Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
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- Create Date：2021-07-29 09:54:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Carl Sagan
- ISBN：0345376595
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Reviews
Rafael Meirelles
，
Deveria ser leitura obrigatória a todos humanos。
Brianna Silva
，
It's hard to rate this book。 The writing is， of course， phenomenal。 At times， I was left stirred and inspired， and even teary-ended on a couple occasions。 But I'll admit， the book didn't keep my attention for its entirety， and the audiobook in particular wasn't as enjoyable as I expected。 I had thought at first the entire audiobook would be in Sagan's voice， but apparently much of the original audiobook files had been corrupted， and his wife， Ann Druyan， re-recorded much of it after his death。 I It's hard to rate this book。 The writing is， of course， phenomenal。 At times， I was left stirred and inspired， and even teary-ended on a couple occasions。 But I'll admit， the book didn't keep my attention for its entirety， and the audiobook in particular wasn't as enjoyable as I expected。 I had thought at first the entire audiobook would be in Sagan's voice， but apparently much of the original audiobook files had been corrupted， and his wife， Ann Druyan， re-recorded much of it after his death。 I feel bad saying this， but Druyan just didn't have a good narrator's voice， so that reduced my enjoyment considerably。Still， this is， I think， an important and hallmark human text， perhaps more profound than many give it credit。 It probably would have been better to read it as a physical copy rather than listening to it， but overall this is a beautiful book that covers some of my favorite topics to reflect upon: The paradoxical greatness and banality of humankind， the battling sense of pessimism and hope for our future， and the wonders of a universe that we may one day branch out and tame。 And from the current perspective， three decades after this book was originally written， it seems that day may be sooner than Sagan even imagined。 。。。more
Himanshu
，
Cosmos had Earth at it’s centre and dealt with how humans in the past discovered and what we know about the cosmos。 With Pale Blue Dot， Carl Sagan takes our attention outwards to the other worlds and how humans could habituate them in future。 This book will give you goosebumps and fill you with the hope of a better future。 I wish humans would achieve at least 1% of all the possibilities in my lifetime。 I would highly recommend this book to my future fellow spacefaring humans or at least the drea Cosmos had Earth at it’s centre and dealt with how humans in the past discovered and what we know about the cosmos。 With Pale Blue Dot， Carl Sagan takes our attention outwards to the other worlds and how humans could habituate them in future。 This book will give you goosebumps and fill you with the hope of a better future。 I wish humans would achieve at least 1% of all the possibilities in my lifetime。 I would highly recommend this book to my future fellow spacefaring humans or at least the dreamers。 。。。more
Lucas Estevam
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Deep sky is， of all visual impressions， the nearest akin to a feeling。- Samuel Taylor Coleridge， Notebooks （1805） （Citation in chapter 10 - Sacred Black）
Manohar
，
Listened to the audiobook。The first few chapters were narrated by Carl Sagan and later by Ann Druyan。It started off really great with the famous eponymous quote and the tales of the Voyager spacecraft。The middle chapters were a bit too technical and hard to get through。But the ending chapters were good and gave some insight into the future of space exploration。Overall， a really informative read。
Sowro Siddique
，
Being a fantastic writer， Carl Sagan has always been one of my favourite authors across all genres。 Scientists often struggle to write in a way that is easily comprehensible to non-professtionals and Sagan's style of writing succeds to capture the interests of even the newbie space enthusiast， and Pale Blue Dot was no different。The book goes into the depths of human nature and their relevance to the cosmos， and then ponders about space travel， intelligence and alien life and how they could possi Being a fantastic writer， Carl Sagan has always been one of my favourite authors across all genres。 Scientists often struggle to write in a way that is easily comprehensible to non-professtionals and Sagan's style of writing succeds to capture the interests of even the newbie space enthusiast， and Pale Blue Dot was no different。The book goes into the depths of human nature and their relevance to the cosmos， and then ponders about space travel， intelligence and alien life and how they could possibly affect us as a species。 Sagan is an optimistic individual， but at the same time is wary about the dangers humans present to their own survival。 He takes more than a glancing look at the possibility of colonization on other worlds and with the knowledge of his time， he is very much on the money with most of his predictions。 Or at least his statements still coincide with our current knowledge on the matter。The only downside of this book， in my opinion， is a slight contradiction of a totally non-scientific matter。 