I didn&#x27;t find the book very persuasive.  The authors basically take everything that is (or might be) uncommon about the Solar System, and somehow turns them into an argument on why we are so lucky to have them.<p>E.g., we have big Jupiter.  We don&#x27;t know exactly what it does, but it might have helped the Earth survive its early days.  Therefore, it <i>might</i> be the case that the rise of complex life <i>needed</i> Jupiter.  Yadda yadda, multiply a dozen of these things, and suddenly life on Earth looks like an incredible stroke of luck.<p>The problem is, we don&#x27;t know enough to make that verdict.  What if the existence of Jupiter actually postponed the rise of life by sending big comets along our way?<p>I enjoyed &quot;Life Everywhere&quot; by Darling much more, though it is probably too dated to recommend in 2016.  (Astrobiology is a rapidly changing field, I suppose.)