Hey guys, I bought Billions and Billions by the late Carl Sagan last Friday and have read quite abit of it so far and I love it. I bought it because, as many of you know, Sagan was a good friend of Al Gore, and I thought it would be a good intellectual read. Sagan unlike anyone else has a unique way of putting things in perspective and also putting the facts on the table. He was an atheist, but like Al Gore, was spiritual. He was very key in astronomy, the environment, and other scientific related fields. If you have any questions about life, death, or anything inbetween, you need to read this book.



http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?id...isbn=0345379187

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
It is doubtful that there is anyone unfamiliar with noted astronomer and science writer Sagan's ability to convey the wonder, excitement, and joy of science. This book is a wonderful, if eclectic, collection of essays, some reprinted from magazines of national prominence, covering a wide range of topics: the invention of chess, life on Mars, global warming, abortion, international affairs, the nature of government, and the meaning of morality. Writing with clarity and an understanding of human nature, Sagan offers hope for humanity's future as he illuminates our ability to understand ourselves and to change the world for the better. The last chapter is an account of his struggle with myelodysplasia, the illness that finally took his life in December 1996. An epilog written by his wife is a personal account of the man rather than the scientist admired by so many. This last book is a fitting capstone to a distinguished career. Enthusiastically recommended.

- James Olson, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description:
In the final book of his astonishing career, Carl Sagan brilliantly examines the burning questions of our lives, our world, and the universe around us. These luminous, entertaining essays travel both the vastness of the cosmos and the intimacy of the human mind, posing such fascinating questions as how did the universe originate and how will it end, and how can we meld science and compassion to meet the challenges of the coming century? Here, too, is a rare, private glimpse of Sagan's thoughts about love, death, and God as he struggled with fatal disease. Ever forward-looking and vibrant with the sparkle of his unquenchable curiosity, Billions & Billions is a testament to one of the great scientific minds of our day.

Well, the smartest man in the world could be an atheist, but that wouldn't change my religious faith.

What? :blink:

One of my true regrets in life was never having met Carl Sagan. I remember watching his "Cosmos" series on PBS back in the '80's. He was truly brilliant and spiritual.

When I read "Earth in the Balance" all the way through a few years ago, I found out Gore admired Sagan as well. Kindred spirits, definately.

Thank you for telling us about this book. Am going to Amazon.com NOW!! :clap:

Great! I am sure you willl like it!

What I mean, is that even if somebody is a super genious and is an atheist, it wouldn't change my faith.

What does that have to do this book or anything else?

I thought you were implying that the guy who wrote it is a genious and an atheist, so I figured I would add my 2 cents.

He was a genius and an atheist. The two are not mutually exclusive. There have been many people with no religious belief that contributed greatly to life and the world. Sagan was also a very good friend of Al's. You should have heard the eulogy he gave at his funeral back in 1996. Brilliant.

No one was trying to shake your beliefs, just thought I would post a review to a great book.

sorry, I wasn't implying anything bad, just stating my view.

:clap: Thanks Chris for the info on the New Book! I've always admired Carl Sagen and like Erin B said...............it would have been nice to have met him. :(

I'll have to check it out soon at my local "Walden Books"!

Have a good one..................Andrew Paul

I too would love to have met him.

Sagan was a wonderful man. It was a real loss to the world when he died. I've always been a fan, but I didn't realize he and Al were fans of each other. It figures, though. Great minds think alike!

Al Gore and Carl Sagan are two great men who consistantly inspire in our time of immense transition. I have long been an admirer of Dr. Sagan: I'm a charter member of the Planetary Society, as well as an avid reader, viewer and collector of his books and programs. His untimely death in 1996 is a great loss for us all, for it was Sagan who so eloquently asked, "Who speaks for earth?", and answered in the conduct of his own life, and the knowledge he so eagerly shared. Billions and Billions was his posthumous, poignant last work, full of personal anecdote, humor, reflection, and summation; I wholeheartedly join in the recommendation to read it. But if you wish delve a little deeper into his philosophy of science and the significance of science as a means of salvation from ignorance, religious fanaticism, and global self-annihilation, then may I suggest, The Demon Haunted World: Science As A Candle In the Dark (Random House, 1995)? In this collection of 25 essays, Sagan asks the hard questions and offers some inspiring suggestions concerning the personal and geopolitical conditions and prejudices confronting us all. Carl may not have believed in a personal god; he was tempered by equal parts skeptisicm and boundless imagination. But in his deep and abiding humility before the awesome wonders of the cosmos, and his humanity, manifest in his concern for the earth and all the creatures on it, he was unmatched. No just or compassionate god, if one there be, could or would fault him for an oversight of faith, when his whole life was a celebration of all creation.