BILLIONS & BILLIONS

In this book, his last, Carl Sagan shows once again his extraordinary ability to interpret the mysteries of life and the majesty of the universe for the general reader. Brilliant, eloquent, and imbued with Sagan's uniquely childlike sense of awe, this entertaining collection of essays captures the authors spirit at its best. In Billions and Billions Sagan applies what we know about science, mathematics, and space to everyday life, as well as to the exploration of many essential questions concerning the environment and our future. Ranging far and wide in subject matter, he takes his readers on a soaring journey, from the invention of chess to the possibility of life on Mars, from Monday Night Football to the relationship between the United States and Russia, from global warming to the abortion debate. And, on a more intimate note, we are given a rare glimpse of the author himself as he movingly describes his valiant fight for his life, his love of his family, and his personal beliefs about death and God. Throughout these essays, Sagan provides clarity and understanding for an audience eager to make sense of the world around it as it prepares for the challenges of the coming millennium, and in the process he illuminates his strongly held belief that we have the ability to change the world and our lives for the better. Sagan has said, We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. With this book, as in his magnificent career, he makes this world significant indeed.

Carl Sagan was the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University; Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; and the cofounder and President of the Planetary Society, the largest space-interest group in the world. For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, he was an adviser on the <b>Mariner</b>, <b>Voyager</b>, and <b>Viking</b> unmanned space missions, and he briefed astronauts for journeys to the moon. His Peabody Award-winning public television series, <b>Cosmos</b>, has been seen by more than 500 million people in over sixty countries, and the accompanying book spent seventy weeks on <b>The New York Times</b> bestseller list. The author of