Carl Sagan, who died in December 1996, is one of the few scientists whose name has become a household word all around the globe. The first man to recognise and name the "greenhouse effect", Sagan was a force behind the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This is a behind-the-scenes look at Sagan's life and career in the field of space exploration and the evolution of life. Based on interviews with Sagan's family and colleagues, including his widow, his first wife, and his son, it reveals a roller-coaster of successes ...
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Carl Sagan, who died in December 1996, is one of the few scientists whose name has become a household word all around the globe. The first man to recognise and name the "greenhouse effect", Sagan was a force behind the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This is a behind-the-scenes look at Sagan's life and career in the field of space exploration and the evolution of life. Based on interviews with Sagan's family and colleagues, including his widow, his first wife, and his son, it reveals a roller-coaster of successes and failures, characterising a complicated personality whose life was one of continuous struggle.
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Seller's Description:
Ex-library book. The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good+ in Very Good+ dust jacket. 0471252867. DJ and boards show very light shelf wear, light sun-fading along top edge of the boards.; A bright, solid book, dustjacket in Mylar, unclipped. Some B&W photos.; 162 X 43.3 X 244 millimeters; 540 pages; "Carl Sagan was one of the most celebrated scientists of this century-the visionary who inspired a generation to look to the heavens and beyond. His life was both an intellectual feast and an emotional rollercoaster. Based on interviews with Sagan's family and friends, including his widow, Ann Druyan; his first wife, acclaimed scientist Lynn Margulis; and his three sons, as well as exclusive access to many personal papers, this highly acclaimed life story offers remarkable insight into one of the most influential figures of our time-a complex, contradictory prophet of the Space Age."
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Seller's Description:
Very good in Very good jacket. xx, 540 pages. Preface, Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Publisher's ephemera and review slip laid in. Keay Davisdson worked for Sentinel Star, Orlando, FL, science writer, 1979-81; Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, science writer on San Diego bureau staff, 1981-85; San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, CA, science writer, 1986-2000; San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, science writer, 2000-. Davidson's awards and honors include: Westinghouse Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Science in Society Award, National Association of Science Writers; Responsibility in Journalism Award, Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP); Dean's Medal, Oxford College of Emory University, 2001. Keay Davidson is the author of Carl Sagan: A Life and was a science and medical writer for the San Diego edition of the Los Angeles Times. Sagan, an astronomer who taught at Harvard and Cornell University, became famous for his books and television appearances as a scientist who could explain the wonders of space and other scientific pursuits in compelling ways to a lay audience. His PBS miniseries Cosmos was one of the most-watched science programs ever broadcast; he was also the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Dragons of Eden and the author of the science fiction novel Contact. Sagan's passion in life was to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life. According to Robert Lee Hotz in the Los Angeles Times, "helped design experiments on the Mariner, Voyager and Galileo space missions." Derived from a Kirkus review: Biography of the flamboyant astronomer and creator of Cosmos from a veteran science writer. Davidson credits Sagan's influential Intelligent Life in the Universe, a collaboration with Russian astronomer I.S. Shklovskii, with awakening his own interest in science. He recognizes Sagan as a great popularizer, one of the preeminent translators of scientific ideas into the vernacular of his day. Sagan was clearly a man who made enemies as easily as friends, and Davidson has sought out both camps. The resulting portrait is a highlighting of certain qualities that might have increased his popular appeal. The "nuclear winter" episode, in which Sagan and several colleagues argued that even a "limited" nuclear war might lead to the extermination of human life, showed Sagan as an eminent scientific expert, paradoxically arguing that the issues involved were too important to leave to the experts. Likewise, in many ways Sagan's constant advocacy of the search for life beyond Earth-his central dream-was a key to the space program's becoming hard reality. In the end, Davidson argues, Sagan's influence in such matters may count for more than any of his books. A smoothly written look at a leading scientific figure of our time.