"Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence"

+++++

This book -if...we find ourselves, in an age of environmental pollution, social hierarchy, economic inequality, nuclear weapons...with [ancient] emotions but without [ancient] social safeguards--perhaps we can be excused for [liking rough, contact sports] like...football."
(4) The physics of waves, sound waves & human communication, and light waves & human sight.
"[T]he elegant machinery of the evolutionary process...has brought us into ...superb harmony with our physical environment."
(5) Four cosmic questions. Sagan explains the details behind these questions that are as follows:
(i) Was there ever life on Mars? (ii) Is Titan a laboratory for the origin of life? (iii) Is there intelligent life elsewhere (iv) What is the origin and fate of the universe?
(6) Expresses the idea that because there are so many stars or suns in the universe, then there are probably many planets.

(II) (7 chapters)

(7) Draws a parallel between a shrimp's world in an aquarium and our world.
"With acid rain, ozone depletion, chemical pollution, radioactivity...and a dozen other assaults on the environment, we are pushing and pulling our little world in poorly understood directions. Our...advanced civilization may be changing the delicate ecological balance that has...evolved over the 4-billion-year period of life on Earth."
(8) Environmental concerns.
"Nearly all our [environmental] problems are made -more than ever before--to understand science and technology."
(10) Thinning of the ozone layer.
"It's hard to understand how "conservatives" could oppose safeguarding the environment that all of us--including conservatives and their children--depend on for our very lives. What exactly is it conservatives are conserving?"
(11) Global warming.
(12) Solving the global warming crisis.
(13) An alliance between science and religion to solve the environmental crisis.

(III) (6 articles)

(14) The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. Illustrates "the common enemy."
(15) Abortion (co-written with his third wife, Ann Druyan). An excellent article that considers the science involved.
(16) Looks at codes of ethics. Sagan asks, "[C]an we explore the matter scientifically?"
(17) Examines the technological advances in the art of mass murder from the projectiles used at Gettysburg to the nuclear weapons we have today. Co-written with A. Druyan.
"Today [1992], the United States and the Soviet Union have boofirst."
(19) An account to-read style.

Finally, before reading this book, I suggest that a potential reader examine a photograph of the Earth as seen from 3.7 billion miles away. (Such a photo is found in Sagan's 1994 book "Pale Blue Dot.") This will increase the impact of what is said in this book.

In conclusion, this is a fascinating and important book. I realized after reading it why the National Science Foundation awarded posthumously Dr. Carl Edward Sagan (Nov. 1934 to Dec. 1996) their highest honor since "his gifts to [humankind] were infinite."

**** 1/2

(first published 1997; 3 parts or 19 chapters; epilogue; main narrative 230 pages; acknowledgements; references; index)

+++++

Intriguing, Easy Read

After reading his two best known works, "Cosmos" and "Contact" and receiving a suggestion to read this, I ordered Billions and Billions off the internet. After the first two chapters, I was confused. They had the same heart-felt, easy-to-read style Sagan is known for, but this book seemed more private and passionate. Unlike his other works, this seems to peer into his soul much more than other stuff I've read.

The book is broken up into three parts. The first part is basically an introduction. It consists of a few chapters that educate you on such subjects as the importance of exponentials, the connection between hunting and football, and the true size and scope of the known universe. Like always, if the readers happens to already know a subject, it is still not painful to read through it. Sagan has a way with words that I can only describe as elegant. It is elementary enough to understand and yet intriguing enough to keep your interest.

The second section I would consider the "Warning Section". Pretty much the entire thing is a giant speech on the horrible things we are doing to our planet. It touches on CFC's, CO2 poisoning, and the greenhouse effect. While 100 pages of this can take it's toll on your patience every once in a while, I never trully lost interest. Right when you can consider it boring it switchs subjects just enough to keep you reading. This is definetely the section when you realize this must be Sagan's last work. The true opinion and passion that comes out out in his writing is so unlike his other books that I forgot I was reading the author of "Cosmos".

But right as I was about to get tired of hearing about the atmosphere and it's decline, the third section of the book came. I can't give this part a title because there are so many elements he touches on. Some of them being government tyranny, weapons of mass destruction, and abortion. The short essay on the latter subject was easily the most perfect example of Sagan's genius I have ever read. In a short writing he used facts, religion, philosophy, and opinion to give a perfectly unbiased view on a serious subject.

But even through all his thoughts and theories, the last two chapters of the book stick in your head the most. "In the Valley of the Shadow" recounts his repeated problems with the illness that eventually took his life in 1996. All I can say is you have to read it. The term "heroic" is thrown around way too often in our society, but the word could not be better used than to describe Sagan's final years. And finally, the epilogue was written proclaimed "flawed species" known as man.

A more reflective Sagan

I read this shortly after finishing Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark." While I heartily recommend either volume, this one will, I think, appeal more to the mainstream audience. Dr. Sagan infuses this work not only with the critical thinking scientific method we know and admire him for, but also with a human touch which doesn't come across in some of his other writings. It is well worth your time to read what Sagan has to say here. During his lifetime, he was occasionally criticised in the scientific community for popularizing science, but he has done more to advance the cause of science than almost anyone else in the 20th century. In making science accessible, he allowed all of us to share his excitement and curiosity, and we are all made poorer by his loss.