Cosmos

* The story of cosmic evolution, science and civilisation

This book made me fall in love with physics, which - as I always hated science at school - is no mean feat. It looks at everything from ancient Egypt to the possibility of alien life. Pop science at its best

** 'Enticing, imaginative, readable, iridescent

Sagan was Dir. of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies & David Duncan Prof. of Astronomy & Space Sciences at Cornell University.He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking & Voyage expeditions to the planets & was a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for literature. He died in 1996.