Sagan states that wondering and wandering about the cosmos， the trivialities and nuisances of nationalism seems ridiculous and our tiny political ambitions come off as insignificant bits of information that has no visible impact on the planet。 And for such an impartial open mind， he seems to have quite a bit of national supremist views in space travel， especially against the Russians。 Of course， it is normal for all patriots to feel proud of their country's achievements， so it is not much of a big deal。 Also， the book seems like a propaganda near the last third， and while it is the propaganda of advancing science and space exploration， a cause I can readily get behind， propagandas should not occupy that much space in a book about space。 Then again， I understand that his target audience was his native citizens， and getting them to rally for science's progression is part of his contribution to the society。 。。。more
MacWithBooksonMountains Marcus
，
A long time ago， I read Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot。 It is proof that science writing can be Literature。 I am so in awe of this masterpiece that I feel the only way to do it justice is to quote the master。 “Look again at that dot。 That's here。 That's home。 That's us。 On it everyone you love， everyone you know， everyone you ever heard of， every human being who ever was， lived out their lives。 The aggregate of our joy and suffering， thousands of confident religions，ideologies， and economic doctrine A long time ago， I read Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot。 It is proof that science writing can be Literature。 I am so in awe of this masterpiece that I feel the only way to do it justice is to quote the master。 “Look again at that dot。 That's here。 That's home。 That's us。 On it everyone you love， everyone you know， everyone you ever heard of， every human being who ever was， lived out their lives。 The aggregate of our joy and suffering， thousands of confident religions，ideologies， and economic doctrines， every hunter and forager， every hero and coward， every creator and destroyer of civilization， everyking and peasant， every young couple in love， every mother and father， hopeful child， inventor and explorer， every teacher of morals， every corrupt politician， every "superstar，" every "supreme leader，" every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there -- on amote of dust suspended in a sunbeam。The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena。 Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that， in glory and triumph， they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot。 Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcelydistinguishable inhabitants of some other corner， how frequent their misunderstandings， how eager they are to kill one another， how fervent their hatreds。Our posturings， our imagined self-importance， the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe， are challenged by this point of pale light。 Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark。 In our obscurity， in all this vastness， thereis no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves。The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life。 There is nowhere else， at least in the near future， to which our species could migrate。 Visit， yes。 Settle， not yet。 Like it or not， for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand。” 。。。more
Depro
，
Starting with the glories achieved by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft， the book discusses several astonishing points。 For instance， the Earth is around 4。5 billion years and the Universe is about 15 billion years since the Big Bang。 As for humans， we're latecomers。 From this perspective our epoch in time may seem very significant and unique。 But can our intuitions be mistaken？ From Claudius Ptolemaeus （Ptolemy） who believed the earth is right in the middle of the heavens， from being the cente Starting with the glories achieved by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft， the book discusses several astonishing points。 For instance， the Earth is around 4。5 billion years and the Universe is about 15 billion years since the Big Bang。 As for humans， we're latecomers。 From this perspective our epoch in time may seem very significant and unique。 But can our intuitions be mistaken？ From Claudius Ptolemaeus （Ptolemy） who believed the earth is right in the middle of the heavens， from being the center of the universe fostering a uniqueness in terms of our existence， from this ancestral journey， we have come a long way。 Many different cosmological models are being formulated today。 An interesting one I came across through this book was proposed by Andrei Linde。 He hypothesized that we live in a vast Cosmos。 In this Cosmos there is a kind of quantum fluff in which tiny structures—much smaller than an electron—are everywhere forming， reshaping， and dissipating。 A tiny fraction of them grow and achieve respectable universehood。 Most of the universes reach a maximum size and then collapse and disappear forever。 Others may oscillate。 Still others may expand without limit。 In different universes there will be different laws of nature。 We live in one such universe in which the physics is congenial for growth， inflation， expansion， galaxies， stars， worlds， life。 