Of all the spokespeople for the space sciences active during the last three decades of the twentieth century, astronomer Carl Sagan was the most widely recognized and articulate. Through his accessible and instructive writings on the subject of space and their accompanying television programs, he earned a significant and popular place in American culture, and defined one of the world's most frightening forebodings as "nuclear winter."

Carl Sagan

The explosion of popular interest in astronomy and space travel in the United States following the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957 provided the scientific community with an unparalleled opportunity for public education that continued for several decades. An entirely new genre of writing began to appear from either prominent figures involved in the American space effort, such as Werner von Braun and the members of the newly formed astronaut corps, or science writers knowledgeable...