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Contact
by: Carl Sagan

Amazon.com's Price: $7.99

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Used Price: $0.01
Collectible Price: $10.00
Third Party New Price: $2.39

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780671004101
ISBN: 0671004107
Label: Pocket
Manufacturer: Pocket
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 448
Publication Date: July 01, 1997
Publisher: Pocket
Sales Rank: 26806
Studio: Pocket

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
In December, 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.

Amazon.com Review:
It is December 1999, the dawn of the millennium, and a team of international scientists is poised for the most fantastic adventure in human history. After years of scanning the galaxy for signs of somebody or something else, this team believes they've found a message from an intelligent source--and they travel deep into space to meet it. Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sagan injects Contact, his prophetic adventure story, with scientific details that make it utterly believable. It is a Cold War era novel that parlays the nuclear paranoia of the time into exquisitely wrought tension among the various countries involved. Sagan meditates on science, religion, and government--the elements that define society--and looks to their impact on and role in the future. His ability to pack an exciting read with such rich content is an unusual talent that makes Contact a modern sci-fi classic.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Contact by Carl Sagan
This book arrived in a timely manner and was in excellent condition. I am completely satisfied with this order.

Rating:

- Wonderful idea, mediocre writing
Carl Sagan's only attempt at fiction has a fantastic premise, but the story is often overwhelmed, not just by the scientific terminology, but also by ham-handed characterization. The basics of the story are preserved for the movie, which eliminates much of Sagan's clutter (some will argue that the meat of the novel was lost, as well). Sagan struggles to find his narrative 'voice' here-perhaps understandable for a first time prose author, who almost certainly relied heavily on his co-author, both for the novel and screenplay.
I saw the movie some years ago, and by comparison, I felt the story works much better onscreen, without the 'near future' setting(which had become contemporary by the time the movie was released), and less emphasis Bradburyesque 'advanced technolgy' that sounded outdated long ago. The de-emphasis of mathematics in the film made the story much easier to follow, if not as intellectually 'weighty'. ... Read More

Rating:

- Fantastic science, real characters
Any author can write a story about science in the not-so-distant future, but Carl Sagan is the genius who portrays today's science and scientist in a realistic light. These are people worried about obtaining grants, and dealing with aging parents, trying to advance up the glacial-paced science hierarchy. The portrayal of science reminded me of Kim Stanley Robinson's Antarctica while the interpersonal relationships reminded me more of real life.

Reading the book could be either an interesting perspective or a bit of daily drudgery continued. Of course what keeps it moving is the story, which lays out like a mystery: find a clue and it only opens more questions. Sagan builds this right to the end and then cleverly continues it out. It is a fitting model of science -answers only leading to more questions, curiousity opening up whole new worlds- that is refreshing in contrast to some of the other aspects portrayed ... Read More

Rating:

- The audio version is incredible
My regrets that I watched the movie and then bought the book. I read the the first few chapters and was a little thrown off by the difference in Dr. Arroway's character. A few months later (book half read) I received the audio version as a late birthday present, and I was absolutley captivated by Jodie Foster's voice as she took me through the book. Without a doubt the book offers the reader something the movie just could not deliver. I would suggest reading the book first and then renting the DVD. It's fun to pull together the theatrical elements and the very philosphical points that Carl Sagan throws in there for the atheist and agnostic reader. Thought provoking and a very good read.

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