Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of ScienceA fascinating book on the joys of discovering how the world works, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Cosmos and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. “Magnificent . . . Delightful . . . A masterpiece. A message of tremendous hope for humanity . . . While ever conscious that human folly can terminate man’s march into the future, Sagan nonetheless paints for us a mind-boggling future: intelligent robots, the discovery of extraterrestrial life and its consequences, and above all the challenge and pursuit of the mystery of the universe.”—Chicago Tribune “Go out and buy this book, because Carl Sagan is not only one of the world’s most respected scientists, he’s a great writer. . . . I can give a book no greater accolade than to say I’m planning on reading it again. And again. And again.”—The Miami Herald “The brilliant astronomer . . . is persuasive, provocative and readable.”—United Press International “Closely reasoned, impeccably researched, gently humorous, utterly devastating.”—The Washington Post |
Contents
Brocas Brain | 3 |
That World Which Beckons Like a Liberation | 22 |
Sense | 51 |
White Dwarfs and Little Green Men | 77 |
OUR NEIGBORHOOD IN SPACE | 175 |
Titan the Enigmatic Moon of Saturn | 214 |
The Golden Age of Planetary Exploration | 240 |
Will You Walk a Little Faster? | 255 |
The Past and Future of American Astronomy | 293 |
The Quest for Extraterrestrial Intelligence | 314 |
A Sunday Sermon | 329 |
Gott and the Turtles | 342 |
The Amniotic Universe | 353 |
| 369 | |
| 383 | |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient Ann Druyan argument asteroid belt asteroids astral projection astronomers atmosphere atoms believe brain Broca carbon dioxide Carl Sagan century CHAPTER civilizations close clouds comet cometary cosmic craters discovery Dogon Earth Einstein emission energy event evidence example existence experience exploration extraterrestrial fact galaxies Galileo gravitational greenhouse effect heat human idea impact craters infrared intelligence interplanetary interstellar Jovian Jupiter least lunar machine magnetic Mariner 9 Mars Martian ment Mercury meteorites million missions molecules Moon nature objects observations Observatory orbit organic origin perhaps physics planet planetary polar possible problem question radiation radio recent religion remarkable rotation Sagan satellites Saturn science-fiction scientific scientists seems Sirius skeptical solar system space spacecraft stars stories sunlight surface temperature synodic month telescope terrestrial theory thousand tion Titan ultraviolet understand universe Velikovsky Velikovsky's hypothesis velocity Venus Viking volcanoes Worlds in Collision Yerkes Observatory