Cosmos

Rating:
Summary: Waste of time and money...can I give less than one star?
Review: Carl Sagan...lets start with the good. He is given credit for making a 70's style science series with the same name as this book. People had never seen science specials like this and he cashed in by introducing so many people to it. Aside from having a good publicist and some enthusiasm this tv series is Sagan's ONLY real contribution to astronomy. If you read this book you see why it appealed to people uninterested in astronomy. First it is extremely basic and if you have a college level education than you probably already know most of what is in this book. Second it skips around chapter to chapter like episode to episode. Works great on PBS but it makes for a jumbled unorganized book.
Now that was the good. As an amatuer astronomer you can only read what is published and inevitably you'll read a reference about Sagan. In it some will refer to him as though he were a real genius like Steven Hawking. Sooner or later either this book or Pale Blue Dot will come across an amatuer astronomers desk. One day I decided to finally read cosmos and let me tell how disappointed is. This is the only book in the last five years, or in recent memory for that matter, I have been unable to finish. Ive read reviews that said the end was slow...I never even got that far. Read any astronomy book and it will be more educational than this one. Not to mention everything is hopelessly dated in the book.
In conclusion Sagan has been dead for nearly a decade. He gets credit way to much for stuff he didnt do. Many books even today reference to him again and again then leave out the truly visonary scientists that did all the work. If you want to read about a true visonary find a book on Verner von Braun, it wont be easy cause there are too many books on Sagan that you have to sift through. The reason I use this as an example is that Von Braun is a ghost in american history when he single handedly kept the US from getting blown out of the space race. He is the true opposite of Sagan. Any book in the astronomy section would be a better choice than this one.

Rating:
Summary: The best scientists are the ones who can speak to the public
Review: Although this book is well over 20 years old now, it's still timeless in many ways. The photographs and drawings of various objects in the universe alone makes this book worth buying. But the real power of this book comes from the writings of Sagan himself. He has a rare talent among scientists: the ability to both synthesize various scientific fields together as a philosophical entity, and then to effectively communicate the meaning of what the fields are to the lay public. Most scientists at his level are so deeply immersed in the specialized literature that they can't even remotely explain what they are trying to do. Sagan understands that all of science is related, that evolution has a basis grounded in physics, and most importantly, that religion has tried to suppress the most important discoveries in science, and is still doing so today!

Rating:
Summary: Science For Dummies
Review: Carl Sagan, with this remarkable book and its like-named television series, introduced millions of people to the wonders of science. The 13-part series, which has now been seen by over half a billion people, aside from introducing many people to science, was also enormously influential - can one imagine the success of the modern Discovery Channel and its ilk (actual 24-hour science networks) without Sagan? Hardly. Undoubtedly, many of the leading figures in science today would credit Sagan with introducing them to the field in the first place. Perhaps even more importantly, however, Sagan did that incredible, seemingly almost impossible thing: he interested the average layman in science. Whether he was a "real" (whatever that means) scientist or not, as some refuse to concede, is totally beside the point: what he accomplished was monumental, and he should be given the credit he deserves. Many supposedly open-minded individuals would keep science esoteric and its knowledge among the hands of an elite few; Sagan not only pointed out why this is wrong, but also devoted his life to vigorously seeing that it never became so. This book is remarkable in that it explain many difficult and far-reaching concepts in relatively simple terms that most people will be able to understand - and even enjoy. Unlike many college textbook authors, Sagan, for the most part, keeps his personal biases out of the writing, and he rarely gets overly technical. This is truly a book that all can enjoy. There are many photographs and quotes strewn throughout the book as well, to pep up interest in the text. This is a great general, all-around book on science for the layman: truly a "Science For Dummies." And, unfortunately, this book is often pigeonholed as a book solely on astronomy (the section in which you're likely to find it at bookstores), but don't let the title fool you: this book at least touches on all the major aspects of science, as well as quite a bit of history. Evolution is given a clear and concise overview, genetics is more than touched upon - and Sagan even induldges in a bit of the social sciences. However, the book, unfortunately, does grow less interesting towards the end, where Sagan uses the text to push his own agendas (radio astronomy, later the basis of his excellent science fiction novel, Contact; and a dated plea for peace in the nuclear arms race, which, though commendable and worthy, now smacks a little too highly of Cold War paranoia.) All in all, though, this is an excellent, highly interesting, and immensely readable book that works very well as introduction to the science (in particular, astronomy) for the common man, as well as guiding him towards that all-important virtue: open-mindedness. Along with Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time and some (unfortunately) long-out-of-print books from Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, this is perhaps the best type book of its kind. Highly reccommended.

