Carl Sagan (1934–1996)
Author of Contact
About the Author
A respected planetary scientist best known outside the field for his popularizations of astronomy, Carl Sagan was born in New York City on November 9, 1934. He attended the University of Chicago, where he received a B.A. in 1954, a B.S. in 1955, and a M.S. in 1956 in physics as well as a Ph.D. in show more 1960 in astronomy and astrophysics. He has several early scholarly achievements including the experimental demonstration of the synthesis of the energy-carrying molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in primitive-earth experiments. Another was the proposal that the greenhouse effect explained the high temperature of the surface of Venus. He was also one of the driving forces behind the mission of the U.S. satellite Viking to the surface of Mars. He was part of a team that investigated the effects of nuclear war on the earth's climate - the "nuclear winter" scenario. Sagan's role in developing the "Cosmos" series, one of the most successful series of any kind to be broadcast on the Public Broadcasting System, and his book The Dragons of Eden (1977) won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978. He also wrote the novel Contact, which was made into a movie starring Jodie Foster. He died from pneumonia on December 20, 1996. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Carl Sagan, on 07/22/1986 in Washington
Series
Works by Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995) — Author — 8,084 copies, 121 reviews
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence (1977) — Author — 4,034 copies, 44 reviews
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium (1997) 2,618 copies, 19 reviews
The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God (1985) 1,739 copies, 31 reviews
To Preserve a World Graced by Life 3 copies
Origins of Life 3 copies
Space Age Dreamer 3 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 4 & 5 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 2 & 3 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 5 & 6 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 8 & 9 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 10 & 11 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 12 & 13 2 copies
Works by Carl Sagan (Study Guide): Cosmos: a Personal Voyage, Pale Blue Dot, Contact, the Demon-Haunted World, the Dragons of Eden (2010) 2 copies
sagan 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 3 & 4 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 1 & 2 2 copies
Untitled on Mars 2 copies
Experiments in Utopias 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 7 & 8 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 9 & 10 1 copy
A Glorious Dawn 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 6 & 7 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 11 & 12 — Author — 1 copy
Reflections on the Universe 1 copy
Associated Works
The Space-Gods Revealed: A Close Look at the Theories of Erich Von Daniken (1976) — Foreword — 71 copies
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact: Vol. XCVI, No. 8 (August 1976) (1976) — Contributor — 29 copies, 2 reviews
The Making of a Soviet Scientist: My Adventures in Nuclear Fusion and Space From Stalin to Star Wars (1994) — Foreword, some editions — 24 copies, 1 review
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact: Vol. XCII, No. 2 (October 1973) (1973) — Contributor — 24 copies
Life in the Universe: Scientific American : A Special Issue (Scientific American, a Special Issue) (1995) — Contributor — 20 copies
NOVA: The Case of the Ancient Astronauts [1978 TV episode] — Narrator — 4 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Sagan, Carl
- Legal name
- Sagan, Carl Edward
- Other names
- Сейгън, Карл
كارل ساجان
세이건, 칼
セーガン, カール
萨根, 卡尔
Карл Сейгън (show all 8)
Саган, Карл
Саган, Карл - Birthdate
- 1934-11-09
- Date of death
- 1996-12-20
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Chicago (BA ∙ 1954 ∙ BS ∙ Physics ∙ 1955)
University of Chicago (MS ∙ Physics ∙ 1956)
University of Chicago (Ph.D ∙ Astronomy and Astrophysics ∙ 1960) - Occupations
- astronomer
science writer
scientist
professor
television presenter
physicist - Organizations
- Cornell University
Harvard University
American Astronautical Society
American Astronomical Society
American Geophysical Union
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (show all 15)
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Children's Health Fund Advisory Board
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CISCOP)
Council for a Livable World
Council on Foreign Relations
Federation of American Scientists
Guggenheim Foundation
International Academy of Humanism
Planetary Society - Awards and honors
- American Physical Society (Fellow, 1989)
American Philosophical Society (1995)
International Space Hall of Fame (2004)
Pulitzer Prize (1978)
John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award (1982)
Joseph Priestley Award (1976) (show all 30)
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Medal (Awarded by the Soviet Cosmonauts Federation, 1987)
Harold Masursky Award for Meritorious Service to Planetary Science (1991)
Explorers Club, Lowell Thomas Award (1980)
Oersted Medal (1990, American Association of Physics Teachers)
Public Welfare Medal (1994)
NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1977)
Emmy (Outstanding Individual Achievement, 1981)
Emmy (Outstanding Informational Series, 1981)
Humanist of the Year (1981)
Isaac Asimov Award (1994)
Peabody Award (1980)
Klumpke-Roberts Award (1974)
Golden Plate Award (1975)
