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Speranza's Reviews > Cosmos

Cosmos by Carl Sagan
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it was amazing
bookshelves: kindle, my-gems

As a child, I was fascinated and mesmerised by our world. It looked so huge, so full of wonders. Еverything was a source of marvel and inspiration. The world, the Earth, waited to be discovered and I had a long life ahead of me to do that.

Then, in teenage years, I already knew all there was to know about life, people, the Earth and the Universe. Nobody could tell me any better. The new source of wonder had become love � falling in love, finding the purpose in another human being, the complete merging of body and soul.

Once I entered the world of adults, I realised that I knew nothing. I strived for a higher purpose which, it turned out, was extremely hard to find in between a daily job that gives you no thrill, the same four walls you hide behind every night, and the usual faces that say the same words day in day out. The mundanity and routine that sustain a human life make it really hard to notice this same life. Wine and poetry help the cause to some extent, but they pull one out of Earth’s gravity for very short instances only.

I have been at a crossroads lately, which shattered the illusive security of existence and made me anxious, itching with questions, sleepless, feeling an urge I couldn’t define. And then I started to seek answers, cosmic answers.
Suddenly, it feels like a meteorite has hit my little planet. I read with eyes wide-open, with the naïveté of a toddler, with a remarkable ignorance and with an insatiable thirst to learn more. I feel like a child again! I feel in love again! I feel my senses being heightened and my pulse rushing. Carl Sagan made me feel like a scientist. For I have made a wonderful discovery - the nutrient of my little earthly life is curiosity � no step for the Cosmos, one giant leap for the cosmic speck of dust that I am.

I could talk for hours about how beautiful and captivating I found Cosmos to be. It made me crave knowledge of the unknown. It made my underdeveloped imagination burst with colourful visions. It made my stunted mind race. I savoured every word, embraced every idea. I guess for someone who has read a lot on the subject I look like a newly hatched chicken, struggling to make its first steps. I have been intimidated by physics and chemistry all my life and now it is time to catch up.

My gut tells me that Sagan is not right in completely rejecting astrology, the occult or religion, but I choose to trust him because he has managed to put into simple words concepts that have scared away so many people for so long. His narrative voice is the perfect combination of a bright mind and humility. It is subtle and guiding, not patronizing. It is human and it is humane � it makes you believe you can understand and dream beyond the boundaries of your own mind.
Sagan was a great scientist, but I think his greatest achievement is that he made science accessible and interesting to his fellow human beings. His venture to bring the Cosmos closer to humans might eventually pay off in helping bring humans closer to the Cosmos.

There is so much more I want to say, but I don’t have words for all thoughts that Cosmos provoked in me. I feel ashamed that my review of this monumental work revolves around my little nichtigkeit, but, after all, even the biggest galaxies are made of the smallest particles.
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Quotes Speranza Liked

Carl Sagan
“What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic."

[Cosmos, Part 11: The Persistence of Memory (1980)]”
Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Carl Sagan
“The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.”
Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Carl Sagan
“Books are like seeds. They can lie dormant for centuries and then flower in the most unpromising soil.”
Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Carl Sagan
“Human beings have a demonstrated talent for self-deception when their emotions are stirred.”
Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Carl Sagan
“What a marvelous cooperative arrangement - plants and animals each inhaling each other's exhalations, a kind of planet-wide mutual mouth-to-stoma resuscitation, the entire elegant cycle powered by a star 150 million kilometers away.”
Carl Sagan, Cosmos


Reading Progress

October 22, 2015 – Started Reading
October 22, 2015 – Shelved
October 22, 2015 – Shelved as: kindle
October 23, 2015 –
31.0% "I literally can't put this down. It has my left hand, left eye and both brain sides occupied at all times, while the right hand, right eye and an absent mind are taking care of all daily chores."
October 25, 2015 – Finished Reading
June 11, 2016 – Shelved as: my-gems

Comments Showing 1-13 of 13 (13 new)

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message 1: by John (new) - added it

John L You are in for a wonderful & cosy treat when you watch the television series. It's the book plus turtleneck sweaters plus Vangelis.


Speranza Sounds like cosy childhood memories :-). I plan to watch the first episode tonight. Feel orphaned and pulled back by the Earth now that I finished the book - it is hard feeling part of the Cosmos when the piece of sky you see from your window can fit in the palm of your hand.
Anyway, not sure if you know this, but there is a 2014 sequel to Sagan's Cosmos series: ... (less)


message 3: by John (new) - added it

John L I watched that as well. It's worth watching.


message 4: by Monty (new)

Monty Milne Wine and poetry.... :)


Speranza Monty Milne Wine and poetry.... :)

My cosmic connection :-)


Speranza Thank you, Hades. Your comment is one of the kindest I have received ever, thank you for making me melt inside.

I think the world will be a happier place if we all remember how to see the things we are looking at. It seems like we look but don't see, listen but don't hear, talk but don't say, touch but don't feel, breathe but don't live.


message 7: by Junta (new) - added it

Junta Great review - it's nice to read about a book that means a lot for someone, especially when you can see some personal slices of their life, their struggles and character-defining episodes. I also lost my curiosity for science (= the universe?) in my early teens - all of my GR friends who have read Sagan have given him high praise, so I might consider reading one of his books this year.


Speranza Junta wrote: "Great review - it's nice to read about a book that means a lot for someone, especially when you can see some personal slices of their life, their struggles and character-defining episodes. I also l..."

Thank you, Junta. I don't know how much you have read on the subject matter before you lost interest. If you have read about it extensively I think it might not be this enlightening to you, but a big part of it is the way it was written. It is very emotionally charged as well as being informative. I really hope you will enjoy it.


message 9: by Speranza (last edited Feb 07, 2016 12:50AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Speranza Hades wrote: "Speranza wrote: "Thank you, Hades. Your comment is one of the kindest I have received ever, thank you for making me melt inside.."

I hope in time my comment actually becomes the least complimentar..."


Thank you so much, Hades. This review makes me feel a bit naked, and I struggle with praise, so your wonderful comments are more than enough for me :-)


Abubakar Mehdi What a beautiful review !
I am most definitely going to read it this year.


Speranza Thank you, Abubakar! Curious to see if you enjoy it as much as I did.


message 12: by L (new) - added it

L Utterly beautiful, beautiful review... <3


message 13: by Nataliya (new) - added it

Nataliya Yaneva Perfect review :)


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