Customer Reviews

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are two paperback editions of this book at Amazon. The 1995 edition contains the pictures that were so helpful (and entertaining) in the hardcover edition. The 1997 paperback edition has had the photographs removed. If you like beautiful astronomical photographs, order the 1995 edition.

Otherwise, the book is very enjoyable, and provides a cogent discussion of where Carl Sagan thinks we should aim our space program.

Einstein religious? not at all. I quote from Einstein directly in "The Human Side" Ed. Dukas, Hoffman.

"It was of course a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal god and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it"

As for the issue of whether religious types should fear the scientific worldview; of course they should since organised science and organised religion are incompatible as long as religious leaders continue to claim authority on questions which can be experimentally determined (which is proving to be just about everything).

It's hard to believe that seven years have passed since this book was published, and there's still disagreement about where it belongs. The conventional wisdom has it that it's the sequel to Cosmos--probably because it's the only the second book (along with the unfairly neglected Comet) Sagan wrote after Cosmos to have much to do with astronomy.

But Pale Blue Dot is only partly about astronomy. In the 15 or so years that separated the two books, Sagan seems to have acquired a much more political perspective on science and exploration, and it finds its way repeatedly into the later book. Time and again, we find ourselves confronted not only with what's out there, but what *should* be out there--and who.

The central motivation behind this book is the observation that manned space exploration has foundered since the end of the Apollo project in the early 1970s, in large part because of the lack of any coherent direction. As Sagan describes throughout the book, robotic exploration can be so successful, with no risk to human life, that we're left wondering what reasons could possibly justify sending people back out into space.

Sagan's proposed justifications might surprise some people who haven't yet read this book. They have little to do with the spirit of exploration (although he surely views that as an ancillary feature), or the need to have on-demand human intelligence at the site of new discoveries.

Rather, he takes a global view of the human species. Provided that we can put our social affairs in proper order, he poses, what are the dangers to humans and civilization? The short-term danger is provided by humans themselves, through their aggressiveness and short-sightedness. Voyager 2's photo of the Earth as a single cerulean pixel, taken from 5 billion kilometers away, is a kind of metaphorical plea for perspective, and the inspiration for the book's title.

Sagan's view of the long-term danger places substantial weight on the asteroid/comet impact risk, the same sort that is understood to have brought about the end of the dinosaurs. It is essential, he asserts, to have humans spread out from Earth--both to perform reconnaissance of possible impactors, and as a way to ensure the continuance of the species, should our home planet be rendered inhospitable (either through external or internal dangers).

Sagan naturally hopes it doesn't come to potential extinction, so the bet is on reconnaissance and defense. And what should we do if an asteroid is discovered to be on a potential collision path? The proposed response, nowadays, is to deflect the asteroid into some other, harmless orbit. But Sagan has a warning for us. He's concerned that this same technology could be used for harm by some madman, by turning it upside-down: deflecting some harmless asteroid into another, cataclysmic orbit.

This concern doesn't ring true for me. Sagan claims that if you can do one, you can do the other, but that's patently false: There are so many more harmless orbits than harmful ones that if your aim is only so-so, deflection is *much* easier than direction. On the other hand, raising the issue for discussion at all is a healthy idea, even if the risk is eventually judged to be minor.

The focus in Pale Blue Dot, then, is not on the science, but the engineering and the politics: How shall we revive the manned space program, what form should it take, how shall we manage it so as not to place too great a strain on human maturity? That's not to say there's no straight science in Pale Blue Dot. Sagan gives an update on the Voyager explorations of the outer solar system, from Saturn to Neptune, as well as the dramatically better picture we have of Venus, due to Magellan. But the emphasis isn't on what we know and how we know it, as it was in Cosmos, but on the behind-the-scenes work on making the science possible. It's notable that Sagan spends quite some time describing the successful efforts of NASA engineers in rescuing the Voyager explorers from mission-endangering faults. It's an inspiring narrative of heroic action--but it's also lobbying.

And perhaps that's the best way to look at it. In this book, Sagan is fighting as hard as he can for the space program, in which he believed, passionately. He is ready to recognize its certain flaws, but he is unabashed in his prejudices. In the end, perhaps not everything he tries works, maybe certain arguments are a reach, but as always, he makes us think, and it's a worthy and valiant addition to the Sagan canon.

Pale Blue Dot is probably one of the best introductions to astronomy available to the public. In this book Dr. Sagan argues against human chauvinism, praises international efforts of space exploration, speculates about the future of human animal, describes evolution of science and much, much more.

