Word: broca
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First, the charms. The flamboyance and imagination which raise Sagan to something of a '70s cult figure rescue a lot a Broca's Brain. Sagan recounts, for example, a colorful and enthusiastic history of his profession, emphasizing the incredibly rapid blossoming of American astronomy. In an equally lively essay, he describes the ludicrous procedure scientists use to name newly-discovered craters...
...while there have been grumblings. His colleagues, principally, confront him with their contention that publicizing and practicing science are two irreconcilable aims. So Broca's Brain is an entirely representative work--on the one hand we're treated to Sagan's youthful enthusiasm, imagination, and charm; on the other we must contend with the superficiality and disjointedness which, many claim, have marred his entire career...
Also entertaining are two short portraits, one of Albert Einstein, the other of Robert Goddard. Broca's Brain was published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's birth, and the chapter Sagan devotes to him is reflective of the event, brimming with amusing anecdotes and quotes. The portrait of Goddard glows with Sagan's adulation of the great eccentric and pioneer. If there's any problem with these two portraits, in fact, it's that they're almost oo good--you wish you were reading a book by one of the two, instead of just a chapter about...
...Broca's Brain, Sagan...
...Broca's Brain. Sagan...