Pale Blue Dot

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Summary: My inspiration
Review: I first read this book as a aimless 16-year old kid...now I'm an astrophysicist. It was Sagan's message of faith in science's role as mankind's candle in the dark, as well as his wonder for the universe that infected me, and spurred me to the path I'm on now. If you're not a religious fundamentalist and would like to open your mind to mankind's future in space as well as the wonders that await us in the cosmos, buy this book....or buy it for some teenager you know...




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Summary: For those who like illustrated sermons
Review: Although Pale Blue Dot is ostensibly Sagan's magnum opus on "the human future in space" much of it is consumed with the human past on earth. The first five chapters are concerned with the intellectual history of scientism. Sagan provides a full blown apologetic for the scientific method and harshly criticises those who have stood in its way. Those up for criticism are almost exclusively Christian and largely Roman Catholic. Whether the seminary student in Contact, or his constant vigilance against any form of belief in the Imago Dei, Sagan seems unable to escape the influence of religion. If you read Isaac Asimov's The Roving Mind you have read this.

The second unannounced section of the book is concerned with the current state of scientific understanding of the universe. This is mostly limited to a discussion of the planets and moons of our solar system but occasionally deals with other star systems. As this book was published in 1994 much of cutting edge astronomy is long past this point. The pictures are therefore worth at least as much as the text. One criticism is that with so many beautiful pictures of the solar system available why did Sagan include so many paintings of what things might look like? Perhaps he had a secret liking for the Eastern tradition and included them as icons.

The third section of the book deals with the human future in space. Sagan proposes that eventually humans must leave earth or face extinction. We will either destroy our environment or eventually be hit by a large chunk of annihilation. He therefore proposes various Sci-Fi methods by which we might attempt to colonise the other planets, the asteroid zone, and the larger galaxy. For good measure he throws in his SETI project which is the subject of Contact. On so many levels Sagan has replaced god with E.T. and this book is ultimately more politico-religious than scientific.

Buy this book in large edition for the pictures and an entertaining story or buy a real astronomy book and go outside and look at the stars if you can still see them through the smog.

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Summary: The most thorough book on our universe today.
Review: Carl Sagan has done it again. This may be the most complete and knowledgable book I've ever read on our universe. It covers every planet and its' environment, how the planet's environment came to be, and where it may be going. It covers man's exploration of space and time, from satellites to shuttles. More on future technological development of nuclear directioning of comets and asteriods. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in our solar system and beyond. The name 'Pale Blue Dot' comes from a story told by Dr. Sagan of when the Voyager was passing Mars. Sagan recommended NASA to turn the satellite around and take a picture of Earth from such a great distance. NASA questioned him for it would appear to be a pale blue dot and a virtuosly useless picture. Sagan explained to them that man needs to see Earth from another perspective, so we might get an idea of exactly how insignificant we are in such a vast cosmos.

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Summary: Reply to a brief comment
Review: Einstein religious? not at all. I quote from Einstein directly in "The Human Side" Ed. Dukas, Hoffman.

"It was of course a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal god and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it"

As for the issue of whether religious types should fear the scientific worldview; of course they should since organised science and organised religion are incompatible as long as religious leaders continue to claim authority on questions which can be experimentally determined (which is proving to be just about everything).

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Summary: Reply to a brief comment
Review: Einstein religious? not at all. I quote from Einstein directly in "The Human Side" Ed. Dukas, Hoffman.

"It was of course a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal god and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it"

As for the issue of whether religious types should fear the scientific worldview; of course they should since organised science and organised religion are incompatible as long as religious leaders continue to claim authority on questions which can be experimentally determined (which is proving to be just about everything).

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Summary: A brief comment
Review: I noticed a few negative reviews that seemed to be more about religion than this book, so I wanted to make one brief comment.

Sagan isn't liked by fundamentalist religious types since he preferred a rational worldview and an open-minded investigation of reality (otherwise known as "science") to religious dogmatism.