We imagine our universe to be unique， but it is one of an immense number。 After a long series of philosophic and scientific discussion， the book gives a very brief overview of the discoveries made by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in Jupiter， Saturn， Uranus， and Neptune systems and Mariner 2 and Mariner 5 in Venus system。 In the last few chapters， Carl Sagan proclaims the importance of space exploration and our future in scape。 Through this book I happened to find a lovely line written by Leo Tolstoy， and I quote， "The meaningless absurdity of life is the only incontestable knowledge accessible to man。" The twin spacecraft， which is mentioned at the beginning of this book， have taught us about the wonders of other worlds， about the uniqueness and fragility of our own， about beginnings and ends。 。。。more
James
，
Carl Sagan's writing is sagacious and sage， prescient and funny， incredibly knowledgeable while buttressed around our basic humanity。 Juxtaposing the very real concerns of CFC's， fossil fuels， extinction， and political animosity with the grandeur of what lies beyond， Sagan cuts to the heart of what makes us human: exploration， curiosity， self-preservation， and wonder。 To be sure， much of this book washed over me with my layman's knowledge of space and science。 But to read a 1994 book that foresh Carl Sagan's writing is sagacious and sage， prescient and funny， incredibly knowledgeable while buttressed around our basic humanity。 Juxtaposing the very real concerns of CFC's， fossil fuels， extinction， and political animosity with the grandeur of what lies beyond， Sagan cuts to the heart of what makes us human: exploration， curiosity， self-preservation， and wonder。 To be sure， much of this book washed over me with my layman's knowledge of space and science。 But to read a 1994 book that foreshadows the very real concerns we have in 2021 is a small miracle itself， and Sagan's steady， thoughtful， often very funny writing offers a quixotic vision of what the future could be。 。。。more
Gabriela D
，
4，5Um livro que fluiu bem！ Diria que tem uma linguagem acessível， pois não é preciso ter um conhecimento profundo sobre o assunto para entender。Gostei de algumas observações que ele faz sobre o ser humano e sua busca por explicações。
Sasi Kiran
，
Amazing！！ This is just my perspective。 I think everyone should read this and understand why are we even。 That may help everyone to be more kind to each other。 For so long I wanted to read this and I’m glad that I did。 I may revisit this book again in future。 In general， I love stars。 Knowing how they are formed is even more amazing to me。 Starting chapters were very gripping。 Overall， it was a great experience reading this book。
Kyle
，
Took me a chapter or so to get into it but once going I loved this book。 It's 25 years old now so some of the information precedes what's available now but that didn't stop it from being great。 Carl Sagan has a very interesting outlook on things and some excellent reminders of just how small and insignificant we really are。 The only thing that stopped me giving this book 5 stars was the age of it。 I wish he were still around today to do an updated version。 Took me a chapter or so to get into it but once going I loved this book。 It's 25 years old now so some of the information precedes what's available now but that didn't stop it from being great。 Carl Sagan has a very interesting outlook on things and some excellent reminders of just how small and insignificant we really are。 The only thing that stopped me giving this book 5 stars was the age of it。 I wish he were still around today to do an updated version。 。。。more
Deeraj Balaji
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A great book。 I think everyone should read it。 Majestically explained the folly of human conceits。 This man really had a life long obsession with planets。
Nandor Vass
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Great stuff but I prefer Dawkins' manner of delivery of the same subject。 Great stuff but I prefer Dawkins' manner of delivery of the same subject。 。。。more
Fahmi
，
Glad to know！ Kemajuan apa yang telah kita raih dalam bidang astrofisika sebagai bangsa manusia。 Lalu， langkah apa yang mesti dilakukan kedepannya， serta apa saja obstacles yang menghadangnya。
Patrick
，
There are few people with a such a deep and hard-won love for the world and for humanity like Carl Sagan， a man whose optimism regarding human endeavor is so strong that it seems like a feeling that's been lost to time。 This book is deeply hauntological， and speaks to the widely-held， post-WWII mindset that our technological nirvana was only decades away， that our momentum in innovation and science was too great to stop now。 Space travel， as Sagan so eloquently puts it， has always contained the There are few people with a such a deep and hard-won love for the world and for humanity like Carl Sagan， a man whose optimism regarding human endeavor is so strong that it seems like a feeling that's been lost to time。 This book is deeply hauntological， and speaks to the widely-held， post-WWII mindset that our technological nirvana was only decades away， that our momentum in innovation and science was too great to stop now。 Space travel， as Sagan so eloquently puts it， has always contained the dream of our potential and a distillation of our purest， most divine qualities。 