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I was very pleased to win an advance copy of this book from the 欧宝娱乐 giveaway program. I was a little afraid that some of the science or math portions would be hard to follow but found that my fears were groundless; it's written in a very clear and straightforward, easy to follow manner. I used to love reading Asimov's books of science essays, and I was a big fan of Cosmos. In fact, it's much more of a philosophical work than a science book, a guide on how to approach questions or situations from a scientific and factual viewpoint rather than relying on often incorrect "common knowledge" and preconceived notions. It's subtitled "Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization," and Tyson illustrates points about government, politics, race, gender, culture, and all manner of other weighty ideas and subjects with remarkable insight, clarity, and refreshing humor. I found myself trying to apply some of his examples of factual thinking as I read and began to look at his topics from a different perspective; for example, on page 19 he states that when a comet hit Jupiter in July of 1994, nothing died, but it would have been an extinction-level catastrophe on Earth. It struck me that he really didn't have any way of knowing for sure whether anything had been killed on Jupiter or not. He addresses subjects without bias and presents facts as an illustration of how the scientific method can help make better decisions. It reminded me of my favorite quote from Harlan Ellison: 鈥淵ou are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your -informed- opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.鈥� Another random observation that he made that impressed me was on page 176, and he is recounting his experience of being in a pool for jury selection. The defendant is charged with the possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine, and he points out that the charge is phrased that way rather than as the more accurate 1.7 grams simply to make it sound like a larger quantity and a more heinous offense. There were many such points he makes in the book that gave me a different way of looking at a situation. It's a very intelligent and thought-provoking book, full of historical and scientific facts presented in sometimes alternate ways. I recommend it highly.