The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Are we on the brink of a new Dark Age of irrationality and superstition? In this stirring, brilliantly argued book, internationally respected scientist Carl Sagan shows how scientific thinking is necessary to safeguard our democratic institutions and our technical civilisation. From an American president consulting horoscopes to a medieval court burning nine-year-old 'witches'. Sagan shows the hazards of scientific ignorance. Convincingly debunking alien abduction, mediums, faith-healing fraud, and other modern-day 'demons', he also refutes the argument that science destroys spirituality, asks why scientific study is often stigmatised, and provides a 'baloney detection kit' for thinking through political, social and other issues. This is a stimulating study of science as, at its best, a positively inspirational answer to the irrational rituals that, at their worst, threaten the planet. Sagan helps us accept the world as it is, not as a fakeloric fantasy Alan Bold, Glasgow Herald A brilliant populariser of astronomy and space science... Sagan's writing is as lucid and stylish as ever Clive Cookson, Financial Times My candidate for planetary ambassador can be none other than Carl Sagan himself. He is wise, humane, polymathic, witty, well read, and incapable of composing a dull sentence. Richard Dawkins, The Times No one has ever succeeded in conveying the wonder, excitement and joy of science as widely as Carl Sagan and few as well.. His ability to capture the imagination of millions and to explain difficult concepts in understandable terms is a magnificent achievement. The Nation Academy of Sciences, on awarding Carl Sagan its highest honour in 1994