Does life exist on Mars or in the Alpha Centauri star system? Is it possible to project ourselves into others' bodies? Can mountains float? Award-winning writer Dorion Sagan encyclopedically explores a potpourri of subjects—from "Machine Evolution" and “Out of Body Experiences” to “Panspermia” and "Xenology" in this unique book. The Sciences of Avatar takes a look at our world through the disciplines—not just materialistic science, but “Ideology,” “Parapsychology,” “Feminism,” "Ethnobotany," and more—at work in what is presently the most popular science fiction movie of all time, James Cameron’s Avatar.
“I loved your book!” —Melissa Jane Ostrom
"Sagan provides a delightful overview of the real science that connects with the story of Avatar, and allows us a further exploration of the magical, compelling world of Pandora. A witty, insightful, and enlightening book!"
— Kathryn Denning, PhD, Associate Professor, Anthropology, York University
Dorion Sagan is co-author or author of twenty-four books translated into eleven languages, including Microcosmos and Death and Sex, a two-in-one book whose unique design won it first place in the 2010 New York Book Show in the general trade nonfiction category. His coauthored Into the Cool was praised by Nobel Prize winner Roald Hoffmann. What is Life? was listed with works by Billie Holiday and William Shakespeare as one of 100 “Mind-Altering Masterpieces” by the editors of The Utne Reader. He presently divides his time between Amherst, Massachusetts and Toronto, Canada.
Praise for Dorion Sagan's other books:
Microcosmos (with Lynn Margulis)
“A seminal book” — Ben Bova.
“This admiring reader of Lewis Thomas, Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould and other popularizers of biology has rarely, if ever, encountered so luminous a prose style in a work of this kind.”
— Melvin Konner, The New York Times Book Review
What is Life? (with Lynn Margulis)
“A masterpiece of science writing.” —Mitchell Thomashow, Orion.
“I loved your book!” —Melissa Jane Ostrom
"Sagan provides a delightful overview of the real science that connects with the story of Avatar, and allows us a further exploration of the magical, compelling world of Pandora. A witty, insightful, and enlightening book!"
— Kathryn Denning, PhD, Associate Professor, Anthropology, York University
Dorion Sagan is co-author or author of twenty-four books translated into eleven languages, including Microcosmos and Death and Sex, a two-in-one book whose unique design won it first place in the 2010 New York Book Show in the general trade nonfiction category. His coauthored Into the Cool was praised by Nobel Prize winner Roald Hoffmann. What is Life? was listed with works by Billie Holiday and William Shakespeare as one of 100 “Mind-Altering Masterpieces” by the editors of The Utne Reader. He presently divides his time between Amherst, Massachusetts and Toronto, Canada.
Praise for Dorion Sagan's other books:
Microcosmos (with Lynn Margulis)
“A seminal book” — Ben Bova.
“This admiring reader of Lewis Thomas, Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould and other popularizers of biology has rarely, if ever, encountered so luminous a prose style in a work of this kind.”
— Melvin Konner, The New York Times Book Review
What is Life? (with Lynn Margulis)
“A masterpiece of science writing.” —Mitchell Thomashow, Orion.