Rating:
Summary: The Unfairness of Carl Sagan
Review: Sagan is a magnificent thinker with a closed mind. His first sentence is "The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be." That efficiently snuffs out God or any Chorographer behind the cosmic dance he admires so much and describes so well. "One day, quite by accident, a molecule arose that was able to make crude copies of itself." That was one bloody clever molecule! With no brain, to "discover" such a power? See AMERICA, Feb 7, 1981, "Carl Sagan's Gospel of Scientism."

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: With very simple words Carl Sagan introduce you in the magic of our universe, part of the astronomy story, tells you about Mars and our solar system and gives you a complete vision about many topics.
If you have ever asked yourself how is it "up there" and how we got here, you may find some answers (and ask yourself more questions, too) in this great book.

Rating:
Summary: you don't need to be a scientist to enjoy this book!
Review: Carl Sagan's Cosmos is one of the monumental works of science to-date in paperback form. It is an excellent introduction to science, astronomy, and other scholarly topics, and you don't have to be a scientist to enjoy it - all you need is a curious and open mind. Sagan takes you back billions of years, long before humans were around, and constructs a picture of the cosmos so full of spendor and wonder, one cannot help but be mystified by the vastness of the universe. If you've ever asked the quesions "what is the universe, and why does it behave as it does?" - you'll love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece, the pinnacle of achievement
Review: Cosmos first burst onto the scene in 1980, two years before this college sophomore was even born. Even now, 20 years later, it remains THE book for everybody interested in what's out there. Some of the material may be slightly out of date, yes, but this book is brilliantly written in a way that I can't even describe with words. Sagan had a passion for his work second to none, one which clearly comes out in his writing. A definite must-have, add this to your cart right now.

Rating:
Summary: Elegant and evocative introduction to the cosmos
Review: If any layman should ever read a science book, it would have to be this one. Carl Sagan's brilliance and charming personality make the realm of astrophysics accessible and even exciting. There's such a poetic warmth to his view of universe that when he speaks of galaxies and supernovas, it reads like a fairytale. Rather than delve into messy and boring equations, he guides you through the logical thought processes from rudimentary observations to complete theories. Through his fluid prose, the grandeur and complexity of the cosmos seems almost simple to understand.

For a field that is deemed cold and inhuman, Sagan is a shining example that the pursuit of science can be driven by passion. Cosmos is not just about distant stars and nebula, but it envelops all fields of knowledge: art, philsophy, history, biology, physics and even religion to show how they are all interconnected. Sagan weaves between these fields to show that from the bleak uncaring coldness of the Cosmos, humanity arose whether for some purpose or not. The fact is, we exist and hold full responsiblity for our future, and perhaps the future of the Cosmos.

Rating:
Summary: Carl Sagan - - an inspirational science writer
Review: This book will open your eyes to a new way of viewing the entire world and it will blow your mind. Whether you understand the the science of astronomy or not, it doesn't matter with this book. It takes you from the beginnings of astronomical studies to the present(of his time anyways). It has take me to a new understanding of how everything plays together in the Universe.

Rating:
Summary: Lays the groundwork
Review: For anyone who doesn't have a clue about space or the planets, this book will definitely help you.