Carl Sagan - The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark

Pros: Rational, reasonable, and respectful

Cons: No cons at all!

The Bottom Line: This is an excellent book, full of common- sense arguments that effectively debunk the myth of pseudosciences

Review: Dr. Carl Sagan was one of the world?s best- known and most respected men of science. Sagan gained widespread popularity and notoriety for his scientific knowledge through the television mini- series ?Cosmos?, which originally aired on Public...

Pros: A modern scientific classic

Cons: Prejudices will get in the way

The Bottom Line: A watershed book for me, and hopefully for anybody else interested in learning to think scientifically

Review: My favorite genre of science books are those that discuss the relations between science, wonder, and credulity. Michael Shermer wrote an intelligent general discussion of these issues ("Why People Believe Weird Things"), Richard Dawkins elaborated...

Pros: Lucid, important, respectful, logical, and Scientific

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: Science, reason, and a healthy dose of skepticism can keep human kind out of the darkness. Learn science, learn how to not fall for baloney, and read this important book.

Review: Astrology, pseudoscience, anti-science, alien abduction, fundamentalist zealotry, wacky conspiracy theories, weird UFO beliefs, quackery, ESP, fortune telling, and other baloney stands in stark contrast to how science operates. Unfortunately the...

Pros: Fabulously clear and convincing, very fluid.

Cons: You better be interested in science.

Review: Carl Sagan wrote the Demon-Haunted World about pseudoscience (a false science that exists without proof, urging the public to accept the ideas but not question them). Although he covers quite a lot of subjects (the face on Mars, Atlantis, demons and...

Pros: Unabashedly pro-science

Cons: sometimes dismissive of skeptics of science

Review: Science 4 All?

When I first picked up this book, I was a little bit offended by the idea that it seemed to champion: that science has all the answers for us. Of course, that's not at all what Sagan was trying to say. He recognized...

Pros: Well-written and presented, easy to understand, entertaining and educational

Cons: None

Review: The late Dr. Carl Sagan, astronomer who became world-renowned for popularizing science like no one has since Robert Heinlein, left us with one last great contribution to human knowledge. That work is "The Demon Haunted World."

"World" is...

Pros: An enlightening guide to clear thinking

Cons: Some people wear their illusions like a warm blanket

Review: Carl Sagan was perhaps one of the greatest philosophers of our time. That he was not revered by "billions and billions" of people is not the fault of his teachings. I lay the blame at a society that only wishes to be shown truth, instead of being...

Pros: Intelligent, highly logical, well written, of great import.

Cons: Sagan in dead

The Bottom Line: Sagan concisely and clearly spells out the rules for rational thought. This is a rare sort of book: one that can make the world a better place.

Review: I first read Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World several years ago, while taking a course in Logic. I found it to be a great book, that covered many of the basic concepts of logic in a manner that is easy to approach. I loved this book, and I...

Pros: Compassionate debunking and hopefulness.

Cons: Can't think of any worth mentioning.

The Bottom Line: I think it is an excellent review of skeptical thinking with compassion.

Review: *note: This is a slight update for a review originally published in February of 2001

Sagan's subtitle for this book, "Science as a Candle in the Dark," says much of what he wishes to convey, that is, that science is wondrous, awe-inspiring...

Pros: Clear, informative, enlightening.

Cons: Politically charged in places.

Review: Like "Broca's Brain" and "The Dragons of Eden", this book is a collection of essays promoting fact over fantasy and reason over wishful thinking. Unlike some other skeptical authors, however, Dr. Sagan never forgets that the people whose beliefs he...