Order of Saint James of the Sword (Grand-Cross, 1998)
Pantheon of Skeptics (2011)
NASA Apollo Achievement Award (1970)
Prix Galabert (1973)
Peter Lavan Award (1984)
New Priorities Award (1984)
Sidney Hillman Foundation Prize Award (1984)
SANE National Peace Award (1984)
Olive Branch Award (1984, 1986, 1989)
Leo Szilard Award for Physics in the Public Interest (1985)
Nahum Goldmann Medal (1986) - Agent
- Morton Janklow
- Relationships
- Margulis, Lynn (first wife)
Druyan, Ann (third wife)
Sagan, Dorion (son)
Sagan, Nick (son)
Salzman, Linda (second wife) - Short biography
- Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences. He pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
He is world-famous for writing popular science books and for co-writing and presenting the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which has been seen by more than 500 million people in over 60 countries.[2] A book to accompany the program was also published. He also wrote the novel Contact, the basis for the 1997 film of the same name. During his lifetime, Sagan published more than 600 scientific papers and popular articles and was author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books. In his works, he frequently advocated skeptical inquiry, secular humanism, and the scientific method. - Cause of death
- pneumonia
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Ithaca, New York, USA
Rahway, New Jersey, USA - Place of death
- Seattle, Washington, USA
- Burial location
- Lakeview Cemetery, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Discussions
Group Read, April 2016: Contact in 1001 Books to read before you die (April 2016)
Reviews
Carl Sagan takes on pseudoscience. This book extolls the value of skepticism, critical thinking, and the scientific method. It should be required reading in my opinion. Unfortunately, those that could benefit most from applying more rigor in deciding what to believe will likely never read it. Originally published in 1995, he has proven to be prescient, as pseudoscience is even more prevalent than ever in recent years. Witness the rise in the number of shows about ancient aliens and show more paranormal activity, not to mention fake news. Outrageous claims are made and spread from person to person, and people believe these claims without questioning or proof. Why does this happen and what can we do to prevent it? Sagan attempts to answer these important questions.
This book is very readable. It does not require a deep understanding of science. Sagan writes in a way that is easily understood, while not becoming overly simplistic. He does not use jargon and, not surprisingly, presents evidence in a logical manner. He provides helpful analogies and treats his audience as bright and capable of understanding. He shows how scientific advances are fueled not only by hypothesizing, rigorous testing, and analysis of results, but also by curiosity and imagination.
I was surprised by how many areas outside the specifics of scientific inquiry are covered in this book, including literature, history, politics, religion, communications, education, economics, ethics, social norms, culture, and more. Science touches on almost every aspect of our lives but is largely ignored by many. Sagan’s subject matter includes debunking of such issues as crop circles, alien abductions, ancient astronauts, ESP, UFO’s, astrology, New Age mysticism, and the like. He reminds us of the importance of not confusing cause and effect, questioning claims that cannot be tested, requiring evidence to support assertions, and remaining skeptical about authoritative statements, especially if monetary gain is involved.
We are bombarded daily with outrageous claims (click bait, anyone?) urging us to simply believe without scrutiny, so healthy skepticism is becoming increasingly more important in our inter-connected world. Carl Sagan died in 1996, when the world wide web was in its infancy. One can only wish he were around today to help refute today’s absurdities, which are so obviously spurious in origin. I know I am “preaching to the choir,” since avid readers regularly engage in evaluative thinking. Even though some of the references are dated, this book contains an important and still relevant message on the value of critical thinking skills. I found it fascinating. Highly recommended. show less
This book is very readable. It does not require a deep understanding of science. Sagan writes in a way that is easily understood, while not becoming overly simplistic. He does not use jargon and, not surprisingly, presents evidence in a logical manner. He provides helpful analogies and treats his audience as bright and capable of understanding. He shows how scientific advances are fueled not only by hypothesizing, rigorous testing, and analysis of results, but also by curiosity and imagination.
I was surprised by how many areas outside the specifics of scientific inquiry are covered in this book, including literature, history, politics, religion, communications, education, economics, ethics, social norms, culture, and more. Science touches on almost every aspect of our lives but is largely ignored by many. Sagan’s subject matter includes debunking of such issues as crop circles, alien abductions, ancient astronauts, ESP, UFO’s, astrology, New Age mysticism, and the like. He reminds us of the importance of not confusing cause and effect, questioning claims that cannot be tested, requiring evidence to support assertions, and remaining skeptical about authoritative statements, especially if monetary gain is involved.