The book is printed on high-quality glossy stock paper that makes the reading even more enjoyable. Unlike Cosmos, Dr. Sagan's other book on astronomy, photos in this book correspond perfectly to the text you are reading. Most photos were taken from NASA archives and are of best quality and resolutions available to human kind at the time. The book ,as any other book written on astronomy, is becoming outdated a bit (published in 1994). This ,however, should not sway you from reading this book at all. You can always catch up on new developments on NASA site. There were some new developments in space exploration that Sagan had no way of predicting. I'll give one example. Author writes about the largest moons of Saturn, Titan, and speculates about its surface and composition. It is now known that Titan contains methane seas. So every time you see speculations in book make sure you research on the topic to find newer information that is readily available.

There is one more thing. In Pale Blue Dot, author gives detailed information on most of the nine planets and many of their moons. However, Sagan decides to omit detailed information on planet Jupiter from Voyager 1 and 2 encounters (not Jovian moons) and explains that Jupiter was talked about in Cosmos.

My whine aside, Pale Blue Dot will endure.

I noticed a few negative reviews that seemed to be more about religion than this book, so I wanted to make one brief comment.

Sagan isn't liked by fundamentalist religious types since he preferred a rational worldview and an open-minded investigation of reality (otherwise known as "science") to religious dogmatism.

Why people like this worry about Sagan I don't know. Einstein believed in God, so if you want a scientific authority to support your beliefs, you can't do better than that. You don't need to worry about Sagan, since even his reputation is much less than Einstein's.

It's also obvious these people haven't read Paul Tillich, perhaps the greatest of all Christian theologians. As Tillich very wisely pointed out, faith that has to justify itself isn't true faith.

A must read. This somewhat overlooked book is one of Sagans best. The descriptions of findings from the voyager missions, such as data on Neptune and its moons, are hypnotizing. Also great discussion on deprovincialization in the early parts of the book.

This was the first Sagan-book I read and I was 14 at that time. I can't say I really understood it then, but it simply CHANGED my life. Now I am 18 and this book is one of the most important things in my life till now. I can't say if it's as good as Cosmos or it's better or worse than it, as it depends on your taste, but I myself think at least it can be fairly linked with Cosmos. A must-read to everyone who are interested in the Space age and its short history. And what I want to note is that if you can afford Hardcover, buy that. Not paperback. Although the text itself is not different, to understand the 'vision' and 'pale blue dot', Hardcover will be far better. For me, I bought Paperback first, but at the end I had to brought both of them!

Re: "The first couple chapters are filled with the usual Sagan illogical naturalism. I never understood how he could hold to such a [sic] irrational philosphy [sic] and yet push critical thinking on everyone (See Demon-haunted world). His best contradiction was proclaiming design and complexity in the universe, yet denying the need for a designer. He seemed to forget logic states 'chance' has no power and that the Big Bang logically points to the need for a transcendent creator."

Sorry, the teleological argument for the existence of God was categorically refuted centuries ago. Today no reputable theologian or philosopher (a fortiori, SCIENTIST) entertains it seriously. The above criticism of PALE BLUE DOT has absolutely no merit whatsoever. It is hardly worth the time it takes to dismiss it. So let's move on:

PALE BLUE DOT is a lovely and important book. All I can say against it is that it makes me sad its author is no longer among us. We are all the poorer for that.

Mishmash of material lacks the scope and grandeur of Cosmos. In effect it gives him an opportunity to catch up on about 15 years since Cosmos, but adds little beyond what was conveyed before. And goes almost nowhere in making a good case for space exploration and a weaker one in support of his SETI project. It hardly stands well on its own and even Sagan's usual comfortable style seems pale itself rather than stirring. Not a failure as a book, but certainly not his best, and only for those who either like Sagan or want a survey of those years focussing on Sagan's ideas and contributions, which may not be fully objective or complete. Get it at the library. Both Cosmos and Demon-Haunted World are more worth reading.

To the original version of this book I would have certainly given five stars; it is a wonderfully inspiring book, by a man who was not only a fine scientist but a great humanitarian, a man who had worked hard to persuade governments of the danger of 'nuclear winter'. Sagan's astute mind, and his compassion, is brought to bear on his vision of our futures in Pale Blue Dot. This is not a utopian vision, Sagan is certainly cognizant of human frailty and our propensity for violence: "If we continue to accumulate only power and not wisdom we will surely destroy ourselves." It is, however, ultimately a hopeful vision, and one based largely upon what we know of our universe, the physics underpinning its behaviour. His thinking is thus more than merely speculative. When, however, I received my own paperback version...I found that all the photographs, images, and graphs - an important part of the book, still referenced in the index - had been removed from the text, hence the four stars, not five. These images in the original book had helped to elucidate what we had achieved already, our discoveries of strange new worlds, as well as what the author and others believed we might achieve in the future. The removal of this material, for reasons which I can only guess, is to be regretted. Would Carl Sagan have supported such editing of his work? What do you think?