I've read many of Carl Sagan's books and most are 5 stars (see my reviews). Here is another great book.
Carl was able to go through a technical topic in a vast time line for the average layman to understand. He was a master at this.The Pale Blue Dot reads very well and INMO no boring parts. The reader wants to read on.
The reader learns the "wanderers"...planets)our ancient ancestors knew. We see the progression of an Earth centered belief to a Sun centered belief, then to maybe our galaxy is the center of the universe to a total no center in the universe. Then possible many universes. He shows the various astronomers like Galileo, Copernicus and many more that helped shape our understanding of the Cosmos and the sometimes persecution they had to endure.
Excellent photos of different planets, galaxies and stars. Also different spaceships from man's earliest to future ION powered craft.
Carl gives new packages of knowledge for many different aspects of science, philosophy, physics and other human studies.Also a very interesting discussion of Near earth asteroids and comets and the potential of a catastrophic life ending collision. There is a discussion on SETI and the search for extraterrestrial life using radio transmission. A little for everyone.
He also does a pro and con of the costs of space exploration and the needs for help against human suffering and the need to expand the human race onto Mars, the asteroids, moons of the outer planets, the Oort cloud, to the nearest stars and beyond, and to new galaxies. By so doing we don't have all our eggs in one bracket and have diversity if there is a cataclysm to our Earth, solar system, our nearest habitable star system or galaxy.
Carl asks many questions and about where the human race is going if we don't destroy ourselves and the many endangered species on Earth. Do we have the right to go to other worlds? Would we endanger alien life? Should we stay home and try to fix earth's many problems or MUST we go exploring and eventually colonizing other worlds. Many other thought provoking questions.
This book would be a good read for many with different interests. 5 stars. One of Sagan's best books. Sadly Carl Sagan passes away. A true genius the likes of which we don't see too often. As an amateur astronomer of 40 years I knew of Carl Sagan and even though he didn't know of me, I considered him a friend.
Chad Stewart
Thomas Erickson