Cosmos

A Personal Voyage

By: Carl Sagan

Narrated by: LeVar Burton, Seth MacFarlane, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX

Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science.

Includes introductory music: "Heaven and Hell" by Vangelis from Cosmos: A Personal Voyage used with permission from Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

Praise for Cosmos

“Magnificent... With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” - The Plain Dealer

“Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third - his mind’s - on the human condition.” - Newsday

“Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions...shimmers with a sense of wonder.” - The Miami Herald

“Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.” - Cosmopolitan

“Enticing...iridescent...imaginatively illustrated.” - The New York Times Book Review

An Audible for Dogs Pick: Make your dog's day. Cesar Millan shares how audiobooks can make dogs happier and calmer. Learn more.©1980 Carl Sagan Productions, Inc (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Foreword © 2013 by Ann Druyan. “Reflections on Carl Sagan’s Cosmos” essay © 2013 by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Great except for the narration

Carl Sagan's writings are amazingly still so current today, that I am again struck by how much we missed when this genius died so young. My only criticism is that the breathless, rapid "gee whiz" style the main narrator uses is so opposite to the thoughtful, slow, deep voice of Carl Sagan that I longed for a return to those nights when I sat spellbound in front of the television enraptured by Sagan's own narration. This narrator completely missed the liquidity and thoughtfulness of the original work.

I thought I was paying for Sagan.

LeVar Burton and the other narrators are no Carl Sagan. And had I checked the narrator before buying the book, I might not have bothered. Burton is just an actor, MacFarlane is a basic chucklehead, and Druyan isn't her husband. Tyson is much better qualified to speak Sagan's words.

Essential listening

Carl Sagan's sense of wonder for the cosmos as well as his profound respect for all life in it come through brilliantly in this book. From the insights of the ancient Greeks and the library of Alexandria to the ideas of Keppler, Newton, Darwin and Einstein; from conjecture about how life started on Earth to how many other planets in the universe might have evolved technological societies, Sagan introduces everything as stories that almost anyone can follow and appreciate.

wait so long for this.

amazing work, if everyone would listen to this and take it to heart I feel the earth would benefit greatly. Thank you Carl Sagan for this and all your works.

Fantastic!!!!

Would you listen to Cosmos again? Why?

This is a tremendously fascinating and thought-provoking book! I'll definitely listen again. The narrator was perfect for the part!