The world is full of demons. Science is like a candle in the darkness.

About the Book

«The Demon-Haunted World» is the final book by Carl Sagan, an astronomer, astrophysicist, and outstanding science popularizer, published posthumously. Dedicated to one of his favorite themes—the human mind and the fight against pseudoscientific stupidity—this book is a kind of synthesis of his entire work. Myths of Atlantis and Lemuria, faces on Mars and encounters with aliens, magic and reincarnation, clairvoyance and Bigfoot, creationism and astrology—Sagan consistently and mercilessly exposes the myths created by ignorance, fear, and self-interest.

This book is a skeptic’s manifesto, a textbook on common sense and the scientific method. This vibrant, deeply personal text is not only a battle against pseudoscience, but also a remarkable portrait of the development of the scientific worldview, its greatest discoveries, and its pioneers.
For Sagan, science is pure joy; it is astonishing in itself. Consider just a few facts: all the information about a person is contained in every cell of the body; quasars are so distant that their light began radiating toward Earth even before it formed; all humans are related and descend from the same ancestors who lived several million years ago. Science opens up unprecedented possibilities, and humanity has long since abandoned the need to invent idols and allow itself to be manipulated.