The Varieties of Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan

The Varieties of Scientific Experience

by Carl Sagan

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.

Reviewed by jamiereadthis on

5 of 5 stars

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My copy of this stays loaned out about ten months out of the year, so whenever it falls back into my hands for a week or two I’m practically duty-bound to eat it up as quick as I can.

Verdict: best as ever. If you read this book and don’t have some fundamental opinions changed, then we’ll probably be friends because you hold them in the first place.

Also, I always forget (though probably no longer, writing something down has a way of solving that problem) that Kurt Vonnegut is the only blurb for the book, right on the back cover. On Carl: “I miss him so.”

Don’t we all.

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June 2009 review:

There’s nothing I could say about Carl Sagan (his work, his writing, his imitable open-minded approach to our world and everything beyond it) that hasn’t already been said, but I think that if there were one person, living or dead, with whom I could talk for days on end, my pick would be him.

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