Download PDF Cosmos Carl Sagan Ann Druyan Neil deGrasse Tyson 9780345539434 Books
Download As PDF : Cosmos Carl Sagan Ann Druyan Neil deGrasse Tyson 9780345539434 Books
RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX
Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science.
Praise for Cosmos
“Magnificent . . . With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.”—The Plain Dealer
“Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.”—Newsday
“Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . . . shimmers with a sense of wonder.”—The Miami Herald
“Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.”—Cosmopolitan
“Enticing . . . iridescent . . . imaginatively illustrated.”—The New York Times Book Review
Download PDF Cosmos Carl Sagan Ann Druyan Neil deGrasse Tyson 9780345539434 Books
"I really cannot comment on the menus because I tried it out on VLC (computer/no menus), and don't have a Blu-Ray player at the moment. However, I can say it is a noticeable improvement over the DVD version I have in my collection, but still very much standard definition. They cleaned up the video nicely and upscaled it to 1080i. As noted on Wikipedia, parts were shot of film and video tape to render the special effects of the time. I can't say this is a drastic improvement over the DVD, and I'd have a hard time recommending it to someone that already owns the DVD. This video lacks the fine details that can be made out on newer 1080p releases, and is a victim of its source material. However, if this isn't already in your collection, or if you must have a slightly better looking copy, it's worth a look.
As the other reviewer mentioned, there are no subtitles, but unfortunately each episode also starts later than the DVD series thanks to a brief Cosmos studios introduction. Owning both copies, I would've just muxed the subtitles in from the DVD, before adding this to my Plex server. It's a shame, because the DVD title covered several different languages, and not everyone has perfect hearing or speaks English. That makes it impractical to download an SRT file (since those come from the DVD) to watch the subtitles, assuming one is hearing impaired, non-English speaking, or just want to keep the volume low (neighbors, house guest, angry wife etc.). Sound seemed on-par with the DVD, but I'm listening to 5.1 sound down-mixed to computer speaker's stereo.
For anyone that's brand new to the Cosmos, this is the old and dated version (1980), not the new one. It's still well worth watching. Things Carl Sagan discusses are still relevant today. I always thought it was unfortunate that this was taken off Netflix prior to the release of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.
In conclusion, I look forward to a day where I can binge watch this upscaled 1080i picture, and have currently added it to my Plex library. Others that look fondly upon the series, may want to add this copy to their collections, but remember it's still only as good as source it was recorded with. The best parts are the narration and story it tells. It's about optimism and hope, the perils we face, our past, our present and our future.
UPDATE: For owners of both the DVD and Blu-Ray, or anyone downloading subtitles from a DVD source, I found a 5 sec. or 5000 ms. offset on the subtitles to work pretty well. I wish they were included, but the DVD version is pretty good and includes subtitles in multiple languages. I'd recommend that over this copy for my non-English and hard of hearing viewers that don't want to go through the technical hurdle of transcoding video/muxing subtitles in."
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Cosmos Carl Sagan Ann Druyan Neil deGrasse Tyson 9780345539434 Books Reviews :
Cosmos Carl Sagan Ann Druyan Neil deGrasse Tyson 9780345539434 Books Reviews
- What a privilege and joy it was to have read this book. I made my way through it rather slowly because it was so packed full of historical anecdotes, scientific findings, and thought-provoking insights that I needed a break every chapter or so to let ideas mentally sink in. In 13 chapters, Dr Sagan gives us a glimpse into all scales of space and time. From the Big Bang to the formation of the stars and the Earth, through the painstaking evolutionary process that resulted in human beings, to millenia beyond our time where interstellar travel may be a viable means of commute. From quarks to complex molecules to planets, supernovae and black holes, to the idea of an infinite hierarchy of universes, all nested within one another.