But in the year 2021， that dream has dwindled down to a trace。 Our space-faring endeavors have been largely surrendered to the most privileged among us like Space X and Bezos， an exciting development for a few， I'm sure， but hardly the pride of a nation or a world， merely the ghost of a collective dream for an elevated age burdened only by curiosity and kinship， and freed from the suffering that has maimed our species for so long。 Intuition suggests our space-faring future may become the frivolous pastime of only those with wealth， hard-earned or usurped， and a darker future portends to a lucky few departed beyond the Earth， freed from the burden of facing our demons， to escape a fallen world left to writhe and to rot。 I think Sagan， while relegating a fair amount of text toward the myriad problems that we must overcome to unify the human species and to secure our future beyond the Earth， does not adequately convey that this action is in of itself the ultimate hurdle that we may ever have to surmount。 To bridge the immaterial gap between the hard-wired instincts of survival at any cost， the ancient demons that have allowed us to persist up until this moment， and the supernatural intention of unity and de-individuation in the name of the collective good and our most well-intentioned achievement， is the mythologized return to glory that humans have eternally sought。 That tectonic internal battle， at the global level， is our Tower of Babylon， the subjugation of our most primal tendencies our divine moment， and to simply imply its achievement is inevitable and say that once we "unify"， only then will we finally be on our way to godliness。。。。is a misrepresentation of just how immense that leap is。 The pervasive corruption， the erosion of our spirits and our institutions， the languish of the Earth， our ancient rivalries， our sinful desires of lust and of greed， our self-obsessions， the corporeal rot， our primordial suffering， all left to play out 8 billion times， in 8 billion ever-expanding worlds， spread out within an incomprehensible web of complexity， makes this fight at times seem a little too big to win。I also think it is a human conceit to assume that "life"， wherever it may arise， is destined to transcend its home planet and live amongst the stars。 Even if ultimate cosmological survival depends on evacuating doomed worlds with finite life-spans， perhaps an evasion of death and of the ephemerality that accompanies it， is not necessarily a desire held by lifeforms different from us。 Perhaps a being with a fundamentally different mind can only help to find honor and meaning in the inevitable march into oblivion。 I know many humans do in a way， and I can't help but wonder， that without major alterations to our genetic makeup and identity， we will ever be able to feel fulfilled outside of the world that birthed us into existence， the world that we were so perfectly designed to inhabit？ Why do we assume the acquisition of an immortal life at the edge of the universe to be anything more than a dream of the conquest of death， the resistance bestowed upon us by our microbial ancestors， desperately grasping for any way to remain on the material plane？ I， too， sense a sort of destiny amongst the stars， as they too comprise the atoms of our very existence， but it almost feels like the dream of someone else， of a people that don't yet exist。I think the Sagan spark is important to preserve， and I think that it may have its use again someday， but if we are to realize the future that Sagan and his ilk purport to exist， we still have a great amount left to do。 And maybe after that great transformation， the only one that will allow us to escape a future of barely scraping along， still tortured by our worst qualities and vices， and annihilation， we may arrive at some sunny end， where universal peace and well-being are finally achieved， and where the dream of escape to other worlds may not seem so appealing after all。 。。。more
Rachel
，
Anything written by the Space Daddy himself deserves no less than the max amount of stars。
Majo Fonticoba
，
At first， I was trying to compare it with Cosmos， but they’re nothing alike。 Pale Blue Dot is entirely about our possibility to explore and probably， one day， to live in space。No wonder why Sagan won a Pulitzer。 Love the way he expressed his fascination with space。
Jim Mellon
，
Wow！ It filled me with a sense of awe and wonder。 This man had such a realistic view of humanity with all of our flaws yet he had such a wonderful vision for what we are capable of。 Really wish Carl Sagan was still around！ A brilliant scientist with the gift of being able to communicate complex ideas without all of the jargon！ What a treasure this man’s writing continues to be。
Tobias Taylor
，
The ‘Pale Blue Dot’ passage is perhaps one of the best ever written but the rest of the book jumps about and ends up being fairly hard to follow。
Anna Heather
，
The book that shows the real， unlimited beauty and wonder of the Universe。 And， at the same time， brings back the faith in humanity and our potential！ Absolute must-read
Ikang Mas'ud
，
Bagusnya buku ini adalah Carl Sagan mengajak kita mengarungi angkasa melalui pandangan agama， filsafat， dan sains serta pengalaman-pengalaman yang beliau alami sebagai seorang anggota NASA。 Sayangnya， narasi yang dibawa Sagan tidak sebanding dengan terjemahan yang masih kurang nyaman untuk dibaca
