Bottom Ten Amazon reviews: Carl Sagan.

I've been reviewing books on Amazon, and sometimes other places, for some fourteen years, now.  Since moving to Japan last time, this has been one of my favorite hobbies: reading the best, most important, or provocative books in the world (those three do not, of course, always coincide), and giving not just my "gut reaction," but trying to offer fair, yet punchy and informed (when possible) evaluations.  I've reviewed some four hundred books, and received over 8000 "helpful" votes, not to mention a couple thousand "unhelpful" votes.  If my reviews were grouped together -- they are divided into three groups, since I lost access twice, and had to start over -- I would rank between about #150 and #200 among Amazon's millions of volunteer reviewers.  Since I tend to post hard-hitting reviews of substantive non-fiction, and some classic fiction, I'm grateful at how my remarks have been received, by and large.  (Though I also managed to pick up a stalker or two, along the way.) 

This series will share (and maybe occasionally improve) reviews that have gotten among the best and worst responses from other readers.  Some of the authors whose books are to be highlighted include Karen Armstrong, Michael Behe, Jimmy Carter, GK Chesterton, Richard Dawkins, Elaine Pagels, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, John Spong, Rodney Stark, NT Wright and Howard Zinn.  The title of the series promises ten of each, but don't try to hold me to that!

(Note on methodology: "Top" reviews are ranked, straightforwardly, by how many "helpful" votes each book has received.  "Bottom" reviews are ranked differently, since you have to get some positive reviews to even draw much attention.  I multiply the number of negative votes, by the ratio of total to positive votes.  For instance, if the book gets 10 positive votes, and 30 negative votes, its total "score" is 30 times 4, or 120.  I won't use a calculator, I'll round.) 

Let's begin with one of the "bottom ten" reviews, by a famous and much beloved astronomer and forerunner of the "New Atheists," then alternate, till we reach the twin summits of grace and disgrace.