Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium

Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, published by Random House in 1997 (ISBN 0-679-41160-7), is the last book written by renowned American astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan before his death in 1996. The book is a collection of essays Sagan wrote covering diverse topics like global warming, the population explosion, extraterrestrial life, morality, and the abortion debate. The last chapter i... more

Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, published by Random House in 1997 (ISBN 0-679-41160-7), is the last book written by renowned American astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan before his death in 1996. The book is a collection of essays Sagan wrote covering diverse topics like global warming, the population explosion, extraterrestrial life, morality, and the abortion debate. 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, wrote the epilogue of the book after his death. To help viewers of Cosmos 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 quipped "billions and billions". The phrase has however now since become a humorous fictitious... less