Rating: 
Summary: It's Sagan, for heaven's sake!
Review: At some point in my life, much of what Sagan wrote became "common knowledge" and much less interesting to read, because I stopped learning from him.Then I realized: he had done his job. Sagan excited me, thrilled me, MADE me go out and learn more because I couldn't stand not knowing. Carl Sagan was a master at distilling science to the masses; he made physics, biology, cosmology, math...he made it all so thrilling that the masses barely knew they were learning. If you're not already a Sagan fan, try starting with his fiction (Contact--the book is a thousand times better than the movie), and then moving on to his nonfiction. You'll discover from Sagan why we are where and who we are. Read it. Learn it. Then outgrow it. You'll be honoring Sagan, and you'll be honoring your own humanity.
Rating:
Summary: It's Sagan, for heaven's sake!
Review: At some point in my life, much of what Sagan wrote became "common knowledge" and much less interesting to read, because I stopped learning from him. Then I realized: he had done his job. Sagan excited me, thrilled me, MADE me go out and learn more because I couldn't stand not knowing. Carl Sagan was a master at distilling science to the masses; he made physics, biology, cosmology, math...he made it all so thrilling that the masses barely knew they were learning. If you're not already a Sagan fan, try starting with his fiction (Contact--the book is a thousand times better than the movie), and then moving on to his nonfiction. You'll discover from Sagan why we are where and who we are. Read it. Learn it. Then outgrow it. You'll be honoring Sagan, and you'll be honoring your own humanity.
Rating:
Summary: Sagan all over the place
Review: Broca's brain is a difficult book to rate, because Sagan is really all over the place with it, covering tons of different topics. I gave it four stars because a lot of it is fascinating and amazingly written (easily 5 stars), but some of the other sections really pull it down. By and large, it's all good stuff, with two exceptions - he goes on for a couple dozen pages about the names of various craters on various planets and moons in our solar system. Maybe I missed the point, but I just couldn't get interested in it. The second thing, which is what really lost the book that last star, is the chapter on Velikovskian Catastrophism. Apparently around the time this book was written (about thirty years ago, but it's all still interesting and relevant information), there was a book going around by someone named Velikovsky, who pretty much claimed that the book of Exodus, and all of the fantastic things that happen in it (the plagues, the parting of the red sea, etc.) where caused by some six comets or meteors that passed so close to the earth as to gravitationally (or magnetically, apparently this Velikovsky isn't quite sure) affect various things (i.e. somehow the gravitational pull of the nearby comet caused the water of the red sea to rise up in two different directions, therefor allowing the israelites to pass in between). Now I have a great deal of respect for Carl Sagan and his work, and I don't know what the climate of popular science was like thirty years ago. Clearly he felt a need to strongly discredit this theory - maybe a lot of people believed it then. But today, it seems pretty silly - I'm not a student of physics, astronomy or anything like that and the sum of my knowledge on the subject comes from popular science books that I enjoy reading. But the idea of six meteors flying that close to the earth, over the course of a couple months, plus the effects that Velikovsky claims would result, seem completely impossible - requiring maybe a page or two to respectfully discredit, but definitely not the fifty or so pages that Sagan uses to completely (and, it's important to note, respectfully) demolish the theory. I found it very tedious. I know that I've gone on for a while on this, but it really bothered me and detracted from an otherwise excellent book. Also highly recommended is Dragons of Eden, also by Sagan.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't miss this!
Review: Broca's Brain may not be as famous as other works such as Cosmos or Contact, but it's every bit as engaging. In particular, the chapter entitled "A Sunday Sermon" contains tidbits I believe every person on this planet, whatever their religious beliefs or lack therof are, can gain important insight from. He manages to tackle this difficult subject with grace and dignity, without lambasting any view. As he says (paraphrased) "I believe that those beliefs that can't survive scrutiny aren't worth having. Those that do, have at least a kernal of truth within them". So true, Mr. Sagan. Some of the chapters are simply fun; the chapter on how heavenly bodies are named, and the opening chapter on Paul Broca, and his brain, are like this. You do not need a science degree to enjoy/understand this book. I do possess one, however I read it in early high school, and it's just as relevant to me now. Carl Sagan performed a difficult feat: to make science interesting and accessable to an entire generation. I am in science, loving every minute of it, due in part to Mr. Sagan's efforts. Don't miss this important and fascinating book that covers an amazing array of subjects.
Rating:
Summary: Cosmology at its best
Review: Carl Sagan established his reputation as a writer with three works: Cosmos, Broca's Brain, and Contact. Cosmos is renowned as one of the century's best non-fiction works and Contact became a top-grossing, award-winning film. Broca's Brain meets the standard of Sagan's more famous pieces. Even were you to only read one chapter, the book would still be worth purchase. I especially recommend this book to those who have read John F. Haught (theologian) or Stephen Hawking (physicist) and assume that science and religion are locked in a death match.
