Cosmos: The Story of Cosmic Evolution, Science and Civilisation Paperback – 11 Aug. 1983

Cosmos (Carl Sagan)Turn on any TV these days and there will be channels with one of more science , history or arts programmes.Some 26 years ago (1980) these programmes were relatively rare and a classic 13 one hour episode science programme entitled the Cosmos was presented as a personal view by one Carl Sagan ( sometime participant of various NASA space programmes and cosmological investigations then Director of Planetary studies at Cornell University) . An accompanying book to the series was also written and published. It covered right up until the Voyager mission views of Jupiter and Saturn in 1977-1979. (Voyager 2 – still active in 2016 – has just passed Pluto and left the conventional Solar system – not bad for 1975 technology. Its onboard power source – a mini nuclear reactor – should last another 10 years)The hardback book contains both script and illustrations and can be obtained as good quality second hand ,for very reasonable prices.A book allows stopping , pausing , thinking , reversing and rereading the text but for those who want the full visual experience ( film/TV presentation being intrinsically different to books with the sight , sounds , narration and a flowing story line to hold the attention) . The TV series had updates added some 10 years later and in 2000 , a DVD transfer was released. The TV series also featured a music soundtrack taken from “Heaven and hell” ( (Vangelis 1975) .Obviously there have been many advances / updates in the last 30 or so years but I can still recommend both as an example of the thoughts and presentation of the times . Carl Sagan , a great communicator , sadly died in 1996Rate 5 star as classic examples of their time covering the Cosmos ( as it seemed then) . The series ended very topically with a view of our the earth , and the threats faced by the latter - comparing the possible outcomes of irresponsible misuse of the planets resources to the planetary hell of Venus and the cold desolation of Mars.(Note there has been a recent re casting of the original series by Neil de Grasse Tyson ( written in conjunction with Carl Sagan’s widow) – also available on DVD and Blu Ray. The content is more up to date but many still prefer the older Sagan version with less reliance on CGI.)

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."

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.