Dragons of Eden

“A history of the human brain from the big bang, fifteen billion years ago, to the day before yesterday … It’s a delight.”—The New York Times“How can I persuade every intelligent person to read this important and elegant book? … He talks about all kinds of things: the why of the pain of human childbirth … the reason for sleeping and dreaming … chimpanzees taught to communicate in deaf and dumb language … the definition of death … cloning … computers … intelligent life on other planets… . Fascinating … delightful.”—The Boston Globe“In some lost Eden where dragons ruled, the foundations of our intelligence were laid… . Carl Sagan takes us on a guided tour of that lost land… . Fascinating … entertaining … masterful.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Carl Sagan served as the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, Voyager, and Galileo spacecraft expeditions, for which he received the NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and (twice) for Distinguished Public Service.

His Emmy- and Peabody–winning television series, Cosmos, became the most widely watched series in the history of American public television. The accompanying book, also called Cosmos, is one of the bestselling science books ever published in the English language. Dr. Sagan received the Pulitzer Prize, the Oersted Medal, and many other awards—including twenty honorary degrees from American colleges and universities—for his contributions to science, literature, education, and the preservation of the environment. In their posthumous award to Dr. Sagan of their highest honor, the National Science Foundation declared that his “research transformed planetary science … his gifts to mankind were infinite.” Dr. Sagan died on December 20, 1996.