Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science Kindle Edition

I’ve heard purists complain that the great Carl Sagan “should stick to his field” of astronomy. I say that’s a narrow and pedantic view — he was a brilliant man who shared his boundless love of EVERYTHING, great and small, in such an engaging way! Generations have learned so much from him — not just scientific fact, but philosophy and humanity and the delight of learning. This book, filled with the mysteries of the human brain, is particularly fascinating! I highly recommend it.

Broca’s Brain, a book by astronomer and science writer Carl Sagan, was published in 1979. The title refers to the 19th century French neuroscientist Paul Broca, who is discussed in the first chapter. The subtitle, Reflections on the Romance of Science, is not entirely successful as a blanket statement sufficiently generic enough to encompass the contents of what is essentially a grab bag of 25 miscellaneous articles, essays, and lectures that have been repurposed into a book. The writings collected in this volume were previously published from 1974 to 1979 and vary widely in subject matter, interest, and degree of difficulty.The chapters are divided into categories, but even those are loose enough to be almost arbitrary. One chapter is a brief biological sketch of Albert Einstein that focuses as much on his political and humanitarian efforts as his scientific accomplishments. Another chapter is a critical essay on science fiction in which Sagan names some of his favorite novels. The bulk of the book, however, is devoted to Sagan’s bread and butter, planetary science. The contents of this book were written at a time when the Viking spacecraft had recently landed on Mars and Voyager had not yet reached Saturn, so most of Sagan’s speculations on the solar system have since been either confirmed or disproved by subsequent unmanned space exploration. Sagan also devotes much discussion to the possibility of life on other worlds and our ability to find it, and his erudite thoughts on these topics are still very much relevant today. Though Sagan was known for the accessibility of his scientific writings, not every piece in this collection was intended for the general reader. His chapter on the history of 19th century astronomy, for example, is clearly aimed at practitioners in that field, and one would probably need a master’s degree in the subject to fully understand everything the author is saying.A section of the book entitled Paradoxers includes chapters in which Sagan refutes various forms of faux science. Sagan was one of the world’s foremost advocates for science over superstition and mysticism. While I admire him for taking on that role, those reading a book by Sagan have probably already made up their minds in favor of science. The biggest disappointment with Broca’s Brain is that Sagan spends twenty percent of the entire book disproving the theories of Immanuel Velikovsky, who made all kinds of ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims about the history of the solar system. There is also a chapter about a man who declared himself the second coming of Christ. Someone had to step up and answer these false prophets, and I am glad Sagan took up the challenge, but I didn’t feel these chapters were a productive use of my reading time. Rest assured, however, that elsewhere in the book Sagan more thoughtfully and philosophically addresses the contentious relationship between science and religion, proving himself one of rationalism’s most outspoken and eloquent proponents.After reading Broca’s Brain, I would not hesitate to call Sagan a genius. The man can write intelligently and articulately about any subject he puts his mind to, within or without the realm of science. Even so, I can’t say I enjoyed every one of the 25 essays included here, for the reasons discussed above. Still, I’m glad I read the book, and overall this collection of Sagan’s writings on the wonders of the universe left me with a profound feeling of secular inspiration. If that’s what he means by the “romance of science,” then so be it.

Print quality of the book is awful! The letters are not crisp and have blurred together. For example, there is no white space in the “holes” of the letters “a” and “e.” They are completely filled. Makes it that much harder to read because you have to guess the word based on it’s overall shape instead of clearly seeing each letter. Very disappointing.

.My favorite books tend to draw the humanities and science into closer alignment and Carl Sagan is the master of that kind of magic."Broca's Brain" is a series of essays that will open your eyes to science as a way of thinking.One of the best things about this book is Sagan's willingness to look at pseudo-science, crackpot ideas that are popular with the general public, and the writings of some truly eccentric people, and carefully explore the research possibilities their beliefs present.This book is fun to read and an educational masterpiece. It would make a nice gift not only for adults but also for teenagers who have inquisitive, scientic minds.Kim Burdick

A great book. Sagan explains science, how it works, what it is and isn't, in a way that is readily understandable to the layman.

Broca's Brain is a little dated but still worthwhile. Sagan's insight and passion for science comes through as always. His view of the quest for knowledge and science as a candle in the dark makes this a must read for the scientist and layman as wellRead this and watch Cosmos, you will not be disappointed.

This collection of essays and articles by Carl Sagan is simply one of the finest and most lucid books to explain scientific issues. Sagan is unparalleled at making the complicated clear and the obscure obvious, and being entertaining and engaging in the process.

Perhaps my least favourite of all the books that I've read by Sagan, but it still contains enough of his gems to make it worth reading. I thought the last chapter, in particular, was a real marvel of combining science and philosophy. I found myself skipping most of a couple of chapters, though, just because I thought he spent more time on a topic than it was worth.

Am feeling bad giving a poor review to a Carl Sagan book, however the book that has been delivered to me is of very poor quality. It is evident from the quality of printing and pages that this is not an original copy. If I had to take this, I can buy it from a footpath vendor for Rs. 50. I have asked for a replacement. Let's see what I get.If I get a proper copy then I will come back and edit this review.Edit to original comment - the replacement copy was also poor quality, so i returned it. It seems that this is becoming a common problem with books ordered on Amazon. They need to fix this asap.

An often fascinating yet occasionally meandering collection of scientific explorations, which in retrospect reads like a warm-up for the author's masterpiece 'Cosmos.' Sagan is at his best when he recounts the science fiction stories that inspired him in his youth, while he explains the conventions of naming astronomical objects, and as he ponders the possibilities of life elsewhere in the universe. He sinks into the mire, however, while debunking the pseudoscience of characters like Velikovsky and Von Daniken. Sagan can hardly be faulted here- stories of ancient astronauts and similar fantastic hypotheses were all the rage in the 1970s, but he goes into such detail breaking down the fallacies of their theories that he inadvertently almost lends them a kind of credence. This book is certainly recommended for Sagan completists, but others are better off reading (or re-reading) 'Cosmos,' 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,' or any of the exceptional works he wrote in the last years of his life.

What a great book! Carl Sagan can write anything. Carl Sagan wasn't just an astronomer but a great author too. I would like to recommend you this masterpiece. The most nice thing was that I received this delivery 3 days before the estimated date.

Una gran obra más de Carl Sagan. Es un excelente libro para aprender cómo argumentar falacias con un nivel argumenticio muy elevado. No puede faltar en su colección. La edición Kindle es muy buena, no tiene fallas.

Pages are somewhat old, but of good quality. The print quality is good.