false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170592649m/61661.jpg 61661 2 On the 10th anniversary of his death, brilliant astrophysisist and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sagan's prescient exploration of the relationship between religion and science and his personal search for God. <br/><br/> Carl Sagan is considered one of the greatest scientific minds of our time. His remarkable ability to explain science in terms easily understandable to the layman in bestselling books such as <i>Cosmos</i>, <i>The Dragons of Eden</i>, and <i>The Demon-Haunted World</i> won him a Pulitzer Prize and placed him firmly next to Isaac Asimov, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sachs as one of the most important and enduring communicators of science. In December 2006 it will be the tenth anniversary of Sagan's death, and Ann Druyan, his widow and longtime collaborator, will mark the occasion by releasing Sagan's famous "Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology," <i>The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God</i>. <br/><br/> The chance to give the Gifford Lectures is an honor reserved for the most distinguished scientists and philosophers of our civilization. In 1985, on the grand occasion of the centennial of the lectureship, Carl Sagan was invited to give them. He took the opportunity to set down in detail his thoughts on the relationship between religion and science as well as to describe his own personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos. <br/><br/> <i>The Varieties of Scientific Experience</i>, edited, updated and with an introduction by Ann Druyan, is a bit like eavesdropping on a delightfully intimate conversation with the late great astronomer and astrophysicist. In his charmingly down-to-earth voice, Sagan easily discusses his views on topics ranging from manic depression and the possibly chemical nature of transcendance to creationism and so-called intelligent design to the likelihood of intelligent life on other planets to the likelihood of nuclear annihilation of our own to a new concept of science as "informed worship." Exhibiting a breadth of intellect nothing short of astounding, he illuminates his explanations with examples from cosmology, physics, philosophy, literature, psychology, cultural anthropology, mythology, theology, and more. Sagan's humorous, wise, and at times stunningly prophetic observations on some of the greatest mysteries of the cosmos have the invigorating effect of stimulating the intellect, exciting the imagination, and reawakening us to the grandeur of life in the cosmos. 59968 book 2 11 2006 The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God total:613|5:280|4:237|3:81|2:15|1:0| 613 2621 1127 120 5 2 false false Wed Jul 16 21:21:01 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 17 06:26:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 10:50:51 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 01 23:32:19 -0700 2007
While each lecture is self contained, the come together as a whole - each obliquely addressing questions about man's place in the universe, basic science, the relationship of rat...more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Feb 20 21:33:19 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 21:39:12 -0800 2008
The book ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 19:49:19 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 00:16:50 -0700 2009
I have seen Cosmos and found it remarkably ahead of its time, and the same is true for what Carl had ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 13:11:56 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 13:26:57 -0800 2008
Eric got me this book for Christmas, and I read it straight through, even the Q&A transcripts in the back. If you are interested in spirituality but don't believe in the Big Daddy in the Sky, if our mere exist...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Nov 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Oct 30 20:43:06 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 04 16:47:31 -0800 2008 1
"Find here a major fraction of this stunningly valuable legacy left to all of us by a great human being. I miss him so."

As do I.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience is largely a t...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jul 09 07:36:03 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 08:27:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 20 17:17:44 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 07:16:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Jun 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 04:37:19 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 08:03:10 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 13:02:10 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 23:08:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Mar 02 21:05:35 -0800 2008 Sun Aug 30 13:36:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jan 14 12:31:32 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 15 05:29:32 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 09:56:01 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 10:03:46 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed May 13 14:51:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 14:51:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 25 19:43:08 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 19:44:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 10:49:48 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 11:04:11 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Oct 04 09:29:50 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 09:31:30 -0700 2009 Contact; b) I had read it many years ago, before the rise of Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, and other intellectual-activist atheists who have beaten the subject to death.

I honestly d...more...]]> 4 3 false false Tue Nov 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 20:06:39 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 10:51:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 05:45:30 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 20:02:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 23 20:28:31 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 09:35:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=61661