We are bombarded daily with outrageous claims (click bait, anyone?) urging us to simply believe without scrutiny, so healthy skepticism is becoming increasingly more important in our inter-connected world. Carl Sagan died in 1996, when the world wide web was in its infancy. One can only wish he were around today to help refute today’s absurdities, which are so obviously spurious in origin. I know I am “preaching to the choir,” since avid readers regularly engage in evaluative thinking. Even though some of the references are dated, this book contains an important and still relevant message on the value of critical thinking skills. I found it fascinating. Highly recommended. show less
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
This book is so wonderful not just because of the things we learn from it, but because it acts as a mirror for the personality of Carl Sagan, the way how he sees life and the universe, his authenticity, truth and humanism. I think that this is the reason why this book is still so important. Unlike other physicists, Carl Sagan is not condescending, he speaks to the reader as an equal. Carl Sagan also doesn't try to give science more authority than it actually has, he doesn't turn science into show more a religion (which is something that many who write popular science do). He is a wonderful writer, including in this book astronomy, astrophysics, history of science, history of thought, biology and more. The most important thing that he does is to make the universe beautiful for everyone, writing this book was an act of generosity he had towards humanity.
This is my first time reading Cosmos, but I did see the tv series when I was a teenager. Until this day I still remember watching the episodes, which left an enduring impression on me, and affected the formation of my personality, it awoke interests that never stopped following me. Thank you Carl Sagan, for all the good things you brought into my life. show less
This is my first time reading Cosmos, but I did see the tv series when I was a teenager. Until this day I still remember watching the episodes, which left an enduring impression on me, and affected the formation of my personality, it awoke interests that never stopped following me. Thank you Carl Sagan, for all the good things you brought into my life. show less
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
The Cosmos TV series of 1980 seems to have been a life-transforming experience for a lot of people I know, but I somehow missed out on it at the time: I think simply because it was shown on the BBC while I was a physics undergraduate, and we didn't really get the chance to watch TV at all during term-time, even if it was physics-related (too much other stuff going on).
Anyway, the book has now popped up on audio, so I thought I'd give it a chance and find out what all the fuss was about.
As show more the title implies, it's an attempt to describe everything, to the extent that it was known in 1980, with the emphasis on astrophysics and planetary science, but a lot of excursions into the history of science and philosophy, biology and the origins of life, prospects for finding other intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy, and so on. All ground that has been gone over by a lot of other people since then, but still very nicely presented, in a way that should be accessible to most people, but without much obvious dumbing-down. Obviously it has the limitations of when it was written and the way it was written as a companion to a TV series: there's a lot of full-on science-evangelism and some very elated passages of awe-and-wonder that haven't aged as well as they might have. But on the whole it still struck me as quite readable, and I'm sure I learnt one or two things I didn't know in between all the recapitulation of things I once knew about the Solar System.
Interesting to see how the balance of optimism and terror has shifted since 1980: we don't seem to be as worried about nuclear weapons and population growth as we were forty years ago (even though neither threat has gone away), and equally we seem to have lost a lot of the interest we had in exploring space, but climate-change now has moved from a speculative footnote to centre-stage. I suspect that Sagan, were he still with us, would have been revising down his estimate for the likelihood that intelligent civilisations would achieve interstellar travel before destroying themselves. show less
Anyway, the book has now popped up on audio, so I thought I'd give it a chance and find out what all the fuss was about.
As show more the title implies, it's an attempt to describe everything, to the extent that it was known in 1980, with the emphasis on astrophysics and planetary science, but a lot of excursions into the history of science and philosophy, biology and the origins of life, prospects for finding other intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy, and so on. All ground that has been gone over by a lot of other people since then, but still very nicely presented, in a way that should be accessible to most people, but without much obvious dumbing-down. Obviously it has the limitations of when it was written and the way it was written as a companion to a TV series: there's a lot of full-on science-evangelism and some very elated passages of awe-and-wonder that haven't aged as well as they might have. But on the whole it still struck me as quite readable, and I'm sure I learnt one or two things I didn't know in between all the recapitulation of things I once knew about the Solar System.
Interesting to see how the balance of optimism and terror has shifted since 1980: we don't seem to be as worried about nuclear weapons and population growth as we were forty years ago (even though neither threat has gone away), and equally we seem to have lost a lot of the interest we had in exploring space, but climate-change now has moved from a speculative footnote to centre-stage. I suspect that Sagan, were he still with us, would have been revising down his estimate for the likelihood that intelligent civilisations would achieve interstellar travel before destroying themselves. show less
I'm a skeptic by nature, and one who objects to anyone's claiming that I must have a 'spiritual side'. A Myers-Briggs test identifies me as INTJ, meaning that I prefer people (and everything else) to make plain sense. Thus, in my perfect world everyone would simply nod their heads in agreement all the way through this book. That, of course, is a completely unrealistic wish. Sagan's introduction does not do a strong job of setting up his conclusion and consequently creates some vagueness show more around who his target audience is. A few chapters in, you may think it was only aimed at people who need reassurance that the aliens aren't going to get them. Or more generally, at people like the cab driver from his introduction who have the will to think critically but lack the tools. What are those tools, and how should they be applied?
