Cosmos by Carl SaganMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A companion book to one of the most influential science documentary miniseries of all-time, the success of both the miniseries and this book redefined the popular science genre for the public. Cosmos by Carl Sagan is a book that not only covers the mysteries of space but various fields of science from the origin to the present (of time of publication).
Over the course of nearly 300 pages, Sagan covers a wide range of scientific topics over the course of 13 chapters that correspond to the 13 episodes of the PBS miniseries it was written to compliment. Using a conversational writing style that connects with the general reader, Sagan explains complex scientific information without being condensing but encouraging for those interested to investigate further on whatever topic caught their attention. Given that this was published over 40 years ago some of the scientific information is outdated—something Sagan would be happy about given his call to expand our knowledge—and the cultural overtones related to the Cold War especially nuclear self-destruction do stand out as jarring, but don’t take away from overall book.
Cosmos by Carl Sagan is an engagingly written book for the general reader about very complex scientific ideas.
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