Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Sagan, Carl (Edward) - Edward Edelson

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page
4. Tweet This

EDWARD EDELSON

Carl Sagan is a scientist of quality who is also a writer of quality. He has often shown that he can write better than most science writers, and he proves it again with The Cosmic Connection, a book that is very nearly perfect.

If The Cosmic Connection has a fault, it is that it derives a good deal from Sagan's previous books…. This new book could be described as a carefully watered-down summary of the previous writings, arranged for a general audience.

But that description would be unfair. What Sagan has done is to leave out the mathematics, insert a good deal of philosophy and let himself roam freely. For a lesser writer, that could be a disastrous combination. But since Sagan is a man of great intelligence, wit and insight, it is a success on every level.

To illustrate this with specific quotes is difficult because of Sagan's style. He builds to his effects with care; his paragraphs, not his sentences, are the...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. Edward Edelson
3. Richard Berendzen
4. Peter Stoler
5. Richard Restak
6. R. J. Herrnstein
7. John Updike
8. Stephen C. Reingold
9. Charles Weingartner
10. Edmund Fuller
11. Richard Berendzen
12. Dewey Schwartzenburg
13. James H. Booth
14. Isaac Asimov
15. David Roberts
16. William J. O'Malley, S.J.
17. Jeffrey Marsh
18. David Paul Rebovich
19. Copyright