Billions and Billions
 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Carl Sagan |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Science |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 322 pp. |
| ISBN | 0-679-41160-7 |
| OCLC | 39234941 |
| Preceded by | The Demon-Haunted World |
| Followed by | The Varieties of Scientific Experience |
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium is a 1997 book by the American astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan. The last book written by Sagan before his death in 1996,[1] it was published by Random House.
Overview
The book is a collection of essays Sagan wrote covering diverse topics such as global warming, the population explosion, extraterrestrial life, morality, and the abortion debate. The last chapter is an account of his struggle with myelodysplasia, the disease which finally took his life in December 1996. Sagan's wife, Ann Druyan, wrote the epilogue of the book after his death.
"Billions and billions"
To help viewers of Cosmos distinguish between "millions" and "billions", Sagan stressed the "b". Sagan never did, however, say "billions and billions". The public's association of the phrase and Sagan came from a Tonight Show skit. Parodying Sagan's affect, Johnny Carson quipped "billions and billions".[2] The phrase has, however, now become a humorous fictitious number—the Sagan.
References
- ↑ Sagan, Carl (1997). Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium. Random House. ISBN 0-679-41160-7.
- ↑ Carl Sagan takes questions more from his 'Wonder and Skepticism' CSICOP 1994 keynote, Skeptical Inquirer Archived December 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
External links
- A review of the book
- Video of skit from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson mentioning "billions and billions"