Mike Futcher
，
A comprehensive and exhilarating account sketching out mankind's place in the universe。 Starting from the famous photo of the 'pale blue dot' – Earth as seen from the Voyager spacecraft as it travelled away from us past Jupiter – the book manages to be both chastening to our hubris and inspiring for our future potential。It covers much more than this， including detailed explorations of the other planets in our solar system as well as climate change （argued in such a way that it manages to not be A comprehensive and exhilarating account sketching out mankind's place in the universe。 Starting from the famous photo of the 'pale blue dot' – Earth as seen from the Voyager spacecraft as it travelled away from us past Jupiter – the book manages to be both chastening to our hubris and inspiring for our future potential。It covers much more than this， including detailed explorations of the other planets in our solar system as well as climate change （argued in such a way that it manages to not be annoying） and prospects of interplanetary space travel and off-world colonies。 Indeed， this is often to the book's detriment， for it is a dense and time-consuming read， despite being only 400 pages long。 Pale Blue Dot is at its best when it is focused on Earth and the solar system， particular the Voyager missions of which author Carl Sagan was a part， not more abstract speculations beyond。 （That said， it also took me a long time to read as there's plenty to chew on: many of the things Sagan discusses deserve to be pondered before moving on to the next chapter。）Nevertheless， Sagan – perhaps more than any other writer in fact or even fiction – managed to capture the almost spiritual （and certainly non-material） sense of human destiny amongst the stars。 Helped by high-quality illustrations of some of outer space's treasures， he evokes the awe and majesty of this universe we live in and the potential it offers us。 And this world is visible not only through mere telescope lenses mounted on or around this pale blue dot of a planet， but through Sagan's solemn scientific prose and infectious enthusiasm， which brings barren worlds and the empty void to vivid life。 。。。more
Ayushi Sharma
，
I completed this book around the time when China successfully lands on Mars （what a coincidence）There is no doubt about the plethora of knowledge which this books gives you wrt to the space science appetite。 It is a visionary book by Carl Sagan which touches upon the ethical dilemma， about the impact of politics， about Humanity to its core。 Loved each and every bit of the book， though took some to comprehend few writings。 but one thing is for sure this book unsettles you to the core and it has t I completed this book around the time when China successfully lands on Mars （what a coincidence）There is no doubt about the plethora of knowledge which this books gives you wrt to the space science appetite。 It is a visionary book by Carl Sagan which touches upon the ethical dilemma， about the impact of politics， about Humanity to its core。 Loved each and every bit of the book， though took some to comprehend few writings。 but one thing is for sure this book unsettles you to the core and it has triggered in so many thoughts in my mind to connect science with the welfare of humans。 Enjoy the thoughtful ride with the book！ 。。。more
Elena Neacșu
，
When you finish a book with tears in your eyes， you know you made a really good choice。 Scattered with poetic and elegant passages， this one is not only about planetary science; it feels like a story told by your grandfather around a cracking fire; it's a beautiful and thrilling journey in time and space。 This is for everyone who has an utterly love and respect for Earth。 This is for the ones who feel lost。 You might find hope after reading this。"whatever other life may be， the only humans in al When you finish a book with tears in your eyes， you know you made a really good choice。 Scattered with poetic and elegant passages， this one is not only about planetary science; it feels like a story told by your grandfather around a cracking fire; it's a beautiful and thrilling journey in time and space。 This is for everyone who has an utterly love and respect for Earth。 This is for the ones who feel lost。 You might find hope after reading this。"whatever other life may be， the only humans in all the Universe come from Earth。 They will gaze up and strain to find the blue dot in their skies。 They will love it no less for its obscurity and fragility。 They will marvel at how vulnerable the repository of all our potential once was， how perilous our infancy， how humble our beginnings， how many rivers we had to cross before we found our way。"https://youtu。be/CiojddlKcAE 。。。more
Hani
，
I don’t know what is more fascinating， the cosmos or the human’s ability to marvel at it！
Raul
，
Aquí no puedo ser imparcial， me gustan todos sus libros， los disfruto mucho。
John Smith
，
Enjoyed every second， easily accessible。
Eli
，
Wow， what an exeptional book about space and our interstellar future。 I think everyone at least remotely interested in space and space travel should experience this Sagan masterpiece。
Rafael Manzoni
，