Name: Billions and billions
ISBN: 9780345379184

Billions and billions

In this book, his last, Carl Sagan shows once again his extraordinary ability to interpret the mysteries of life and the majesty of the universe for the general reader. In Billions and Billions Sagan applies what we know about science, mathematics, and space to everyday life as well as to the exploration of many essential questions concerning the environment and our future. Ranging far and wide in subject matter, he takes his readers on a soaring journey, from the invention of chess to the possibility of life on Mars, from Monday Night Football to the relationship between the United States and Russia, from global warming to the abortion debate. And, on a more intimate note, we are given a rare glimpse of the author himself as he movingly describes his valiant fight for his life, his love for his family, and his personal beliefs about death and God.

What Hacker News says

chistevOct 2026

1. Animal Farm by George Orwell

2. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes [1]

3. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

4. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette Mccurdy

5. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris

6. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe [2]

7. Cosmos by Carl Sagan

8. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins [3]

9. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

10. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander [4]

11. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

12. Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium by Carl Sagan [5][6][7]

13. Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide to Atheism by Richard Dawkins

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076596

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47452253

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48326741

[4] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49539535

[5] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49751771

[6] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49740712

[7] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49739256

thread

chistevSep 2026

If you enjoyed reading this, I suggest you read the book "Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium" by Carl Sagan. It was the last book he wrote before he died in 1996. The book contains a collection of essays by Carl Sagan on various topics, and it includes the essay submitted above.

Thank you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billions_and_Billions

thread

chistevSep 2026

This submission is likely to get flagged since the topic of abortion is understandably inflammatory. But I thought it's a good essay to share.

I'm going to copy a previous comment I made two hours ago on a different submission and say that If you enjoyed reading this, I suggest you read the book "Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium" by Carl Sagan. It was the last book he wrote before he died in 1996. The book contains a collection of essays by Carl Sagan on various topics, and it includes the essay submitted above.

Thank you.

thread

chistevJul 2025

Hard to choose for myself who made the post.

But some of my favorites are -

1. God: The Failed Hypothesis Book by Victor J. Stenger

2. The God Delusion Book by Richard Dawkins

3. Berlin: The Downfall 1945 Book by Antony Beevor

4. A Song of Ice and Fire Novel series by George R.R. Martin

5. A Short History of Nearly Everything Book by Bill Bryson

6. Billions and Billions Book by Carl Sagan

7. Flowers for Algernon Short story by Daniel Keyes