''Cosmos'' is a
popular science
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
book written by
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
and
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning author
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
. It was published in 1980 as a companion piece to the PBS mini-series
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage with which it was co-developed and intended to compliment. Each of the book’s 13 illustrated chapters corresponds to one of the 13 episodes of the television series. Just a few of the ideas explored in Cosmos include the history and mutual development of
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
, the nature of the Universe, human and robotic space exploration, the inner workings of the cell and the DNA that controls it, and the dangers and future implications of nuclear war. One of Sagan's main purposes for both the book and the television series was to explain complex scientific ideas in a way that anyone interested in learning can understand. Sagan also believed the television was one of the greatest teaching tools ever invented, so he wished to capitalize on his chance to educate the world. Spurred in part by the popularity of the TV series, ''Cosmos'' spent 50 weeks on the ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' best-sellers list and 70 weeks on the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list to become the best-selling science book ever published at the time. In 1981, it received the
Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book
The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...
. The unprecedented success of Cosmos ushered in a dramatic increase in visibility for science-themed literature. The success of the book also served to jumpstart Sagan's literary career. The sequel to ''Cosmos'' is, ''
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space'' (1994).
In 2013, a new edition of ''Cosmos'' was published, with a foreword by
Ann Druyan
Ann Druyan ( ; born June 13, 1949) is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American documentary producer and director specializing in the communication of science. She co-wrote the 1980 PBS documentary series ''Cosmos'', hosted by Carl Sagan, ...
and an essay by
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...
.
Summary
''Cosmos'' has 13 chapters, corresponding to the 13 episodes of the
''Cosmos'' television series. In the original edition, each chapter is heavily illustrated. The book covers a broad range of topics, comprising Sagan's reflections on anthropological, cosmological, biological, historical, and astronomical matters from antiquity to contemporary times. Sagan reiterates his position on extraterrestrial life—that the magnitude of the universe permits the existence of thousands of alien civilizations, but no credible evidence exists to demonstrate that such life has ever visited earth.
Sagan explores 15 billion years of cosmic evolution and the development of science and civilization. He traces the origins of knowledge and the scientific method, mixing science and philosophy, and speculates about the future of science. He also discusses the underlying premises of science by providing biographical anecdotes about many prominent scientists, placing their contributions in the broader context of the development of modern science.
The book, like the television series, contains a number of Cold War undertones including subtle references to self-destruction and the futility of the arms race.
Style and contents
''Cosmos'' utilizes a light, conversational tone to render complex scientific topics readable for a lay audience. On many topics, the book encompasses a more concise, refined presentation of previous ideas about which Sagan had written.
''Cosmos'' is not just about the mysteries of space. Sagan leads every chapter with a philosophical quote to remind readers that the universe is not simply stars and planets, but a link between all things. He reminds readers that "we are all star stuff," and, though it seems humans are currently alone in space, the universe was not created for our race to thrive, but that we are a product of something much larger. Sagan's book explicitly supports the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life, as he believes the extraterrestrials will be able to spur an enormous change in life on Earth.
Popularity
Shortly after release, ''Cosmos'' became the best-selling science book ever published in the English language, and was the first science book to sell more than half a million copies.
Though spurred in part by the popularity of the television series, ''Cosmos'' became a best-seller by its own regard, reaching hundreds of thousands of readers.
It was only surpassed in the late 1980s by
Stephen Hawking's ''
A Brief History of Time
''A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes'' is a book on theoretical cosmology by English physicist Stephen Hawking. It was first published in 1988. Hawking wrote the book for readers who had no prior knowledge of physics.
I ...
'' (1988). ''Cosmos'' spent 50 weeks on the ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' best-seller's list,
and 70 weeks on the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list.
''Cosmos'' sold over 900,000 copies while on these lists,
and continued popularity has allowed ''Cosmos'' to sell about five million copies internationally. Shortly after ''Cosmos'' was published, Sagan received a $2 million advance for the novel ''
Contact
Contact may refer to:
Interaction Physical interaction
* Contact (geology), a common geological feature
* Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye
* Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects
* ...
''.
This was the largest release given for an unwritten fiction book at the time.
The success of ''Cosmos'' made Sagan "wealthy as well as famous." It also ushered in a dramatic increase in visibility for science books, opening up new options and readership for the previously fledgling genre.
Science historian Bruce Lewenstein of
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
noted that among science books "''Cosmos'' marked the moment that something different was clearly going on."
After the success of ''Cosmos'', Sagan turned into an early scientific celebrity. He appeared on many television programs, wrote a regular column for ''
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
'', and worked to continually advance the popularity of the science genre.
Lewenstein also noted the power of the book as a recruitment tool. Along with ''
Microbe Hunters'' and ''
The Double Helix
''The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA'' is an autobiographical account of the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA written by James D. Watson and published in 1968. It has earned both critical ...
'', he described ''Cosmos'' as one of the "books that people cite as 'Hey, the reason I'm a scientist is because I read that book'."
Particularly in astronomy and physics, he said, the book inspired many people to become scientists.
Sagan has also been called the "most successful popularizing scientist of our time," for his ability to draw such a large and varied audience.
The popularity of Sagan's ''Cosmos'' has been referenced in arguments supporting increased space exploration spending. Sagan's book was also referenced in Congress by
Arthur C. Clarke in a speech promoting an end to Cold War anti-ICBM spending, instead arguing that the anti-ICBM budget would be better spent on Mars exploration.
Critical reception
Reception for Sagan's work was generally positive. In ''
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'', novelist James Michener praised ''Cosmos'' as "a cleverly written, imaginatively illustrated summary of
agan's.. ruminations about our universe... His style is iridescent, with lights flashing upon unexpected juxtapositions of thought." The American astrophysicist
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...
describes "''Cosmos''" as something "more than Carl Sagan". David Whitehouse of the
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
went so far as to say that "there is not a book on astronomy – in fact not one on science – that comes close to the eloquence and intellectual sweep of ''Cosmos''... If we send just one book to grace the libraries of distant worlds..., let it be ''Cosmos''." ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' described the book as "Sagan at his best."
''Cornell News Service'' characterized it as "an overview of how science and civilization grew up together."
In 1981, ''Cosmos'' received the
Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book
The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...
.
The U.S.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
designated ''Cosmos'' one of eighty-eight books "that shaped America."
See also
* ''
Kosmos'' by
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
; like ''Cosmos'', a book that discusses the then known universe and humankind's place in it
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmos (Book)
1980 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
Astronomy books
Big History
Cosmology books
Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book winning works
Popular physics books
Random House books
Works by Carl Sagan
Works about the theory of history