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Contact (Paperback)
Carl Sagan
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R513
R426
Discovery Miles 4 260
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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"A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought."
*Los Angeles Times
"POWERFUL . . . A stirring defense of informed rationality. . . Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing."
*The Washington Post Book World
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.
Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.
"COMPELLING."
*USA Today
"A clear vision of what good science means and why it makes a difference. . . . A testimonial to the power of science and a warning of the dangers of unrestrained credulity."
*The Sciences
"PASSIONATE."
*San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle
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Contact (Paperback)
Carl Sagan
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R348
R285
Discovery Miles 2 850
Save R63 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING CLASSIC NOVEL OF FIRST CONTACT We are
not alone . . . At first it seemed impossible - a radio signal that
came not from Earth but from far beyond the nearest stars. But then
the signal was translated, and what had been impossible became
terrifying. For the signal contains the information to build a
Machine that can travel to the stars. A Machine that can take a
human to meet those that sent the message. They are eager to meet
us: they have been watching and waiting for a long time. And now
they will judge. 'Stunning and satisfying' Los Angeles Times 'An
astonishingly exciting, precise and involved book' Sydney Sunday
Telegraph 'The range and depth of ideas is quite uncommon' New York
Times Book Review 'Sagan's informed and dramatically enacted
speculations into the mysteries of the universe . . . make Contact
an exciting adventure' Publishers Weekly
This work is the story of 15 billion years of cosmic evolution,
transforming matter and life into consciousness, how science and
civilization grew up together and the forces and individuals who
helped shape modern science. The book aims to make scientific ideas
accesssible and exciting. It is based on the television series of
the same name. Subjects covered include the ancient library of
Alexandria, the death of the sun, the evolution of galaxies, space
missions and hieroglyphics.
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Cosmos (Paperback)
Carl Sagan; Foreword by Neil De Grasse Tyson; Introduction by Ann Druyan
3
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R517
R410
Discovery Miles 4 100
Save R107 (21%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX
"Cosmos" is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In
clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited
by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity
and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring a new
Introduction by Sagan's collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color
illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse
Tyson, "Cosmos" retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic
evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness,
exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain,
Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun,
the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who
helped to shape modern science.
Praise for "Cosmos"
"Magnificent . . . With a lyrical literary style, and a range that
touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, "Cosmos" often seems
too good to be true."--"The Plain Dealer"
"Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on
history, and a third--his mind's--on the human
condition."--"Newsday"
"Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . . .
shimmers with a sense of wonder."--"The Miami Herald"
"Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed
by the stately galaxies of space."--"Cosmopolitan"
"Enticing . . . iridescent . . . imaginatively illustrated."--"The
New York Times Book Review"
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.
Carl Sagan's prophetic vision of the tragic resurgence of
fundamentalism and the hope-filled potential of the next great
development in human spirituality
The late great astronomer and astrophysicist describes his
personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the
vastness of the cosmos. Exhibiting a breadth of intellect nothing
short of astounding, Sagan presents his views on a wide range of
topics, including the likelihood of intelligent life on other
planets, creationism and so-called intelligent design, and a new
concept of science as "informed worship." Originally presented at
the centennial celebration of the famous Gifford Lectures in
Scotland in 1985 but never published, this book offers a unique
encounter with one of the most remarkable minds of the twentieth
century.
"FASCINATING . . . MEMORABLE . . . REVEALING . . . PERHAPS THE BEST OF CARL SAGAN'S BOOKS." --The Washington Post Book World (front page review)
In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time.
Future generations will look back on our epoch as the time when the human race finally broke into a radically new frontier--space. In Pale Blue Dot Sagan traces the spellbinding history of our launch into the cosmos and assesses the future that looms before us as we move out into our own solar system and on to distant galaxies beyond. The exploration and eventual settlement of other worlds is neither a fantasy nor luxury, insists Sagan, but rather a necessary condition for the survival of the human race.
"TAKES READERS FAR BEYOND Cosmos . . . Sagan sees humanity's future in the stars." --Chicago Tribune
Comet begins with a breathtaking journey through space astride a
comet. Pulitzer Prize-winning astronomer Carl Sagan, author of
Cosmos and Contact, and writer Ann Druyan explore the origin,
nature, and future of comets, and the exotic myths and portents
attached to them. The authors show how comets have spurred some of
the great discoveries in the history of science and raise
intriguing questions about these brilliant visitors from the
interstellar dark.
Dr. Carl Sagan takes us on a great reading adventure, offering his vivid and startling insight into the brain of man and beast, the origin of human intelligence, the function of our most haunting legends--and their amazing links to recent discoveries. "A history of the human brain from the big bang, fifteen billion years ago, to the day before yesterday...It's a delight." THE NEW YORK TIMES
Carl Sagan, writer and scientist, returns from the frontier to tell us about how the world works. In his delightfully down-to-earth style, he explores and explains a mind-boggling future of intelligent robots, extraterrestrial life and its consquences, and other provocative, fascinating quandries of the future that we want to see today.
The Cold and the Dark is the record of the Conference on the
Long-Term Worldwide Biological Consequences of Nuclear War, held in
Washington, D.C., on October 31 to November 1, 1983. The conference
involved over 200 scientists from many nations and drew together
the best available scientific information. Its central finding was
the phenomenon of nuclear winter: a much more profound and
long-lasting devastation of the earth and atmosphere than had been
believed possible before. In the two principal papers, Carl Sagan
presents the atmospheric and climatic consequences of nuclear war
and Paul Ehrlich summarizes its biological implications. Also
included is the text of the "Moscow Link" -a dialogue between
Soviet and American scientists on nuclear winter-and the technical
papers providing the scientific evidence for the book's
conclusions.
The extragalactic universe, the immense world of a billion galaxies
lying beyond out own, is the subject of this book. Our Sun is but a
tiny star among a hundred billion other in our Galaxy, the Milky
Way, which appears as a luminous veil trailing across the clear
night sky. Beyond the Milky Way we will soar into space amid
galaxies, clusters of galaxies, radio galaxies and quasars of
enormous energy, out to the cosmological horizon which arrests our
flight like an intangible barrier. Why do galaxies seem to fly from
us? Is space so strongly curved that by going straight ahead we
come up behind ourselves? Did it all begin with an enormous
explosion, the famous Big Bang, which decided our fate in the first
quarter of an hour? These are the questions which this rigourous
and enthusiastic scientist tries to answer with complete honesty
and non-technical clarity.
In 1973, Carl Sagan published The Cosmic Connection, a daring view of the universe, which rapidly became a classic work of popular science and inspired a generation of scientists and enthusiasts. This seminal work is reproduced here for a whole new generation to enjoy. In Sagan's typically lucid and lyrical style, he discusses many topics from astrophysics and solar system science, to colonization, terraforming and the search for extraterrestrials. Sagan conveys his own excitement and wonder, and relates the revelations of astronomy to the most profound human problems and concerns: issues that are just as valid today as they were thirty years ago. New to this edition are Freeman Dyson's comments on Sagan's vision and the importance of the work, Ann Druyan's assessment of Sagan's cultural significance as a champion of science, and David Morrison's discussion of the advances made since 1973 and what became of Sagan's predictions. Who knows what wonders this third millennium will reveal, but one thing is certain: Carl Sagan played a unique role in preparing us for them.
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