Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

480 Pages·1993·2.28 MB·English

by  Carl Sagan

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors was selected by School Library Journal
as one of nine “best books of the year” out of 40,000 titles: “The enchanting
writing style captivates … a clarity that will hold the interest of the most
science-phobic reader.”
“A funhouse maze of biology, psychology, evolution, fact, theory, probability,
possibility, and awe … Warning Those who regard the human condition as the
inviolable perch at the top of the evolutionary heap, the gold watch at the end of
the great chain of being, will find much in Shadows that disturbs.”
—Miami Herald
“In this book Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan illuminate some of the most daunting
questions of our time, and any time, sometimes explaining them straight out,
sometimes challenging the reader to contemplate the truths we hold dear.
Shadows is one of those rare books that should be required reading.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
“Jam-packed with fascinating anecdotes, a playful wit and humor, a wide-
ranging command of relevant scientific data, and (a warning to readers who are
easily scandalized), an ‘indecorous explicitness on matters sexual.’ ”
—Nashville Banner
“Superb.”
—Tom Peters
Chicago Tribune
“Their latest literary wonder.”
—New York Times Syndicate
“It has been a long time since I came across a nonfiction book as compelling as
this one. At times I found myself impatiently turning pages, as if I were reading
a murder mystery and couldn’t wait to discover the ending.”
—Corpus Christi Caller-Times
“An eloquent attempt to place the human species in context … They use the
same compelling style that made Cosmos such an international success.… It is a
big story. Indeed, it is the biggest story.”
—Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram
“A coherent, moving story … Philosophical, poetic, even witty, [with] a sense of
almost religious awe.”
—Book Page
“Excellent … An important book that deserves to be widely read and discussed.”
—Monroe Strickberger
Author of the textbook Evolution,
writing in the San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle
“Formidably intelligent and well-informed.”
—Chicago Sun Times
“Hauntingly appealing. Carl Sagan is probably the best literary stylist American
science has produced since Loren Eiseley and Lewis Thomas.”
—The Observer (London)
“Informative, enlightening, and refreshingly unacademic.”
—Atlanta Journal & Constitution
“It is easy to hear his familiar voice guiding the reader through time and the
early rumblings of the universe through the development of DNA, evolution, and
the rise of modern primates.”
—Gannett News Service
“Sagan’s contribution to increasing public understanding of science and making
provocative connections between different areas are at the highest level of
benefit to our society.”
—John Bahcall
Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, NJ
“It has sex. It has humor. It has drama. It’s what people go to the movies for.”
—Steve Knight
KIEV-AM, Los Angeles
“They go boldly where many scientists have feared to tread … And what a
journey it is!”
—Phoenix (Arizona) Gazette
“Eloquent … Visionary … Powerfully imagined.”
—Booklist
“Engaging … Lyrical … Stunning.”
—Publishers Weekly
ALSO BY CARL SAGAN AND ANN DRUYAN
Comet
Murmurs of Earth (with others)
SOME OTHER BOOKS BY CARL SAGAN
Intelligent Life in the Universe (with I. S. Shklovskii)
The Cosmic Connection
The Dragons of Eden
Brocas Brain
Cosmos
Contact
A Path Where No Man Thought (with Richard Turco)
ALSO BY ANN DRUYAN
A Famous Broken Heart
A carving from the Sepik River, central highlands of Papua New Guinea.

A Ballantine Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright © 1992 by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of
The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc, New
York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited,
Toronto
This edition published by arrangement with Random House, Inc
Permissions acknowledgments for previously published
material can be found on this page
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93-90012
Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc
www.ballantinebooks.com
eISBN: 978-0-307-80103-6
v3.1