Cosmos: The Story of Cosmic Evolution, Science and Civilisation

This book was written shortly after the ground-breaking documentary series of the same name also presented by the author. The book was published in 1981, which puts it in a time frame with two other ground-breaking popular science books: The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins and A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawkins. In no way can the book be considered dated. Indeed, it has a certain freshness, being written close to the great, pioneering space exploration mission of the Voyager and Pioneer probes which are discussed. The book could be described as a history of ideas, in particular the supreme achievement of humans, that of Science. Indeed, as far as we are currently aware, humans represent the first point at which the cosmos became aware of itself; a remarkable and humbling thought (although I hope there are other civilisations). Sagan is in no way dismissive of ideas about the cosmos arising from non-scientific approaches. In the very early days of humanity, these were brave attempts to understand the world. However, the message is very clear: the methods developed by science are the only way to understand the cosmos. Religion and the appeal to authority cannot provide adequate understanding. The origins of science in the pre-Socratic period and its tragic abandonment are described.The writing is crisp, clear and a pleasure to read. It is a unique combination of science, history and philosophy. I also recommend watching Sagan's documentary series and indeed the recently released new version of Cosmos presented by Neil deGrasse Tyson.To quote the first line of the first chapter: "The cosmos is all that ever is or ever was or ever will be."

Read Sagan's classic decades ago and at the time I thought it drifted off on too many tangents to be coherent to a teen keen on all things space.Reading again as a 50+er, I get the same feeling. Only this time I understand the tangents better

What a book !This is the ultimate science popularizing book. I have rarely read something more entertaining, clear, enthusiastic, intelligent, instructive, etc than this book.I am not going to lie, I am a big fan of Carl Sagan and have now read a little dozen of his books.This book touches everything. connects many subjects and make sens of it all.History, ancient Ionian Greek science, planetology, cosmology, etc. everything is in this book. Of course, not in details but enough to make you an apprentice philosopher.Sagan is to my knowledge unmatched for his prose and pedagogy. The way he explain the most complicated things is wonderful.Sagan has a talent for connecting things together and make sense of disparate subjects. he is a wonderful popularizer and really make people wonder and want to read more.Although on the negative side, the book may date a bit. I remember reading about Sagan talking of the future: sending a rover to mars for example which has been done since few years now.Other examples on cosmology showed that the book is outdated.Overall probably the perfect book to have on a deserted island.

Cosmos was described to me as "the atheist's Bible." Although it was very different from what I anticipated on that basis, this remains an accurate description of it. I expected the emphasis to be on atheism -- proofs against God, declamations against organized religion, and so on. Naturally there's a bit of this, though it's more directed at Platonism than at religion. Surprisingly, however, I would say that the emphasis is actually on "Bible", as Cosmos is not only itself a text that is written in something like religious ecstasy, but it situates itself amidst numerous religious traditions -- in particular creation myths, which it quotes extensively -- that most closely correspond with our current understanding of the universe.This is not to say that it is unscientific, but rather that it has all the devout fervour of a religious text, in awe of the universe, which even within the text is often equated with the God(s) of various religions. It is filled with absolutely tantalizing ideas, so many and so diverse that it's easy to rattle off a handful and barely scratch the surface: That the Socratics (especially Plato), with their dualism and its consequent effects on Christianity through Neo-Platonism, did untold damage to technological progress. That had the Ionians remained in power, we might already be an interstellar race. That physical affection as a child and sexual activity as a teenager massively deter violence in later life. That the human race will never travel to the stars as long as its population continues to grow. That wars have patterns like the weather that can be predicted on a global scale. That our brains contain evolutionary relics from our piscine, reptilian, and mammalian ancestors which are at best in an uneasy truce. That microorganisms surviving in extreme conditions on earth may make extraterrestrial life possible even within our solar system.All these ideas are tangents from the central focus of the book, which is a textual exploration of the cosmos. But to describe this as a book about astronomy is to ignore its gorgeous and thrilling literary aspects, the anthropological and historical heights to which it soars, and the inspiring thirst for knowledge that pervades it. It is a book about the distant past and the distant future of the human race; it is a rumination on our place in a vast (and vastly unknown) universe. It offers only a casual introduction to astrophysics, but it is a fascinating exposition of the universe from the mind of a man whose knowledge and curiosity are nonpareil.The only reason I subtract a star is because I felt that Sagan devotes too much of the work to rather dated Cold War fears. Not that the threat has been neutralized, but I personally have read enough about mutually assured destruction. My view is that paralysing fear about a nuclear winter downplays the resilience of the human race, is slightly contradictory if we're to take seriously his views on population control, and is ultimately irrelevant from a cosmic perspective. However, I imagine for most people this won't detract from Sagan's absorbing and even spellbinding collection of thoughts, and I highly recommend this book to anyone with curiosity about humanity's place in the universe.

Simplemente un libro maravilloso.

Thought provoking. Makes you expand your scope of thinking. Last couple of chapters recommended for leaders and decision makers all over the world

É um dos meus principais confortos, acho a escrita e a ideia por trás lindíssimas.

però bisogna sapere che NON ci sono immagini (l'edizione originale era illustrata).

Very useful very informative if you're kind of lover of science you'll find it helpful