I saw a a question here on Goodreads, where a potential reader asked, whether this book is still relevant. I would have to say it depends on where you are in your science reading "career". If you have already read Hawkings "A brief history of time", and/or Brysons "A Short History of Nearly Everyting", or other more recent popular schiece books about physics and astrophysics, there is a lot of stuff in this book you already know.

What I like about this book, is also what I think sets this book apart from the books mentioned above: It's very humanistic and empathic tone, and the way Sagan is able to relate the history of Homo Sapiens, and our foremost scientists to the Cosmos that is our place.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book as the first science history book, a budding teenage scientist should read.