Astronomy
I have to admit, I originally picked up Billions and Billions because of the title. Seeing it paired with Carl Sagan?s name instantly reminded me of Cosmos and his distinctive way of pronouncing billions. That initial statement and his personal explanation about it provided a wonderful introduction to the book, to what turned out to be an entry into the thoughts and beliefs of Carl Sagan.
What makes Billions and Billions distinctive is that it not only contains Sagan?s views on the cosmos, but other areas and issues about the world as well. Sure, the reader does ultimately learn more about what?s outside our planet through the book, but not without also seeing his views on areas such as climate change and nuclear weapons. Yet, perhaps as only Carl Sagan could, he compares these comparatively small issues with their importance on the grand scale. Never before have I been so deeply motivated to make more progress against climate change than after reading Sagan eloquently explain how we are gradually destroying life on the only place we know to harbor it in the universe.
The last parts of the book were especially moving. As someone viewing his writings from more than a decade past his death, it was somewhat painful to see how many future developments in science and technology he yearned to see, of which, some have since come to fruition, all the while remaining optimistic about humanity. Afterwards, I realized optimism was the one thing binding the book, and its myriad of topics, together. While discussing how humanity will face the problems of climate change or nuclear weapons, he never wavered from his optimism, continuously believing that we possess the necessary will and skill to tackle these future problems.
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium is a wonderful book for anyone wishing to read thoughtful essays on current issues from a great scientist and astronomer, or even just wishing to learn more about Carl Sagan himself. This book is available at many online bookstores, including Amazon
and Random House.
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Astronomy
Book Review: Billions and Billions
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| Image: Random House |
What makes Billions and Billions distinctive is that it not only contains Sagan?s views on the cosmos, but other areas and issues about the world as well. Sure, the reader does ultimately learn more about what?s outside our planet through the book, but not without also seeing his views on areas such as climate change and nuclear weapons. Yet, perhaps as only Carl Sagan could, he compares these comparatively small issues with their importance on the grand scale. Never before have I been so deeply motivated to make more progress against climate change than after reading Sagan eloquently explain how we are gradually destroying life on the only place we know to harbor it in the universe.
The last parts of the book were especially moving. As someone viewing his writings from more than a decade past his death, it was somewhat painful to see how many future developments in science and technology he yearned to see, of which, some have since come to fruition, all the while remaining optimistic about humanity. Afterwards, I realized optimism was the one thing binding the book, and its myriad of topics, together. While discussing how humanity will face the problems of climate change or nuclear weapons, he never wavered from his optimism, continuously believing that we possess the necessary will and skill to tackle these future problems.
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium is a wonderful book for anyone wishing to read thoughtful essays on current issues from a great scientist and astronomer, or even just wishing to learn more about Carl Sagan himself. This book is available at many online bookstores, including Amazon
and Random House.
- Magazines On Astronomy
Astronomy is a serious science and a popular hobby all over the world. There's a lot of new information popping up every day. A lot of this information from the image is to how to use a telescope can be found in an astronomy magazine. It's even...
- The Pale Blue Dot
The Pale Blue Dot Image: NASAIn 1990, after having completed its primary mission, Voyager 1 received instructions to turn its cameras back around to Earth. NASA had received a request from the famous astronomer Carl Sagan to photograph the Earth from...
- Big Bang: The Origin Of The Universe By Simon Singh
Book Review The author, Simon Singh, has written a wonderful history of the Big Bang theory, starting from its very beginnings. He leads up to the important discoveries by starting at the early history of Astronomy with ancient cultures and the Scientific...
- Wave-particle Duality
What does sexism have to do with wave-particle duality? Not much, unless you have been reading the book reviews and letters in Physics Today. The February 2012 issue includes a review by Robert March of Quantum Physics for Poets by Leon Lederman and Christopher...
- Astronomy: The Night Sky
No matter how far along you are in your sophistication as an amateur astronomer, there is always one fundamental moment that we all go back to. That is that very first moment that we went out where you could really see the cosmos well and you took...