American Indian Culture and Research Journal

DEMONS AND FLICKERING CANDLES While browsing through the stacks of my favorite bookstore I came across a title which caught my attention, not to mention my imagination. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995), is the latest work by Carl Sagan, probably the most widely read and respected popular scientist of our time. Sagan, a professor of astronomy and space sciences at Cornell University, is perhaps best known for his book Cosmos (1980), and for the immensely popular and educational television series of the same name. He also wrote The Cosmic Connection (1973), The Dragons of Eden (1977), and Broca’s Brain (1979), to name just a few of his better known works. Intrigued by the title, and admittedly a long-time Carl Sagan fan myself, I eagerly took up The Demon-Haunted World, and with only the slightest wince of pain at the price, handed over the $29.95 (plus tax) to the cashier.