Why people like this worry about Sagan I don't know. Einstein believed in God, so if you want a scientific authority to support your beliefs, you can't do better than that. You don't need to worry about Sagan, since even his reputation is much less than Einstein's.

It's also obvious these people haven't read Paul Tillich, perhaps the greatest of all Christian theologians. As Tillich very wisely pointed out, faith that has to justify itself isn't true faith.

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Summary: Politics, not Science
Review: Make no mistake, just as Sagan reveals his opinion that Apollo 11 was about politics, not science, I tell you that Pale Blue Dot is about politics, not science. And just as it is my opinion that his book is political, it is only his opinion that Apollo 11 was political. His remarks in this area have inspired professors and scientists around the country to parrot that Apollo 11 was not about science, but about politics.
His books are all politico-philosophical, as he is a devoted humanitarian.

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Summary: Philosophy and cosmology at its best
Review: Pale Blue Dot is probably one of the best introductions to astronomy available to the public. In this book Dr. Sagan argues against human chauvinism, praises international efforts of space exploration, speculates about the future of human animal, describes evolution of science and much, much more.

The book is printed on high-quality glossy stock paper that makes the reading even more enjoyable. Unlike Cosmos, Dr. Sagan's other book on astronomy, photos in this book correspond perfectly to the text you are reading. Most photos were taken from NASA archives and are of best quality and resolutions available to human kind at the time. The book ,as any other book written on astronomy, is becoming outdated a bit (published in 1994). This ,however, should not sway you from reading this book at all. You can always catch up on new developments on NASA site. There were some new developments in space exploration that Sagan had no way of predicting. I'll give one example. Author writes about the largest moons of Saturn, Titan, and speculates about its surface and composition. It is now known that Titan contains methane seas. So every time you see speculations in book make sure you research on the topic to find newer information that is readily available.

There is one more thing. In Pale Blue Dot, author gives detailed information on most of the nine planets and many of their moons. However, Sagan decides to omit detailed information on planet Jupiter from Voyager 1 and 2 encounters (not Jovian moons) and explains that Jupiter was talked about in Cosmos.

My whine aside, Pale Blue Dot will endure.

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Summary: Informative and engaging
Review: Sagan's view of our past, present and future relations with space is accessible and enthusiastic. Always looking for life, Sagan explains the criteria that might indicate life on earth to a prospecting alien and applies the principles to data from other planetary bodies.

Beautiful color-enhanced space photography and scientific paintings illustrate Sagan's journey through the solar system as he visits each world and describes how speculation and expectation changed with new information from various space probes. Each planet remains shrouded in mystery, however, as Sagan explores the questions that remain as well as those that have been answered.

Along with a thorough look at the planets, moons and asteroids of our system, Sagan fits them into their solar environment, explaining the interactions of sun, gravity, temperatures and atmospheres.

Sagan's conversational style and willingness to speculate makes this thorough, cogent discussion of space program accomplishments and failures, the politics and philosophy of space exploration, and where we might go in the future, an informative treat.

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Summary: Another Sagan Masterpiece
Review: Sagan's work is tainted by a needless criticism of religion. He devotes early chapters of this book to debunking a religious worldview that posits man as a unique creature and the earth as a unique God given place.
This angry stance towards religion is unnecessary, misplaced and detracts from his work...afterall, how many Sagan readers need to be convinced that the earth wasn't created in seven days?
Furthermore, the religious straw man that Sagan constructs is restricted just to fundamentalist viewpoints. Sagan doesn't acknowledge the possibility of a spirtual viewpoint that is compatible with science.
Sagan eventually gets onto brilliant descriptions of distant planets and other worldly environments...but without exception his descriptions are of situations that can't harbor life...yet he never states the obvious fact that the paucity of life giving situations, makes human life and earth's environment seem all the more unique and miraculous...a position that undermines Sagan's earlier anti-religious position.