Books with author Carl Sagan

From Publishers Weekly In a tour of our solar system, galaxy and beyond, Cornell astronomer Sagan meshes a history of astronomical discovery, a cogent brief for space exploration and an overview of life-from its origins in the oceans to humanity's first emergence to a projected future where humans "terraform" and settle other planets and asteroids, Earth having long been swallowed by the sun. Maintaining that such relocation is inevitable, the author further argues that planetary science is of practical utility, fostering an interdisciplinary approach to looming environmental catastrophes such as "nuclear winter" (lethal cooling of Earth after a nuclear war, a widely accepted prediction first calculated by Sagan in 1982). His exploration of our place in the universe is illustrated with photographs, relief maps and paintings, including high-resolution images made by Voyager 1 and 2, as well as photos taken by the Galileo spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope and satellites orbiting Earth, which show our planet as a pale blue dot. A worthy sequel to Sagan's Cosmos. Author tour. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When we humans first left the Earth and saw it from beyond the outermost planet, it appeared as a pale blue dot. As we complete the preliminary reconnaissance of our neighborhood in space, we need a long-term, over-arching vision of the human future. The man who brought the planets and the stars to so many of us suggests that our very survival depends on the wise use of other worlds. "Pale Blue Dot" reveals how science has altered our perception of who we are and where we stand and challenges us to weigh what we will do with that knowledge. Out of a sometimes painful recognition of our true place in the cosmos comes a vision of an exhilarating future, with a surprisingly spiritual impact.

A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought. *Los Angeles Times"POWERFUL . . . A stirring defense of informed rationality. . . Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing." *The Washington Post Book WorldHow can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called informa

When we humans first left the Earth and saw it from beyond the outermost planet, it appeared as a pale blue dot. As we complete the preliminary reconnaissance of our neighborhood in space, we need a long-term, over-arching vision of the human future. The man who brought the planets and the stars to so many of us suggests that our very survival depends on the wise use of other worlds. "Pale Blue Dot" reveals how science has altered our perception of who we are and where we stand and challenges us to weigh what we will do with that knowledge. Out of a sometimes painful recognition of our true place in the cosmos comes a vision of an exhilarating future, with a surprisingly spiritual impact.