This gem of a book is Sasha Sagan's first, and is billed as a look in to the rituals that make us all human but is really partly about the rituals, paThis gem of a book is Sasha Sagan's first, and is billed as a look in to the rituals that make us all human but is really partly about the rituals, part memoir, and part tribute to her famous parents, Ann Druyan and the late Carl Sagan.
Not surprisingly, this book is a well written and entertaining, and Sagan's personality really shines through. While not religious, she is culturally Jewish and celebrates sacred holidays, even Christian ones such as Christmas, without acknowledging spirituality or the supernatural aspects. In true Sagan/Druyan fashion she examines these events through secular and scientific lens. Her appreciation for religious holidays is very relatable, I think many of us non-believers still enjoy them. We do because it is fun and it is a ritual we were brought up on. It keeps us connected with our loved ones and traditions. Heck, most of these holidays have secular origins and are based on natural events such as changes in seasons or milestones in person's life.
In sixteen chapters she begins with birth rituals and ends with death rituals and covers everything in between including the seasons, coming of age, independence days, weddings, anniversaries, periods, daily rituals, and so on. She explains the historical or scientific background of each and how they are of importance in the human experience, and personalizes the subject with anecdotes about herself, her family (husband and new baby daughter), her famous parents, and grandparents who emigrated to the US.
My edition contained a recommended reading list, a discussion guide, and a conversation with the author. The postscript was especially neat. She relates the experience she had when asked to play her grandmother Rachel in the Neil DeGrasse Tyson / Ann Druyan Cosmos reboot in a scene with a boy who played her father. They recreated one of her father's childhood memories. Great stuff.
I found this to be a really good read. Not all chapters were as equally interesting but I learned something in each one. I really enjoyed and related to the way she talked about a non-believer's view of death. There were some great quotes throughout. Like her parents, she has a knack for expressing the profound. This is one of my favorite quotes:
“No matter what the universe has in store, it cannot take away from the fact that you were born. You’ll have some joy and some pain, and all the other experiences that make up what it’s like to be a tiny part of a grand cosmos. No matter what happens next, you were here. And even when any record of our individual lives is lost to the ages, that won’t detract from the fact that we were. We lived. We were part of the enormity. All the great and terrible parts of being alive, the shocking sublime beauty and heartbreak, the monotony, the interior thoughts, the shared pain and pleasure. It really happened. All of it. On this little world that orbits a yellow star out in the great vastness. And that alone is cause for celebration.�...more
Sagan was excellent at explaining the wonders of science to the masses. Some parts of this book are now a bit dated since in some chapters he uses datSagan was excellent at explaining the wonders of science to the masses. Some parts of this book are now a bit dated since in some chapters he uses data from the 80s and 90s; after all, it was written in the mid-90s, but it is still my favorite read / listen. To listen to this was a joy, with Cary Elwes reading most of the story, and Seth MacFarlane reading a few chapters as well. Ann Druyan read the introduction. Great, great narration.
Relating to the book's age, there were at least two instances where Carl addresses about two things that happened after he wrote the book. He talks about how General Relativity is dependent on and would unravel without gravitational waves, which have never been detected. In 2016, LIGO detected them! In another part of the book he maligns those who believe in the face and structures on Mars (as interpreted from Viking I images) and hoped that future Mars missions with high definition cameras would photograph these areas and set the record straight. This happened. NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took high definition pictures that showed that these structures were optical illusions and not the product of an advance race on Mars.
Carl tackles numerous subjects in this book. He is an eloquent writer.
This book should be required reading in America, a country that still embraces pseudoscience and superstition. I can't rate this book high enough. ...more
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