Beautiful, poetic and very inspirational love letter to science, life and the human potential.

I love the original Cosmos more than just about anything in the world.Ann does a superb job trying to captain the ship all by herself. And in truth she isn't alone. She had feedback including from her son Sam.Hits the mark:* Poetry and cosmic perspective; I wept several times* Inspiring, relevant stories from the history of scienceMisses the mark:* Critical thinking and skepticism* Scientific and historical accuracyFor example, the section about quantum mechanics gets a few things wrong.1. It's

A fascinating and at times, personal, journey through time, space, and history by the author as she explores not the just the universe as we know it, but also the various stories of people throughout history who have placed the importance of science and other people above their own. The book is not only about 'Possible Worlds' but also, like the first Cosmos series by Carl Sagan, a 'Personal Journey' by the author who not only wants the readers to see the wonders the universe has to offer, but a...

4.5 stars. "Cosmos: Possible Worlds" is the sequel to Carl Sagan's book, "Cosmos" and it is a worthy follow-on. This book explores so many corners of our universe and highlights many people who took scientific exploration further than it has ever gone before and tried to figure out this big, amazing world. Sometimes you just want a book that totally sucks you in and makes you mull over so many different things that you've never thought of before. This is that book. The book opens with the story

Our universe began some 14 billion years ago when matter, energy, time, and space burst forth.And the darkness was cold, and the light was hot, and the union of these extremes gave shape to matter and there was structure.And there were great stars hundreds of times the mass of our sun. And these stars exploded, sending oxygen and carbon to the worlds to come and adorning them with gold and silver. And in their deaths, the stars became darkness and the weight of their darkness anchored the light....

I'm torn about this book. It was fascinating and captivating, but at same time not structurally coherent or what the subtitle implies. The book discusses science, history, and religions (much in the same way Bill Bryson does in A Short History of Nearly Everything, but without the humor). However, it does so tangentially, without really following a path. This is a book of tangents. They're all interesting tangents. I learned weird things, and I'm a lover a learning weird things. But if you're lo...

“And slowly, we learned to read the book of nature, to learn its laws, to nurture the tree. To find out where and when we are in the great ocean, to become a way for the cosmos to know itself and to return to the stars.” -Ann Druyan (p. 370) This book was an unexpected gem for me, in a year of doom and gloom where COVID-19 and a new economic recession have dominated the headlines. It was a welcome escape and, like the best books, whether or not they are fiction or nonfiction, reignited my sense

A great read from the only person that was so close to Carl Sagan that his voice can be heard in her writing. I was not disappointed in the scope and knowledge that is transferred to the reader. It's not Carl Sagan, but there is no one to match his brilliance and communication skills. As with keeping with Sagan the book gives hope and warnings. Fortunately Carl didn't have to live in the nightmare that is our country now. I believe he would have been able to slow the erosion of morals, ethics, e...

I love the original Cosmos book and I love many parts of this book. So many vignettes are interesting that make it worth the price I paid for the book many times over. But it can be difficult to follow the thread of the book or of a chapter. You wonder how this is related to what you thought was being discussed, and then—just like that—the spell of the book is broken and you are free to resume reading or put it down for a while. Another reviewer called it a book of tangents; I can see why someon...

This was an interesting book. I have read a few books by Carl Sagan, and also enjoyed the 2014 reboot of the show Cosmos which featured author Ann Druyan and Neil deGrasse Tyson.Author Ann Druyan is the widow of Carl Sagan. She is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American writer, producer, and director specializing in the communication of science. She co-wrote the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos, hosted by Carl Sagan, whom she married in 1981. She is the creator, producer, and writer of

The Cosmos brand has always been elevated over other exemplars of science writing for infusing scientific exploration with heartfelt wonder and reinforcement of joy over the never-ending quest of learning new things. Carl Sagan's amazing life partner, Ann Druyan, continues that unique tradition in this wonderful book. I learned a lot of things I hadn't thought of before, such as the possibility of consciousness among trees and of dreams among bees, and the desirable prospect of life in near-orbi...

Science, like love, is a means to that transcendence, to that soaring experience of the oneness of being fully alive. The scientific approach to nature and my understanding of love are the same: Love asks us to get beyond the infantile projections of our personal hopes and fears, to embrace the other’s reality. This kind of unflinching love never stops daring to go deeper, to reach higher.This is precisely the way that science loves nature. This lack of a final destination, an absolute truth, is...

"The universe makes galaxies. Galaxies make stars. Stars make worlds."Using the Cosmic Calendar as a guide, Ann Druyan takes us on a trip through time and space in Cosmos: Possible Worlds.  Written in a way for anyone to understand, Ann uses stories to make the science of the universe come alive.  Beginning with the start of life on Earth might seem like an impossible amount of information to fit into book,; however, only selected important advancements in science are highlighted throughout time...

Really interesting book talking about our current extreme peril and some real promise in the future (with dangers of course) there are always going to be complications. I listened to an audiobook version of this work and damn it was hard-hitting. Climate change is probably the most pressing issue we have to face among all the other twentieth and twenty-first-century perils. The promise on the other hand was a great exercise in some really good speculation which actually might pan out if we are

I've read quite a bit of non-fiction science and this book still had some surprises. I expected it to be about cosmology and while that topic runs though the whole book, much of the story is dedicated to examples of how humankind has arrived where we are at today in terms of our understanding of the universe. It's a surprisingly personal book, and it was nice to hear some stories about Druyan's relationship with Sagan. The science is presented in an accessible way as well, I think.

This was a great companion to the new series, with more detail than you obviously are going to get in a 45 minute episode, but still similar to the topics as presented on screen. But it also ended up being pretty personal at times by the author, using those moments of life to show us how she got into science and why she's trying to tell people about it. Some really good stuff here.

Wonderfully written. Struggled not giving 5 stars but there are points in the book that the stream of consciousness is a bit difficult for me to follow. It would be more fair to rate a 4.5. I am writing this review during the war in Ukraine. Cosmos highlights at least 5-6 Ukrainians contributions to science.

Amazing follow-up to the original Cosmos book. It extends beyond cosmology and astronomy, touching on geology, chemistry, and history as well. It’s optimistic about our future as a spacefaring civilization and I can’t help but agree.

It feels good to wonder and hope realistically.

What a beautiful book! One of them to keep close to you, the same as COSMOS. There is no words only READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! (and share with everyone)