In an era of attacks upon science and the proliferation of alternative facts, Karen Schroeder Sorensen’s new book is important for social reasons. It is also valuable to scholars of communication, rhetoric, and the hard sciences. In this volume she explores ways in which science is popularized while retaining its integrity. Her focal object of study, the Cosmos series, is an excellent example of the popularized communication of scientific knowledge. This will be indispensable in every library.

Barry Brummett, University of Texas at Austin

In a deft analysis, Schroeder Sorensen explores the cultural impact that the PBS series, Cosmos, has enjoyed—and continues to enjoy—with American audiences. As Schroeder Sorenson shows, much of the series’ success rests in Sagan’s carefully-constructed image as scientist, Odyssean space explorer, and trusted companion. In analyzing Sagan’s ethos, Schroder Sorensen offers readers a useful toolkit for further explorations of science and its intersections with popular culture.

James S. Baumlin, Distinguished Professor, Missouri State University

This book offers a much-needed contribution to the rhetoric of science by elaborating on concepts that often go unexplored (or at least underexplored), most particularly mythos and storytelling. Where much work in rhetoric of science focuses on logos and persuasion, or on pathos and identification, Schroeder Sorensen shows how Sagan evoked various powerful myths—from blockbuster films to Christianity—to foster public television viewers’ feelings of identification with science and scientists. By approaching the question of identification via mythos, Schroeder Sorensen offers new ways to understand the epideictic function through which science popularization builds communities.

Sarah Perrault, University of California, Davis, Ph.D.

A rhetorical analyst is primarily concerned with how a text means. Professor's Sorensen's treatment of this matter in her analysis of the popular science miniseries Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is impressive. Sorenson lends a skillful eye to the way the miniseries became and remains a rhetorically vibrant and mesmerizing narrative of our civilization and its status in the ever-expanding universe. Students of rhetoric will receive a valuable education as they read Sorensen's book. Highly recommended.

Michael J. Hyde, university distinguished professor of communication ethics, Wake Forest University