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Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space |  | Author: Carl Sagan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $5.90
as of 7/30/2010 02:49 UTC details
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New (26) Used (32) Collectible (3) from $5.90
Seller: books-2-ur-door
Rating:  64 reviews
Media: Paperback
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0345376595
Dewey Decimal Number: 919.904
EAN: 9780345376596
Publication Date: September 8, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"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
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 64
 An amazing book-Pictures essential February 18, 2010
brian (USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a high-school student, I have a unique viewpoint on life, literature, and science. This book was very inspirational to me, and I enjoyed reading it. Sagan got off on some very good points, although he went off on a tangent occasionally. One of the best features was the informative pictures and graphs, which were beautiful and awe-inspiring even when they were non-informative, so the best editions to buy are the hardcover or first-edition soft-cover editions, as later soft-cover editions are missing the pictures. This book was a very refreshing look at space.
One of the first things that caught my eye in this book was the picture that precedes Chapter 1. It shows the Milky Way from the vantage point of an observer outside of it. The most striking aspect of this picture, though, is a small box, enclosing what seems to be blackness, but if the reader looks closer, includes a tiny pinprick of light, just big enough to be noticed. That is our solar system. Earth is many orders of magnitude smaller, even less than a large molecule. Humans are just larger than the protons. That view puts us in perspective. We are a miniscule part of a miniscule part of the Milky Way, which is a miniscule part of the whole universe. That really makes it seem odd that this whole universe was made for us, tiny living specks in this giant universe.
Later in the book, they state the different follies that men have thought to be true, but science has proved wrong. The book looks at: "The Earth is at the center of the universe", "The Sun is at the center, so we are almost at the center", "The Milky Way is the only galaxy", "the Milky Way is the center of the universe", "No other sun has planets", "We have existed since the beginning", "There's something special about our motion", and even biological ones get thrown in: "We are different from the other animals". All of these notions are calmly discussed, and what we know now is stated. We aren't special, but at least we are here.
This book was an invigorating read, and I would recommend it to anyone that likes science or astronomy, or is just interested in reading about our world.
Carl Sagan is a hero! November 27, 2009
L. Young (Canada)
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book when he talks about religions and supernatural claims and how they inhibit our species to progress. Reading Carl Sagan's books feels like coming up for air for the first time in a long time. The only issue I would postulate would be that it was written in 96', so it's a tad bit out of date. For example, the number of moons described that orbit Jupiter and Saturn is out of date and a few more other notions, but the majority of the book is still relivant.
Consistantly Inspiring, Refreshingly Concise March 29, 2009
DrivenMind (Atlanta, Georgia)
Dr. Sagan's vision of humanities forward progress into unexplored frontiers, is a fascinating, and wholly inspiring read. As was always true in his life, Dr. Sagan does not shy away from questions without definite answers, and refuses to submit to pessimism. This book is an inspiring read about the next hurdle to human civilization, and how we may already posses the ability to overcome it. Pale Blue Dot is the quintessential reminder, that by embracing the best of our human nature, we may not only set foot in worlds outside our own, but repair the one that we to this very day, still call home.
I purchased this book, after stumbling across a clip of the Cosmos television series online. I had no idea that after reading his books, I would come away so inspired, and so curious.
Vimeo Video February 24, 2009
M. Curoe (none of your business, USA)
I am not sure if anyone uses Vimeo but there is a really great video that excerpts from Pale Blue Dot. It moved me to go photograph nature and its wonders. Go check it out!
http://vimeo.com/2822787
Book Review Pale Blue Dot February 19, 2009
Ramon V. Pastrick (Endicott, NY)
Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan is an incredible book that explores mankinds options for sustaining the human species in the future. When NASA's
deep space vehicle Voyager was about to leave our solar system, Sagan
suggested for the last command to turn its camera around and take a picture. That famous photo shows our tiny blue speck in the cosmos as
a fragle planet that mankind will ultimately have to leave to survive.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 64
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