COSMOS Paperback – 11 August 1983

The book gives deep knowledge about astronomy and related topics.

This is one of the best books I've ever bought from Amazon. If you are a space and astronomy lover, then you have already heard of Carl Sagan. But if you haven't read his writings, Check this one out. Books contains various topics with artistic style and beautiful explainations. Only donwside is the page quality of the book. Other than that, it is a brilliant book. Thank You, Carl Sagan!

Brilliant product. Bought it a few months ago. Here's the pros and cons of the book.Pros-1. Excellent book for beginner stargazer2. Excellent book for people starting out in Cosmology even with no prior knowledge whatsoever.3. If you have even the slightest interest in astronomy the book will really mesmerize you.4. It acknowledges you with the cosmology in a friendly and understandable way.5. I personally recommend it for everybody out there.Cons-1. The physical cover of the book is not excellent if you buy the paperback (that's why i have given this book 4 stars). So, if you have a budget you can buy the hardcover version or else just take your paperback book to your nearest bookstore and put a hardcover on it. They will not take more than Rs. 50. Moreover, it only requires a hardcover after 6 to 8 months of simultaneous use. It cost me just Rs. 45 to put a hardcover on it after 7 months (approx.)Overall this book is magnificent and do not let the cover of the paperback version be the reason of not buying it. Even if you are not into cosmology or astronomy, just read this book once. It will surely not bore you, in fact it will really pleasure and amaze you acknowledging you about humanity and the universe.

We humans have come a long way. From the days we were wandering the planet looking little different from our primate cousins, to these modern times where we take for granted technologies that would have been equated to magic just a century or so ago, we humans have made amazing progress. Science is what brought us here and science is what is going to help us evolve in the days ahead too. Science helped us see things as they are, dispelled our fears, gave us hope, made us discover fire and invent the wheel – two of the most important findings till today.While science may not have solved all our queries yet - and raises as many demons as it lays to rest - it makes genuine, continuous efforts to arrive at the Truth. Armed with science, we humans have started exploring all around us. From the microcosmic wonders of atoms to the mega marvels of Universe, science has lifted many veils and shown us things beyond our limited understanding. Scientists like Carl Sagan have played an important role in lifting those veils, not only by their direct contribution to the sciences, but also through their ability to communicate such esoteric wisdom to the masses, to laymen that are keen on understanding their surroundings but limited in their ability to do so.Books like ‘The Origin of Species’ remain special, not just because they tell us about groundbreaking discoveries, but also due to their telling it in a language that we, the laypersons, can understand. While ‘Cosmos’ by Carl Sagan may not be as earth-shattering as ‘The Origin of Species’, it is special by its own right. Written nearly four decades ago, co-developed with a television series of the same name, this book was produced with the idea of popularizing the sciences, especially astronomy, among the masses. To the uninitiated but curious mind, this book is the ideal beginning into the wonderous realms of the cosmos. This book is to the budding astronomer what the alphabets and the arithmetic are to the young child.From the ancient budding of scientific thoughts at the Ionian islands to the then-latest launching of space missions like Voyager-2, Carl Sagan takes each stage in the evolution of science as we know it, elaborates on the circumstances prevailing at those times, enumerates important contributions by various scientists. The real fun is his doing all this in an interesting, pacey manner, without letting the reader feel bored even once. After helping us navigate the unimaginably vast expanse of our Universe and showing us the wonders of our solar system, stars, planets, galaxies and the bleak black holes along the way, Sagan ends the book with philosophical musings on the future of mankind on this nuclear era and the possibilities of our encountering extra-terrestrial intelligence.This is not just a book on astronomy. Burgeoning with interesting details on history, evolution, atomic science and mathematics, this is one complete book that every mind passionate about learning must possess.

Nice.

After returning the Abacus edition, I ordered the Ballantine edition. Its superb. Awesome printing, text, format and plenty of illustrations. Best quality at this price. Its Rs. 20 less than the poor Abacus edition. Go for it.**Previous Review of Abacus edition**This is not a review of the title Cosmos by Carl Sagan. It is a brilliant book for anybody interested in Science. I had purchased the Kindle edition and read. It is fantastic and beyond awesome. And I recommend everyone interested in this book to watch the TV series COSMOS-A SPACETIME ODYSSEY by NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON.This review is about this particular edition from Abacus. Please don't buy this product as the quality is pathetic. I received my copy today. And just after uncovering the product, I requested for a return. I actually bought it as a gift for my brother. But the paper quality is not at all acceptable and the text and formatting is very poor. The quality can be compared to the pirated books you can buy from the streets which may cost you Rs.50. I mean really, how can they sell a substandard and poor quality product for such a hiked price? I heard the same book with an introduction from Neil DeGrasse Tyson is far better than this one and costs less(Publisher: Ballantine Books). Also the book contains no illustrations contrary to the description. Illustrations are an important part of this book as it explains a lots of concepts easily.

Slow starting , occasionally boring but Amazing Read once you commit to it. Carl Sagan is a legend

This review is only for the print quality. If the listing says Publisher is Abacus, you may consider skipping this. Very bad quality print, almost like a cheap road side pirated copy. I have placed a return request. Do not want to read a great book in substandard print quality.