The first Cell and The Origin of Life Challenge.- Using Light: The Invention of Photosynthesis.- Oxygen: from Poison to Photosystem II.- Endosymbiosis and the first Eukaryotes.- Sex: a New Way of Reproduction.- The First Multicellular Organisms.- The Rise of Large, Complex Organisms.- Intelligence, a New Concept?.- Technologically Advanced Intelligence: Are there Visitors in the Cosmic Zoo?.- Part III The Great Filter and the Fermi Paradox.