Other Worlds

by Carl Sagan

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Brain, Astronomy

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1975

About the author

In 1934, scientist Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. After earning bachelor and master's degrees at Cornell, Sagan earned a double doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1960. He became professor of astronomy and space science and director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University, and co-founder of the Planetary Society. A great popularizer of science, Sagan produced the PBS series, "Cosmos," which was Emmy and Peabody award-winning, and was watched by 500 million people in 60 countries. A book of the same title came out in 1980, and was on The New York Times bestseller list for 7 weeks. Sagan was author, co-author or editor of 20 books, including The Dragons of Eden (1977), which won a Pulitzer, Pale Blue Dot (1995) and The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark (1996), his hardest-hitting on religion. With his wife, Ann Druyan, he was co-producer of the popular motion picture, "Contact," which featured a feminist, atheist protagonist played by Jodie Foster (1997). The film came out after Sagan's death, following a 2-year struggle with a bone marrow disease. Sagan played a leading role in NASA's Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo expeditions to other planets. Ann Druyan, in the epilogue to Sagan's last book, Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium (published posthumously in 1997), gives a moving account of Carl's last days: "Contrary to the fantasies of the fundamentalists, there was no deathbed conversion, no last minute refuge taken in a comforting vision of a heaven or an afterlife. For Carl, what mattered most was what was true, not merely what would make us feel better. Even at this moment when anyone would be forgiven for turning away from the reality of our situation, Carl was unflinching. As we looked deeply into each other's eyes, it was with a shared conviction that our wondrous life together was ending forever."

For his work, Dr. Sagan received the NASA medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and (twice) for Distinguished Public Service, as well as the NASA Apollo Achievement Award. Asteroid 2709 Sagan is named after him. He was also awarded the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award of the American Astronautical Society, the Explorers Club 75th Anniversary Award, the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Medal of the Soviet Cosmonauts Federation, and the Masursky Award of the American Astronomical Society, ("for his extraordinary contributions to the development of planetary science…As a scientist trained in both astronomy and biology, Dr. Sagan has made seminal contributions to the study of planetary atmospheres, planetary surfaces, the history of the Earth, and exobiology. Many of the most productive planetary scientists working today are his present and former students and associates").

He was also a recipient of the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Sagan was elected Chairman of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, President of the Planetology Section of the American Geophysical Union, and Chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For twelve years he was the editor-in-chief of Icarus, the leading professional journal devoted to planetary research. He was cofounder and President of the Planetary Society, a 100,000-member organization that is the largest space-interest group in the world; and Distinguished Visiting Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.

In their posthumous award to Dr. Sagan of their highest honor, the National Science Foundation declared that his "research transformed planetary science… his gifts to mankind were infinite." D. 1996.

More: https://ffrf.org/news/day/dayitems/it...

Reviews

[Sam toer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very joyful reading experience!

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a wonderful little book.

I found it in the used bookstore. The bibliophile owner said this was a hugely popular book in the 70’s. There was a trend to produce scattershot books with random quotes, esoteric but relevant pictures and texts bouncing from one groovy subject to another. “Do it” and “Steal this Book” for example.

I am going to ask him to find some of these for me. I think it is interesting.

When ‘Other Worlds’ was published this little Bantam was $1.95. Oh, for the good old days.

This copy is in mint condition. No, I will not part with it.

Published before some of the major works that made Sagan famous (I am not sure about this), I think it’s the book that put his name in the forefront of pop culture. I know it was before ‘Cosmos’ (wouldn’t that be great on Blu-ray?). It is a brief whimsical fly-by of our solar system and beyond, with quotes by Shakespeare, Mathew Arnold, John Bunyan and William Blake to mention a few. Generous amounts of poetry by Diane Ackerman, stills from silent movies, strange cartoons. He touches on Velikovsky (remember him?), UFO’s, and the big beasts on Mars.

This is the Populist History Channel ‘Universe’ Manifesto, if you will. It is fun. Breezy. And, I think, indicative of the time. For me, this curious bit of retro-70’s culture had had quite a few “wow” moments.
And it made me smile.

Then there is the picture of the author in the back cover. He was a long hair 20-something. I thought about how much we miss having him around. He was a beautiful, thoughtful, logical, inspiring man.

[Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is classic Sagan. A true joy to read, or should I say, *experience*.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep, scientific, and overall well written by Carl Sagan. A must-read for all of those who have a deep interest in astronomy and science.

[нєνєℓ ¢ανα · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, well-written and thought-provoking as usual!

[Willa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"space is as empty as a building 20 miles long, 20 miles wide, and 20 miles high that contains only a single grain of sand" sir WHAT

[Sasha Balazic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly thoughtful and unique - Carl Sagan has made the most complex thoughts and things accessible

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmm, I gave this 2 stars because I believe it's aimed at adults, but, even taking into account it was written 40 years ago, I would have to have been 15 or younger to be excited by it. I found Asimov's science explanations much more interesting as a teenager.
Even so, if you have a very limited knowledge of the solar system and SETI, it is an easy read and Sagan presents his ideas clearly. However he was certainly not taxed in the writing of it. I hope his other books are better.

[Travis Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a booklet. Still has some characteristically Sagan passages and quotes, but not a book in the traditional sense. Still though, a must read for any Sagan fan.