Science · Similar reads
Books like Cosmos
The best books like Cosmos are Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, A Brief History of Time, and The Selfish Gene. Cosmos by Carl Sagan is about universe, evolution, scientific thinking. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari · History
Sapiens traces the full arc of human history from the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa roughly 70,000 years ago to the present.
Shares evolution and civilization with Cosmos.
Read the summary → - A Brief History of Time
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Stephen Hawking · Science
A Brief History of Time is Stephen Hawking's attempt to explain the biggest questions in physics — where the universe came from, how it behaves, and where it might be going — to readers with no scientific training.
A kindred science read.
Read the summary → - The Selfish Gene
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Richard Dawkins · Science
The Selfish Gene reframes evolution from the organism's point of view to the gene's.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary →
- The Demon-Haunted World
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Carl Sagan · Science
The Demon-Haunted World is Carl Sagan's argument that science is not just a body of knowledge but a way of thinking — one that humanity needs badly and uses far too rarely.
Both dig into scientific thinking.
Read the summary → - Death by Black Hole
05
Neil deGrasse Tyson · Science
Death by Black Hole is a collection of essays by Neil deGrasse Tyson drawn from his "Universe" column in Natural History magazine.
Shares scientific thinking and astronomy with Cosmos.
Read the summary → - A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
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A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg · Science
A Crack in Creation is Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg's account of how CRISPR-Cas9 works, what it can do, and why its possibilities should give everyone pause.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - A Short History of Nearly Everything
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bill Bryson · Science
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's attempt to understand the scientific story of everything — from the Big Bang to the emergence of modern humans — by spending three years talking to scientists and reading science history.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
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Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Frans de Waal · Science
Frans de Waal's central argument is that we've spent most of the last century asking the wrong questions about animal intelligence.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
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Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
Robert M. Sapolsky · Science
Behave is Robert Sapolsky's attempt to explain why humans do what they do — the violence, the altruism, the tribalism, the heroism — by working through every layer of biology that contributes to a single act.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Civilized to Death
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Christopher Ryan · Science
Christopher Ryan is the co-author of Sex at Dawn, a 2010 book that argued human beings are not naturally monogamous.
Both dig into civilization.
Read the summary → - Climbing Mount Improbable
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Richard Dawkins · Science
Climbing Mount Improbable is Richard Dawkins's response to the persistent intuition that complex biological structures — the vertebrate eye, insect wings, spider webs — are too improbable to have evolved by chance.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - From Bacteria to Bach and Back
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From Bacteria to Bach and Back
Daniel C. Dennett · Science
Daniel Dennett's 2017 book is his most comprehensive attempt to explain how minds — conscious, intentional, creative minds — could have evolved from mindless matter without any homunculus, soul, or top-down designer.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary →
Books like Cosmos: quick answers
What are the best books like Cosmos?
The best books like Cosmos by Carl Sagan are Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan, Death by Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Cosmos, such as universe, evolution, scientific thinking.
What should I read after Cosmos?
A natural next read after Cosmos is Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Shares evolution and civilization with Cosmos. Other strong choices are A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
What books are similar to Cosmos by Carl Sagan?
Cosmos centers on universe, evolution, scientific thinking. Books with a similar feel include Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan, Death by Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson, A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution by Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
