Cosmos Audiobook By Carl Sagan cover art

Cosmos

A Personal Voyage

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Cosmos

By: Carl Sagan
Narrated by: LeVar Burton, Seth MacFarlane, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan
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About this listen

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX

Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science.

Includes introductory music: "Heaven and Hell" by Vangelis from Cosmos: A Personal Voyage used with permission from Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

Praise for Cosmos

“Magnificent... With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” - The Plain Dealer

“Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third - his mind’s - on the human condition.” - Newsday

“Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions...shimmers with a sense of wonder.” - The Miami Herald

“Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.” - Cosmopolitan

“Enticing...iridescent...imaginatively illustrated.” - The New York Times Book Review

An Audible for Dogs Pick: Make your dog's day. Cesar Millan shares how audiobooks can make dogs happier and calmer. Learn more.©1980 Carl Sagan Productions, Inc (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Foreword © 2013 by Ann Druyan. “Reflections on Carl Sagan’s Cosmos” essay © 2013 by Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Atmospheric Sciences Biological Sciences Cosmology Earth Sciences Physics Science Interstellar Thought-Provoking Inspiring Suspenseful

Editorial reviews

Editors Select, June 2017

As a big fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson's recent documentary series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which honors Carl Sagan's original work from 1980, I was excited to listen to Sagan's companion book - now available in audio for the first time. While I was a bit too young to catch Sagan's docuseries, LeVar Burton's Reading Rainbow did heavily influence my childhood, and this may be why my brain seemed primordially attuned to learn from Burton's voice. He's the perfect narrator for untangling complicated scientific subjects as well as highlighting their moments of majesty. I legit feel smarter for having listened to Cosmos, and I'll also never be able to forget why medieval Catholic monks first domesticated rabbits (hint: it wasn't because they were cute). —Emily, Audible Editor

Featured Article: The Best Science Listens to Channel Your Inner Einstein


While you might listen in order to be entertained, there are also a host of works intended to be purely educational. We chose the best science titles on this list for the fact that they are both. These selections not only bring important perspectives on some of the most pressing scientific issues of our time—they’re also written and performed with a refreshing clarity that makes them easy to swallow and entertaining to the end.

Transformative Journey • Accessible Explanations • Passionate Narration • Philosophical Reflections • Engaging Performance
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As i was growing up the television series was one of my favorites. I really enjoyed this audible version. It's great to get this message/knowledge in all different mediums. The narration is fantastic & will hopefully appeal to all mentalities great or small. It would truly be a wonderful thing to see all mankind (& womankind ((don't want to offend anybody;))) use their minds in a way that will benefit us, planet & all. I think it all begins with the right thoughts. Thank you Carl (& narrators) for a timeless message.

Simply Amazing

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Great Content and Great Narrator! I grew up watching LeVar Burton on TNG and Reading Raonbow, so saying his narration was nostalgic is a bit of an understatement...but nostalgia aside, he does an amazing job. As for the content he reads, lets just say I am saddened that Carl Sagan died before I ever knew who he was.

While some of the more theoretical content in this book is now considered fact or debunked, Cosmos contains a fountain of knowledge about our universe. Sagan takes a detailed look at the process of the living universe attempting to understand itself, starting with a grand, intergalactic perspective, and slowly zooming in the lense all the way to our society, and our minds.

He does get a little heavy handed when it comes to nuclear war, but he wrote this during the Cold War, so good on him for trying to do something about it. I am a little depressed after finishing to realize our global society has changed so little since he released this book in 1980, but if you ignore the 37 year interval, it will give you a hopeful outlook on our future as a single species in a global society. Cosmos delves into the interconnectivity of our universe in a way most people never think of.

Get this book, and learn why we are an endangered species, why the big bang could have been a supernova explosion, and how each of us is made, of "star stuff".

Geordi LaForge Teaches you about the Universe

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A fantastic personal journey. Carl Sagan's vision of the Cosmos is enduring and spot on for being written 30+ years ago. Only good will come from this planet's population reading or listening to his words.

Inspiring. Innovative. Intelligent.

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Very touching and informitive. The introductions are all wonderful, and the narration is smooth and easy to understand. It makes you reflect with every chapter on the majesty of the natural world, and is an easy-to-understand introducion to lots of scientific subjects. If you want to learn, but are bored easily by jargon, this is the book for you!

I cried like a baby

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Carl Sagan was a scientist, but also a poet. This is a wonderful read with a new way to look at science. Please bring us more Carl Sagan like "A Pale Blue Dot" and "The Demon Haunted World" and others to Audible!

Love Carl Sagan!

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One of the best science book I have ever heard. Its fir all age group, easy to understand. I love how author has combined science, society and politics.

Great book

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I went into this expecting it to be good. Sagan's near legendary status as a scientist carries a lot of weight.
I was not prepared for just how amazing this was. Every human on this earth needs to hear these words, to objectively consider the ramifications of the past described inside, and to ponder and take action on the future of our species.
Listen to this book. It's worth it.

A must read for any citizen of the cosmos.

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It's hard to be angry at traffic while listening to this book because road rage suddenly feels so petty in contrast to the glories of the universe and how we've come to learn about them. LeVar Burton is a great narrator - wish there were more books featuring him!

A wonderful perspective

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I have never experienced such an intense passion for anything as Carl Sagan showed here. Lovingly expressed by the smooth voice of Levarr Burton, I was enchanted again and again, not once losing interest. Not reading The Cosmos is a disservice to yourself, and to the whole of humanity.

Truly incredible.

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The importance of this book is unquestionable. Carl Sagan's mind and words expressed in the voice of LeVar Burton is an unmatched combination.

Listen to this with your child, buy the book and have them read along. Have them ask you questions everytime they don't understand something and answer it. And if you don't know, look it up and learn together. This is a great opportunity to expand the minds of those around you. Even when I knew something discussed in here, hearing it again made me want to talk about it with my friends and coworkers.

A truly STELLAR book

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