This book is far beyond an ordinary astronomy general interest read. Its contents incorporate genetics, ancient history, chemical biology, sociology, religion, human psychology and philosophy... Dr Sagan weaves these realms together in the context of the Cosmos, and raises intriguing questions about hypothetical alternate turn of events as well as where we (humankind) go from here. He pays homage to the brilliant minds whose work and courage has contributed to our current technical capabilities. From Erastosthenes' astute calculation of the Earth's circumference, to Kepler’s observations, to Einstein's special theory of relativity (and those in between Huygens, Brahe, Newton, Champollion etc.), Sagan not only highlights their contribution, but discusses the societal circumstances that these individuals found themselves in. In doing so, he invokes a scrutiny of our current societal climate and behaviors. Are we doing our best to build and maintain a society that values the pursuit of knowledge over one that may eventually crumble under self-destructive greed? Are we investing an adequate amount of resources (both monetary and intellect) on constructive, self-preserving causes? Sagan goes as far as to compare government spendings on military weapons with scientific research funding, and demonstrates how far will have still to go before our loyalties are united not just within nation-states, but as a species of Planet Earth.
Dr Sagan’s intrigues are not limited to Western ways of thinking. Instead, he pays deep respect to the cultures, achievements, and creation myths around the world - this was done through anecdotes from ancient Chinese, Egyptian, and Indian history as well as various tribal accounts. By doing so, he demonstrates that human intrigue has more in common than we may first assume. The early civilizations around the Earth, long before they knew of one another, independently devised theories about how we came to be based on their observations of the heavens. These were passed on to their descendants through subsequent generations ultimately resulting in what we may believe or know of today.
I wonder what Dr Sagan would have thought about the state of the world today… recent election results, SpaceX, virtual reality, artificial intelligence/machine learning, Kepler missions, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, instability in the Middle East, the Higgs Boson… My guess is that he would simultaneously be alarmed that we are STILL arguing whether or not climate change is a problem, and amazed at our technological achievements with the internet and a legitimate goal to visit Mars. I would without a doubt recommend this book to everyone. A scientific degree is not necessary to fully appreciate the lesson and message that this book conveys. Dr Sagan’s literary style is not only comprehensible but so finely depicts his deep passion for the sciences that it is almost poetic. After having read the book, one could truly dwell on what we can do to unify ourselves as citizens of Planet Earth, with a mutual interest of survival, pursuit of interplanetary/interstellar travel and constant discovery of what our universe has to offer. - I really cannot comment on the menus because I tried it out on VLC (computer/no menus), and don't have a Blu-Ray player at the moment. However, I can say it is a noticeable improvement over the DVD version I have in my collection, but still very much standard definition. They cleaned up the video nicely and upscaled it to 1080i. As noted on Wikipedia, parts were shot of film and video tape to render the special effects of the time. I can't say this is a drastic improvement over the DVD, and I'd have a hard time recommending it to someone that already owns the DVD. This video lacks the fine details that can be made out on newer 1080p releases, and is a victim of its source material. However, if this isn't already in your collection, or if you must have a slightly better looking copy, it's worth a look.
As the other reviewer mentioned, there are no subtitles, but unfortunately each episode also starts later than the DVD series thanks to a brief Cosmos studios introduction. Owning both copies, I would've just muxed the subtitles in from the DVD, before adding this to my Plex server. It's a shame, because the DVD title covered several different languages, and not everyone has perfect hearing or speaks English. That makes it impractical to download an SRT file (since those come from the DVD) to watch the subtitles, assuming one is hearing impaired, non-English speaking, or just want to keep the volume low (neighbors, house guest, angry wife etc.). Sound seemed on-par with the DVD, but I'm listening to 5.1 sound down-mixed to computer speaker's stereo.
For anyone that's brand new to the Cosmos, this is the old and dated version (1980), not the new one. It's still well worth watching. Things Carl Sagan discusses are still relevant today. I always thought it was unfortunate that this was taken off Netflix prior to the release of Cosmos A Spacetime Odyssey.
In conclusion, I look forward to a day where I can binge watch this upscaled 1080i picture, and have currently added it to my Plex library. Others that look fondly upon the series, may want to add this copy to their collections, but remember it's still only as good as source it was recorded with. The best parts are the narration and story it tells. It's about optimism and hope, the perils we face, our past, our present and our future.
UPDATE For owners of both the DVD and Blu-Ray, or anyone downloading subtitles from a DVD source, I found a 5 sec. or 5000 ms. offset on the subtitles to work pretty well. I wish they were included, but the DVD version is pretty good and includes subtitles in multiple languages. I'd recommend that over this copy for my non-English and hard of hearing viewers that don't want to go through the technical hurdle of transcoding video/muxing subtitles in.