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Summary: Writing that is almost religious in power
Review: Carl Sagan is so widely known for his popularization of science that his thoughts on the philosophy of science are easily forgotten. Which is unfortunate, because he also shines in this area. This is never more aptly demonstrated than when he discusses the ideas of Immanuel Velikovsky. The ideas themselves are “explanations” of many of the ancient myths created by invoking rather extreme and unusual astronomic phenomena. While the explanations are clearly preposterous, Sagan does not simply dismiss them, but subjects them to a thorough critical examination. Along the way he also criticizes some of his scientist colleagues, pointing out that the role of science is not to make preconceived value judgements, but to subject all ideas to the ruthless meritocratic critical analysis that makes science work. His reasoned arguments against Velikovsky’s ideas and against some who rejected them using attacks beyond the normal bounds of legitimate criticism, is the best explanation of how science should work that you will ever find.
The title of the book is derived from his finding the preserved brain of Paul Broca in a French museum. Broca is best known for discovering the previously unsuspected fact that the brain is compartmentalized into functional regions. Broca’s brain is preserved in a jar of formalin and when he finds it, Sagan asks some questions that go to the heart of what makes humans what they are and what we become after death. His simple question, “How much of that man known as Paul Broca can still be found in this jar?” is a very profound one. If you possess a religious nature, the answer is probably “nothing.” However, if you follow modern studies of how the brain functions, there is the fascinating thought that since memories seem to be stored in proteins, it may be theoretically possible to “recreate” a dead person by manipulating their memory proteins. Such thoughts could also be used to argue in favor of life after death, in that we live on if our protein patterns live on. The soul of a human could then be considered as a permanent record of these patterns, that are continually updated as a person generates new memories.
The first book by Carl Sagan that I ever read was Intelligent Life In The Universe, which he co-wrote with I. S. Shklovski. I struggled through the book when I was still in elementary school, being overwhelmed with the science but so enthralled with the writing and subject matter that I refused to quit until I completed it. He was clearly the most lucid, readable and passionate expositor of what science is that his generation produced. His passing left a void that is not easily filled.
Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life.
Review: I read "Broca's Brain" in high school (late eighties) at a time when I believed in all sorts of pseudoscientific flim-flam. In an entertaining and very readable style, Sagan showed the weaknesses in the theories of those on the edge of science, and from that point onward I viewed everything with a skeptical mind.
Rating:
Summary: COLLEGE DEGREE IN A PAPERBACK BOOK
Review: In Broca's Brain, Dr. Sagan debunks many of the myths that bind us together. He describes various hoaxes throughout the ages; how easily those myths have been perpertrated. And does so without making the reader feel foolish. From THE HORSE THAT CAN ADD, to IDENTICAL TWIN CHILD CON-ARTISTS, to PHONY RUSSIAN SCIENCE, Sagan shows us not to believe what we see, but rather to depend on scientific experimentation to learn the truth. "Theres a sucker born every minute". pt Barnum
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Summary: Can we know a grain of salt?
Review: The beauty of Broca's Brain, and indeed any of Carl Sagan's works that I am aquainted with, is his remarkable ability to inspire the reader with a sense of awe and excitement about the universe. Sagan demonstrates in his work that one can still have a magical, or even religious, perspective on life through the use of reason and scientific scrutiny. "Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." Sagan puts this principle into action when he asks us, not to what extent we can understand the galaxy or a star, but the more modest question, "Can we know, ultimately and in detail, a grain of salt?" It is not through observation of every single atom in the grain of salt in which we understand it (Indeed it is impossible for humans to do so by that method!), it is through observing the underlying regularity within the grain of salt that we can make claims of it as a whole. Sagan makes the case for science quite well and persuasively, extending it miracles, hoaxes, and unusual phenomona. Unlike many scientists of today, Sagan is not content with brushing off claims that he is skeptical of on first glance. He takes the claim head on, knowing that in the end, the truth is the ultimate goal. But confidence in science is only increased as skeptical inquiry leads one to see that there is often a simpler solution to a rare phenomenon than the posulate of a supernatural force or entity. If you enjoy thinking and desire truth, this is a helpful and enjoyable book. If you fear becoming infected with an awe and sense of wonder towards the universe, do not read this book--Sagan is contagious.
Rating:
Summary: Re: the Velikovsky debunking
Review: The chapter entitled "Venus and Dr. Velikovsky" is a masterpiece of pseudo-science debunking. Sagan rightly deplores efforts by mainstream scientists to suppress Velikovsky, both because they were dishonest, and because (as noted by another reviewer) they made Velikovsky a martyr when he might otherwise just have been forgotten. Sagan's dissection of Velikovsky's thesis is painfully specific, precise, methodical, exhaustively researched, utterly polite, and totally relentless. This is the way to take on pseudo-science: with not a trace of snobbery or arrogance, but with simple, devastating logic.
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