Contact
-
-
4.5 • 176 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and astronomer Carl Sagan imagines the greatest adventure of all—the discovery of an advanced civilization in the depths of space.
In December of 1999, a multinational team journeys out to the stars, to the most awesome encounter in human history. Who—or what—is out there? In Cosmos, Carl Sagan explained the universe. In Contact, he predicts its future—and our own.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Who could be better qualified than the author of the highly successful Cosmos to turn the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence, and humankind's first contact with it, into imaginative reality? This is precisely what Sagan does in this eagerly awaited and, as it turns out, engrossing first novel. The basic plot is very simple. A worldwide system of radio telescopes, in the charge of brilliant astrophysicist Ellie Arroway, picks up a "Message'' from outer space. Ellie is instrumental in decoding the message and building the ``Machine'' for which it gives instructions (despite stiff opposition from religious fundamentalists and those scientists and politicians who fear it may be a Trojan Horse). Then she and fellow members of a small multinational team board the machine, take a startling trip into outer spaceand on their return must convince the scientific community that they are not the perpetrators of a hoax. Sagan's characters, mostly scientists, are credible without being memorable, and he supplies a love interest that is less than compelling. However, his informed and dramatically enacted speculations into the mysteries of the universe, taken to the point where science and religion touch, make his story an exciting intellectual adventure and science fiction of a high order. First serial to Discover Magazine; BOMC selection. Foreign rights: S & S. October 1
Customer Reviews
Most Important Read of Your Life
Whether you enjoy astrophysics, psychology, geopolitics, theology, or any other subject, there is something for everyone to live in this page-turning masterpiece by Carl Sagan. In it, you will answer questions out our world and other worlds alike, while finding answers to questions about ourselves and the human race. For how numerous the pages may seem, this will fly through your hands, heart, and mind. I’m already considering a second read. Would highly recommend to all.
The movie is better.
A rare instance where the movie is better than the book. Carl Sagan am incredible visionary and writer...but the movie much preferred.
Not As Good As Film
This book was a complete disappointment. I had seen the film, and I hoped it would be an expanded interesting engagement of the plot line and an explorations of science and faith. Not so. Worse yet, 90% of the book is length telling, rather than showing, by the author, making for a boring read. Highly recommend against this book.