Billions & Billions by Carl Sagan

Billions & Billions is a fascinating read by Carl Sagan, and it was his last book written before Sagan’s death from cancer in 1996; published posthumously in 1997. It is quite ironic how this book came to be, as it was more of a collection of essays that Sagan wrote. But the Billions & Billions seemed to arise from topics and issues that were becoming more pertinent in the world. These topics included global warming, mortality, exponential increase of the global population,  and alien life (or what we perceive as such). This was Sagan’s responsibility; to engage an audience with facts about the changing world and the thoughts from an astronomer’s point of view. However, it was not boring in the slightest, because the book starts off with how he claims to have never once said the term “billions and billions”, but much rather only claims to have stressed the first consonant in quantities such as millions, billions, and trillions as a means to help viewers of his legendary show Cosmos distinguish clearly between them. The start of the book was quite comedic in that sense, and he still keeps his charm throughout, because he has to capture his audience. Carl Sagan was mentor to both Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye, and while not as grand in the moment, Sagan acts as your mentor of sorts as well when he conveys his understanding of the changing world around you {or merely himself if time gaps matter that much} at the dawn of the new millennium. There is also something very interesting about this read, it also seems to be a reflection on what he has taken in terms of knowledge from his life and how he wants to pass it on to the readers. This read is meant to teach but also poses topics that are easily discussed, that is why anyone can read this amazing piece of scientific literature. At a mere 322 pages, find a copy of Billions & Billions today!