FASCINATING . . . MEMORABLE . . . REVEALING . . . PERHAPS THE BEST OF CARL SAGAN'S BOOKS.

--The Washington Post Book World (front page review)

In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time.

Future generations will look back on our epoch as the time when the human race finally broke into a radically new frontier--space. In Pale Blue Dot Sagan traces the spellbinding history of our launch into the cosmos and assesses the future that looms before us as we move out into our own solar system and on to distant galaxies beyond. The exploration and eventual settlement of other worlds is neither a fantasy nor luxury, insists Sagan, but rather a necessary condition for the survival of the human race.

"TAKES READERS FAR BEYOND Cosmos . . . Sagan sees humanity's future in the stars."

--Chicago Tribune

卡尔・萨根（Carl Sagan）（1934～1996）是美国天文学家，也是饮誉全球的科普大师。曾任康内尔大学天文学与空间科学教授和行星研究室主任。长期参与美国的太空探测计划，并在行星物理学领域取得许多重要成果。第2709号小行星以其姓氏命名为“萨根”。在科普方面，他的成就更是引人注目。80年代他主持拍摄的13集电视片《宇宙》，被译成十多种语言在几十个国家上映，获得巨大成功。他撰写了数十部科普读物，其中《伊甸园的飞龙》荣获美国文学与新闻著作的最高奖励――普利策奖。1994年，他被授予第一届阿西莫夫科普奖。他还获得过美国天文学会的“突出贡献奖”和美国国家科学院的“公共福利奖”。他的最后一部力作《魔鬼出没的世界》，从理论与实践两方面论述科学与伪科学的斗争。该书的副标题为“科学是驱走黑暗的蜡烛”，是他留下的警世之言。萨根也是我国读者熟悉的作家，除《伊甸园的飞龙》外，他的名著《外星球文明的探索》、《布鲁卡的脑》等也都已出版中译本。