Rating: 
Summary: A fine guide that teaches the scientific way of thinking
Review: This is a fine book that teaches skeptical methods of thinking, but Carl seems to state the obvious to often throughout this book, such as the validity of witchcraft or alien abductions. Irrespective, Carl does bring up many good points about the dangers of accepting popularized ideas without proper scrutiny and questioning. This book is a must read for any Carl Sagan fan. For those who have never read any of Carl's books however, I suggest starting off with Sagan's Cosmos.
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Summary: A smart book by a very smart man
Review: In this book, Sagan dispels a lot of myths and asks us to use common sense when examining the "mysteries" of the universe. One of the great things about Sagan was that while he was a brilliant individual, he never talked down to people or took on an air of superiority; he just tried to get people to use their heads a little more, instead of blindly following baseless theories and beliefs.
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Summary: Rational, yes, appealing, no
Review: The problem with a totally rational outlook on life is emotional: people hate it and no amount of bullying people or mocking them to give up their religious/romantic outlooks is going to get them to hop on the rational bandwagon. Like twelvetone music, it may make sense intellectually, but very few people will ever enjoy it. Sagan simplistically thinks that people are not rational because the truth has been held from them by the powers that be. Most people do know plenty about science and guess what? They still don't buy the whole rational outlook on life. It is about as attractive as a petri dish. Most people have, by definition, only average intelligence. Exhorting them to give up the comforts of religion in exchange for some abstract intellectulizing is to ask them to give up something they can understand for something they will never be able to relate to. An intellectual elitist such as Sagan has no comforting words for anyone struggling through life on limited income/intelligence and with limited access to the tools and resources that he takes for granted. A rational outlook is one that can only appeal to a very, very few individuals with a certain type of temperament. Sagan and his ilk are howling at the moon when they lament that so many of their fellow beings do not embrace their cold outlook. Although they are well informed about the nature of the universe, they do not understand the first thing about human beings. The result is that rationalism will always be no more than a cult with a very small membership.
Rating: 
Summary: Required Reading
Review: This book is the the greatest book I have ever read. As I plunged into a tedious high school program the only thing that kept me from hating science was this book.Carl Sagan's love for science is poured into his book and every reader who gets into it will not set it down until they finish. This book has changed my outlook on life while broadening my horizens. He writes in his usual clear, understandable language and urges us to safeguard the candle of science. Without it we're nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Sagan holds up a candle in the dark.
Review: I have never read anything in my life that has had such an impact on my way of thinking as Sagan's Demon Haunted World. In these times of false prophets and psychics and "New Age" garbage, Sagan's scientific methods are a welcome debunker of pseudoscience and its practitioners. The world would be a much better place if we all thought like Carl Sagan.
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Summary: Scientific belief as a labor of love
Review: A heart-felt plea for enlightenment, inquiry, and open-mindedness from one of the great scientific philosophers of our time. Dr. Sagan was a champion of the skepticism movement because he always treated the subjects of his criticism with fairness, honesty, and compassion. He finished writing this book as he was suffering from the disease that took his life, and his peers have stated that he felt this book would be the his final work. This added a new level of awareness, and gave strength to his convictions. Sagan attacks the ongoing (and increasing) plague of pseudo-science that always draws more attention than the actual research that furthers the cause of science. He looks at UFOs, crop circles, "psychic" phenomena, conspiracy theories, legends of Atlantis, and all of the fringe elements that serve to keep a great number of people in the dark. Dr. Sagan was a crusader for the cause of true science, and his words live on in this outstanding book. (One of the points of the book is the the basis of a long-standing rule used by skeptics: "junk science books sell far better than true science.")
Rating:
Summary: For Sagan's Demon Haunted World
Review: This book is the best anti-pseudoscience book I've read to date. I recomend it for everyone with any interest in science. I also recomend it to those who believe in the topics Sagan examines.
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Summary: Simply One Of The Best Books I've Ever Read...
Review: Carl Sagan was one of the clearest thinkers our species has produced. A wonderful book that friends pick up and look at and then beg me to let them read. Read it today!
Rating:
Summary: Predictable
Review: Hightly predictable apology for science; interesting (and required) maybe for the non-scientist. No trace of humour.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Case for Intellectual Integrity
Review: A departure from Sagan's typical fare--less concerned with explaining a particular scientific field, more a cogent defense of the entire scientific enterprise (and a scathing rebuke of many non-scientific, or "pseudoscientific" to use Sagan's word, arguments commonly foisted on us as science, in the name of science, or as if they were viable substitutes for science). Includes a useful discussion of how to distinguish logical arguments from logical fallacies, and how to spot the fallacies ("baloney detection") when they are committed. There isn't a lot of earthshaking new scientific material here; the book is clearly intended as a critique of how we think and reason...and as an inspiration to the reader to examine his own reasoning processes. I think it clearly a must-read, and I'll happily add my vote to the "ought to be required reading in every high school" column, although the central themes of Sagan's argument are guaranteed to produce controversy (in case you hadn't already figured that out when you saw there were 145+ customer reviews of this). By the way, the reason I'm back here at the site is to buy eight more copies and give them to my friends, surely the most powerful endorsement of all.
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