Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium
Encyclopedia
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...

 in 1997 (ISBN 0-679-41160-7), is the last book written by renowned American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

 and science popularizer Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...

 before his death in 1996.

The book is a collection of essays Sagan wrote covering diverse topics like global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

, the population explosion, extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...

, morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...

, and the abortion debate
Abortion debate
The abortion debate refers to discussion and controversy surrounding the moral and legal status of abortion. The two main groups involved in the abortion debate are the self-described "pro-choice" movement and the "pro-life" movement...

. 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
Ann Druyan
Ann Druyan is an American author and producer specializing in productions about cosmology and popular science. She made substantial contributions to the PBS documentary series, Cosmos, and was the wife of late scientist and educator, Carl Sagan.-Film career:Along with Carl Sagan and Steven Soter,...

, wrote the epilogue of the book after his death.

Part I: The Power and Beauty of Quantification

  • 1. Billions and Billions
  • 2. The Persian Chessboard
  • 3. Monday Night Hunters
  • 4. The Gaze of God and the Dripping Faucet
  • 5. Four Cosmic Questions
  • 6. So Many Suns, So Many Worlds

Part II: What Are Conservatives Conserving?

  • 7. The World That Came in the Mail
  • 8. The Environment: Where Does Prudence Lie?
  • 9. Croesus and Cassandra
  • 10. A Piece of the Sky Is Missing
  • 11. Ambush: The Warming of the World
  • 12. Escape from Ambush
  • 13. Religion and Science: An Alliance

Part III: Where Hearts and Minds Collide

  • 14. The Common Enemy
  • 15. Abortion: Is It Possible to Be Both "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Choice"
  • 16. The Rules of the Game
  • 17. Gettysburg and Now
  • 18. The Twentieth Century
  • 19. In the Valley of the Shadow

"Billions and billions"

To help viewers of Cosmos
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David...

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
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...

 quipped "billions and billions". The phrase has however now since become a humorous fictitious number—the Sagan.

External links

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