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haoife00's review against another edition
4.0
God I love this man. This book was so informative and never got dull. Sagan was so optimistic about the future of space exploration - too optimistic. It was interesting to read his predictions, e.g. he said that by the 90s or the first decade of the new century there will certainly be manned explorations of Mars.
ryki08's review
5.0
One of his earlier works, Sagan had the ability to write about very complex subjects, but explain them in a way tat allowed millions to understand. I really wonder how America's space program would be different today if Sagan were still alive. There is still a lot of learn about our place in this journey called life.
__kya__'s review against another edition
3.0
A beautiful book. Carl writes the way he speaks, causing a cathartic reading experience. The information he shares feels accessible to anyone and will fascinate everyone between physics majors and young stargazers.
capitola's review
5.0
Forty years later, Carl Sagan's awe and scientific zeal are still incredibly inspiring. I sincerely hope that all he foresaw for mankind will come to pass, for even if we are alone in the universe, there are billions and billions of worlds to see.
hseldon's review against another edition
4.0
Much of the information is now dated but the book is still a compelling, cogent and well thought out argument for a continuing and active human presence in space. The gutting of the manned NASA missions by the Carter administration shortly after this was published and the struggle for both funding and clear cut purpose following the end of the Apollo program make the optimistic tone of the book ring somewhat hollow today, but just imagine what if...
lordofthemoon's review against another edition
4.0
Although nominal pop science, this certainly isn't a primer for the general layman, since it seems to already assume a decent amount of knowledge on the part of the reader. It does provide, however, a very lucid description of the origins of the solar system, the development of life and its progression and wider place in the universe (at least as understood up to the early 1970s when it was written).
Our space probes are discussed, including the Pioneer probes which Sagan himself worked on -- I hadn't realised that there was such controversy over the plaques that were mounted on Pioneers 10 and 11 -- and he describes how they were used to develop and test theories about the planets of the solar system.
Sagan isn't afraid to speculate about the possibility of life on other worlds and the possible means of listening for them, and maybe even communicating with them. This willingness to delve into what a lot of scientists may consider unsavoury territory is part of what makes Sagan's work so charming.
The only issue that I had with the book is its age. Some of his more optimistic predictions have already been proven wrong (like his suggestion of a permanent moonbase by now). I would love to read a contemporary piece that discusses the history of human spaceflight the way that Sagan has, but brings it up to date, charting all the successes and failures since Sagan's day.
In total, a charming and well-written description of man and his relationship with the universe.
Our space probes are discussed, including the Pioneer probes which Sagan himself worked on -- I hadn't realised that there was such controversy over the plaques that were mounted on Pioneers 10 and 11 -- and he describes how they were used to develop and test theories about the planets of the solar system.
Sagan isn't afraid to speculate about the possibility of life on other worlds and the possible means of listening for them, and maybe even communicating with them. This willingness to delve into what a lot of scientists may consider unsavoury territory is part of what makes Sagan's work so charming.
The only issue that I had with the book is its age. Some of his more optimistic predictions have already been proven wrong (like his suggestion of a permanent moonbase by now). I would love to read a contemporary piece that discusses the history of human spaceflight the way that Sagan has, but brings it up to date, charting all the successes and failures since Sagan's day.
In total, a charming and well-written description of man and his relationship with the universe.
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