Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science

Carl Sagan is so widely known for his popularization of science that his thoughts on the philosophy of science are easily forgotten. Which is unfortunate, because he also shines in this area. This is never more aptly demonstrated than when he discusses the ideas of Immanuel Velikovsky. The ideas themselves are "explanations" of many of the ancient myths created by invoking rather extreme and unusual astronomic phenomena... Read Full Review

Broca's Brain may not be as famous as other works such as Cosmos or Contact, but it's every bit as engaging. In particular, the chapter entitled "A Sunday Sermon" contains tidbits I believe every person on this planet, whatever their religious beliefs or lack therof are, can gain important insight from. He manages to tackle this difficult subject with grace and dignity, without lambasting any view. As he says (paraphrased)... Read Full Review

The chapter entitled "Venus and Dr. Velikovsky" is a masterpiece of pseudo-science debunking. Sagan rightly deplores efforts by mainstream scientists to suppress Velikovsky, both because they were dishonest, and because (as noted by another reviewer) they made Velikovsky a martyr when he might otherwise just have been forgotten. Sagan's dissection of Velikovsky's thesis is painfully specific, precise, methodical, exhaustively... Read Full Review

I read "Broca's Brain" in high school (late eighties) at a time when I believed in all sorts of pseudoscientific flim-flam. In an entertaining and very readable style, Sagan showed the weaknesses in the theories of those on the edge of science, and from that point onward I viewed everything with a skeptical mind.

Carl Sagan established his reputation as a writer with three works: Cosmos, Broca's Brain, and Contact. Cosmos is renowned as one of the century's best non-fiction works and Contact became a top-grossing, award-winning film. Broca's Brain meets the standard of Sagan's more famous pieces. Even were you to only read one chapter, the book would still be worth purchase. I especially recommend this book to those who have... Read Full Review