<sod>  During the [[Gulf War]], Sagan predicted that smoke resulting from U.S. bombing of Iraqi oil and refining facilities would result in a condition similar to nuclear winter. In a Nightline debate, [[Fred Singer]] predicted that on the contrary winds would dissipate the smoke within a few days.
 
 He wrote and narrated the television series <i>Cosmos</i>; he wrote also books to popularise science (<i>Broca's Brain</i>, <i>The Dragons of Eden</i>, etc.)  and a novel, <i>Contact</i>, that became a best-seller and was adapted to a film starring [[Jodie Foster]]. The film won the 1998 [[Hugo award]].  Some of the history that Sagan presents in <i>Cosmos</i> most
such as his description of [[Hypatia of Alexandria]] and the burning of the [[Library of Alexandria]] has been criticized.  From <i>Cosmos</i> Sagan became associated with the
 catchphrase "billions and billions" which he never used in the television series.
 
 After a long and difficult fight with [[myelodysplasia]], Sagan passed away at the age of 62, on Dec. 20th 1996.
 <eod> <sod> During the [[Gulf War]], Sagan predicted that smoke resulting from U.S. bombing of Iraqi oil and refining facilities would result in a condition similar to nuclear winter. In a Nightline debate, [[Fred Singer]] predicted that on the contrary winds would dissipate the smoke within a few days.
 
 He wrote and narrated the television series <i>Cosmos</i>; he wrote also books to popularise science (<i>Broca's Brain</i>, <i>The Dragons of Eden</i>, etc.)  and a novel, <i>Contact</i>, that became a best-seller and was adapted to a film starring [[Jodie Foster]]. The film won the 1998 [[Hugo award]].  Some of the history that Sagan presents in <i>Cosmos</i> most
such as his description of [[Hypatia of Alexandria]] and the burning of the [[Library of Alexandria]] has been criticized as historically muddled.  From <i>Cosmos</i> Sagan became associated with the
 catchphrase "billions and billions" which he never used in the television series.
 
 After a long and difficult fight with [[myelodysplasia]], Sagan passed away at the age of 62, on Dec. 20th 1996.
 <eod>