- Paperback: 1 pages
- Publisher: Orbit; Film tie-in edition edition (Sep 18 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1857235800
- ISBN-13: 978-1857235807
- Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 17.8 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 222 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (261 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #358,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
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.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From 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
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
By human standards it could not possibly have been artificial: It was the size of a world. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
By human standards it could not possibly have been artificial: It was the size of a world. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truely deeply terrific,
By
This review is from: Contact (Movie Tie-in) Cassette (Audio Cassette)
Carl Sagan was a wonder and this abridged audio version of Contact is the only version I've ever gone through. I saw the film, but never read any of his other books. I've since ordered them all. Amazing.Wow. I literally didn't want to get out of my car. As good as Jodie Foster was in the film, her audio read was remarkable. She really is as good as they get on screen and in my car stereo. Her talent was to convey the wonder of the book and make me care about the issues and she really delivers. If you are thinking about buying this, you won't regret it. The only regret you may feel is that Carl is now gone and there won't be any more of his wonderfully educating stories.
5.0 out of 5 stars
more than a novel,
By
This review is from: Contact (Mass Market Paperback)
While taking care to keep the fantastical adventure scientifically sound, Sagan seems to have given into his didactic nature. The book is a novel in the sense that it focuses on the central characters' thoughts, feelings, and experiences, but it is also an examination of human culture and philosophy. Fascinating . . . it will provide enlightenment for all future generations.
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of My All-Time Favorite Sci-Fi Books,
By
This review is from: Contact (Mass Market Paperback)
I would never have guessed that Sagan, a hardheaded, agnostic, scientific type would have in him a book with such a fine sense of character development and emotional pitch. Having read many of his nonfiction books, I was not surprised by the social and religious commentary, which I found to be both perceptive and very even-handed.The science was interesting -- particularly the mode of travel described -- and I found the use of messages buried in irrational numbers to be an imaginative concept that I've never seen before. As a sci-fi story, I would compare this favorably with some of Arthur C. Clarke's best work, including "2001" and "Rendezvous With Rama," in terms of the scope and majesty of the universe he creates. My only problem with the story, in fact, is that it is a little bit too derivative of Clarke; the space/dimensional traveling sequence seems to be imitative of "2001," and there are other similarities to Clarke novels, such as "Childhood's End," that were a little distracting (that's why, on a scale of 1-10, Contact would get a 9, rather than the full 10 rating). Nonetheless, I found this a very moving story that has more genuine feeling in it than almost any S-F story I've read. This is a novel that is visionary and almost religious in its awe of the universe -- the movie was also enjoyable, but as is almost always the case, it can't capture the numinous feeling that the book has, despite a great performance from Jodie Foster. Don't let some of the religious nuts' reactions scare you away from this book -- it has more genuine spirituality in it than a whole room full of Baptists and 700 Club members.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