I will only summarize briefly what I think are his most telling points in the main body: that science demonstrably works, evolves in response to new information, is self-policing for being testable and verifiable, and presents no authority figures. He contrasts this with the warning sings of pseudoscience that evades testing, demands belief, claims authority and suppresses dissent. I thought his most wonderful and least offensive comparison was with used car shopping. You would be a fool to take everything the salesperson tells you at face value. You have to apply some basic logic and skepticism to the situation or you're going to buy a lemon. Nobody likes being scammed. The same principle applies when assessing others' claims about how the world and the universe works. Sagan then concludes with a strong argument that the better these principles are preserved by the general population, the stronger a democracy. He should have also led with that.
It's too easy to like a book when I already share virtually all of its opinions at the start. None of this content challenged me, so I tried to be wary of flaws or drawbacks for other readers. Most of these I found in Sagan's adamant atheist stance, with which he acknowledges he's sometimes prone to taking things too far. Suggesting that prayer subjects religion to scientific analysis, where we could run a study on how often it is successful and rate its efficacy, is an example. I'm no believer, but even I know gods wouldn't oblige themselves to meet our service standards. He cannot summon a better word for established religions that have been with us for centuries than 'respectable', but I feel he demonstrates little respect for them even while arguing that science and belief in a god are compatible. I agree fully when he says it would be cruelty to assault the beliefs of people who depend upon those beliefs to see them through the day. I would not agree that he takes measures here to avoid doing so. His straight-ahead approach is not well designed to win new converts to his side.
That, unfortunately, is what I was half hoping for. Some kind of guide to help me to help others. That's silly, wishful thinking that I shouldn't have expected to find by looking in this direction, so I'm satisfied to say I was disappointed in that regard. Of course I'm still going to say it's a fantastically well-argued book by a fantastic author, aged statistics notwithstanding. Opening chapters on the essence of science's importance and the closing chapters on the ties between science and democracy are especially noteworthy and quotable, they just ought to have been paired up a little better. show less
I will only summarize briefly what I think are his most telling points in the main body: that science demonstrably works, evolves in response to new information, is self-policing for being testable and verifiable, and presents no authority figures. He contrasts this with the warning sings of pseudoscience that evades testing, demands belief, claims authority and suppresses dissent. I thought his most wonderful and least offensive comparison was with used car shopping. You would be a fool to take everything the salesperson tells you at face value. You have to apply some basic logic and skepticism to the situation or you're going to buy a lemon. Nobody likes being scammed. The same principle applies when assessing others' claims about how the world and the universe works. Sagan then concludes with a strong argument that the better these principles are preserved by the general population, the stronger a democracy. He should have also led with that.
It's too easy to like a book when I already share virtually all of its opinions at the start. None of this content challenged me, so I tried to be wary of flaws or drawbacks for other readers. Most of these I found in Sagan's adamant atheist stance, with which he acknowledges he's sometimes prone to taking things too far. Suggesting that prayer subjects religion to scientific analysis, where we could run a study on how often it is successful and rate its efficacy, is an example. I'm no believer, but even I know gods wouldn't oblige themselves to meet our service standards. He cannot summon a better word for established religions that have been with us for centuries than 'respectable', but I feel he demonstrates little respect for them even while arguing that science and belief in a god are compatible. I agree fully when he says it would be cruelty to assault the beliefs of people who depend upon those beliefs to see them through the day. I would not agree that he takes measures here to avoid doing so. His straight-ahead approach is not well designed to win new converts to his side.
That, unfortunately, is what I was half hoping for. Some kind of guide to help me to help others. That's silly, wishful thinking that I shouldn't have expected to find by looking in this direction, so I'm satisfied to say I was disappointed in that regard. Of course I'm still going to say it's a fantastically well-argued book by a fantastic author, aged statistics notwithstanding. Opening chapters on the essence of science's importance and the closing chapters on the ties between science and democracy are especially noteworthy and quotable, they just ought to have been paired up a little better. show less
Lists
BitLife (1)
1990s (1)
Witch Hunts (1)
Favourite Books (1)
1980s (1)
Thrillers (1)
Five star books (1)
First Novels (1)
Best Audiobooks (1)
Unread books (3)
1980 great books (1)
Big History (1)
Classic Sci-Fi (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 87
- Also by
- 19
- Members
- 48,051
- Popularity
- #327
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 578
- ISBNs
- 577
- Languages
- 31
- Favorited
- 268
