Pale Blue Dot

The Book in 1 Sentence

A book on the science of humans traveling to other planets that turns weirdly political.

Brief Review

I really expected that his book was going to be a lot more about the science of traveling to another world and it was. However, it wasn't and spent more time talking about nuclear weapons and the thoughts of supposed aliens than the science that has been learned. I also didn't realize that it wasn't Carl Sagan who wrote/read this book so when his wife came on my headphones, I wasn't ready.

Why I Read this book

Much like How to Die in Space, I like space and the idea of humans filling the universe.

In-Depth Review (Favorite Quotes)

Hearing stories from someone who did the science to actually search the stars and looking back at the Earth is an interesting pleasure. Something I hadn't thought about honestly. It changes the perspective of how you look at our Pale Blue Dot. It also provides some anecdotes that actually matter such as how the science that we pulled from Voyager helps us here.

The writing is excellent. I loved learning about the theories of Venus and Saturn as well as the historical context for when they were found. Then all of that being blown away by science. From Voyager, I and II, to a dozen other difference space agency probes that have provided so much information. Places like Venus have taught us about more of the possibilities of living on other planets, sure, but mainly what those other planets might be life.

One of the other things those probes taught us was more about how our actions are affecting our world. I am not going to push global warming or anything like that. In fact, that was one of my frustrations with the book was how political about it. However, I will admit that those probes showing what could happen to a world with heavy greenhouse gasses, or ours if we speed up what could happen.

How my life ideas have changed as a result of reading the book

One of the things that I that this book talks about is the ability to see how the industrial age has/is speeding up the cycle of the Earth. We can see pictures and really put together what our actions are doing. So for the last 50 years or so, we can actually see what humans are doing which isn't something any other time in history. It is an interesting perspective that I will pay more attention to as time goes on.

Rating

The science in the book was very intriguing. The story telling is outstanding. I enjoyed most of the book with the pivotal aside of the politics. There were times when it was heavy and honestly, the information is obviously outdated since this was written in 1995. The world has changes and at the same time, it hasn't. I think there are lessons in this book worth knowing. It was entertaining and boring. So I am going to give it a 7.

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