“Their latest literary wonder.”
—New York Times Syndicate

“It has been a long time since I came across a nonfiction book as compelling as this one. At times I found myself impatiently turning pages, as if I were reading a murder mystery and couldn’t wait to discover the ending.”

—Corpus Christi Caller-Times

“An eloquent attempt to place the human species in context … They use the same compelling style that made Cosmos such an international success.… It is a big story. Indeed, it is the biggest story.”

—Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram

“A coherent, moving story … Philosophical, poetic, even witty, [with] a sense of almost religious awe.”

—Book Page

“Excellent … An important book that deserves to be widely read and discussed.”

—Monroe Strickberger
Author of the textbook Evolution,
writing in the San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle

“Formidably intelligent and well-informed.”

—Chicago Sun Times

“Hauntingly appealing. Carl Sagan is probably the best literary stylist American science has produced since Loren Eiseley and Lewis Thomas.”

—The Observer (London)