Billions

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the final book of his astonishing career, Carl Sagan brilliantly examines the burning questions of our lives, our world, and the universe around us. These luminous, entertaining essays travel both the vastness of the cosmos and the intimacy of the human mind, posing such fascinating questions as how did the universe originate and how will it end, and how can we meld science and compassion to meet the challenges of the coming century? Here, too, is a rare, private glimpse of Sagan’s thoughts about love, death, and God as he struggled with fatal disease. Ever forward-looking and vibrant with the sparkle of his unquenchable curiosity, Billions & Billions is a testament to one of the great scientific minds of our day. Praise for Billions & Billions “[Sagan’s] writing brims with optimism, clarity and compassion.”—Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel “Sagan used the spotlight of his fame to illuminate the abyss into which stupidity, greed, and the lust for power may yet dump us. All of those interests and causes are handsomely represented in Billions & Billions.”—The Washington Post Book World “Astronomer Carl Sagan didn’t live to see the millennium, but he probably has done more than any other popular scientist to prepare us for its arrival.”—Atlanta Journal & Constitution “Billions & Billions can be interpreted as the Silent Spring for the current generation. . . . Human history includes a number of leaders with great minds who gave us theories about our universe and origins that ran contrary to religious dogma. Galileo determined that the Earth revolved around the Sun, not the other way around. Darwin challenged Creationism with his Evolution of Species. And now, Sagan has given the world its latest challenge: Billions & Billions.”—San Antonio Express-News “[Sagan’s] inspiration and boundless curiosity live on in the gift of his work.”—Seattle Times & Post-Intelligencer “Couldn’t stay awake in your high school science classes? This book can help fill in the holes. Acclaimed scientist Carl Sagan combines his logic and knowledge with wit and humor to make a potentially dry subject enjoyable to read.”—The Dallas Morning News

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Billions, Trillions, Quadrillions helps readers understand large numbers by relating them to everyday situations. It's hard to imagine what a crowd of one billion people would look like--but if one billion children stood on each other's shoulders, they would reach past the moon! Simple explanations, accompanied by amusing infographics, help readers to visualize large numbers and get a handle on math. So take a journey through the world of numbers--from zero to infinity--and find out how we use numbers and how math shapes our world.

I believe that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, of the living Creator God has kept me awake for many hours and many nights in the last few months. I will say He has been influencing me, leading me to write these things that He wants me to put in this book. When Jesus was resurrected from the dead and went back to heaven, He said, "I will not leave you comfortless, I will send you another comforter, and he will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." This book will give believers and nonbelievers the knowledge that all need. Revelation 20:10 reads, "What Satan uses to deceive the nations numbered as the sands of the sea." It's here in this book.

The high pace of overseas operations is taking a heavy toll on Army equip. Harsh combat and environmental conditions over sustained periods of time have exacerbated equip. repair, replacement, and recapitalization problems. To support ongoing operations and prepare for the future, the Army has embarked on 4 initiatives: (1) restructuring from a div.-based force to a modular brigade-based force; (2) expanding the Army by adding 74,000 people; (3) repairing, replacing, and recapitalizing new equip.; and (4) replacing equip. borrowed from its pre-positioned equip. sets. This statement addresses: the equip. related cost of Army initiatives, and the mgmt. challenges facing the Army and the actions needed to improve its implementation of these initiatives.