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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 001.9
EAN num: 9780345409461
ISBN number: 0345409469
Label: Ballantine Books
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 480
Printing Date: February 25, 1997
Publishing house: Ballantine Books
Release Date: February 25, 1997
Sale Popularity Level: 2216
Studio: Ballantine Books
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
'A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the very first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought.'
*Los Angeles Times
'POWERFUL . . . A stirring defense of informed rationality. . . Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing.'
*The Washington Post Book World
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.
Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.
'COMPELLING.'
*USA Today
'A clear vision of what good science means and why it makes a difference. . . . A testimonial to the power of science and a warning of the dangers of unrestrained credulity.'
*The Sciences
'PASSIONATE.'
*San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle
Amazon.com Review:
Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a 'baloney detection kit' for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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First class by all means.
Yes! It is stimulation.
Yes! It is intelligent.
Yes! It is unusual.
And YES! It is the most intriguing book ever written in this arena.
Only a well-informed scholar could have written such an explosive book.
Rated by buyers -
Every human should read this book. Carl Sagan shows us just how fallible we all are and at the same time it's clear he loves and respects people. I've tabbed and highlighted the hell out of this lovely book.
Rated by buyers 
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This book is a great introduction to critical thinking, a topic that is sadly not taught in American schools, thus the need for adults to read this book. Twelve years later, some of the material is dated, but in a prescient sort of way, the author extrapolating the mess we are in now based on how things were going back then. Examples are global warming and the short shrift science has gotten during the Bush years. I gave it 4 stars because I felt the author could have been more succinct in making his points. The best aspect of the book was the gentle way Sagan leads his readers out of the darkness toward the candle light of science. He takes your hand and shows you the way.
Rated by buyers -
If you want to know what science is and what it's good for, this is the book to read. A clear and compelling description of how things are discovered, and how to tell true understanding from myth and mystery. It also draws the line between productive skepticism, and useless inquisition.
I don't bother to review many books, but this one is still well worth promoting.
Rated by buyers -
Carl Sagan's love for science and for rational thought, expressed in this work and in many others is downright infectious. Critical thinking is one of mankind's greatest assets and this work should be required reading for every English speaking person who wants to understand the world not as an unconnected series of mystical events, but rather as a part of an understandable, rational universe.
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