Rating: 
Summary: A Good Science Fiction Read!
Review: In my mind there are two kinds of science fiction in the world ... one: Earth is under attack by aliens, space ships, secret government aircraft, save the president!, laser missiles, and a lame movie ... and two: the good kind. Guess what kind this is?Contact is mostly about the impacts of a message from intelligent life forms on the human race. Argus, a project set to scan the cosmos for communications from intelligent life forms finds a baffling sequence of zeros and ones, coming from somewhere around the star Vega. It is decrypted, and Earth is sent into a multi-trillion dollar investment, and a huge controversy. Religious leaders fight against scientists over the true meaning of the message. The characters entertain me, and I love their personalities. They are all very human ... no one is a super hero. It takes place from the point of view of Eleanor Arroway, director of the Argus project and genius. She goes through a transformation in the course of the book, her personality changing and her mind widening. Other characters include the intriguing Hadden, (and his spectacular ending), and a hilarious female president of the United States. This is not a modern book, (we're past the year 2000 and there are no space stations or alien communications in sight), but it is not dated. Set your mind back a few years before you read it. Contact, though the abrupt ending may disappoint some, is about the unification of the world. This is not lame alien attack science fiction ... the aliens actually open the eyes of scientists and bring about a new age for Earth. A common goal helps to bring about world peace. If you love science fiction, read this! Entertaining, intriguing, and a book that will hold you interest, Contact is what I recommend for the science fiction reader.
Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction
Review: No, I don't know the movie. But the movie cannot be much better than the book. This is Science Fiction at its best: demonstrating the impact of technology and research on our societies. Astronomer Ellie is participating in the search for extraterrestial intelligence and discovers a message sent to earth from the stars. The decoding of the message reveals the plans for building a machine of unknown purpose. And after the construction is finished, Ellie finds herself as part of a crew going boldly to unknown worlds where nobody has gone before (sorry about the comparison). Of course, the entire project encounters several difficulties: Ellie's education as an astronomer (hey, she's a girl), some problems getting the research grants, diplomatic difficulties (the book was written in the early 1980s - before Glasnost and Perestroika), religious fundamentalism, political issues, the power of big industrial companies etc. One might argue that Sagan drags the story's flow a bit when he describes the problems decoding the message and building the machine, but he probably knows far too well that scientific progress is slow, tedious, and not always a straight path. I am amazed that none of my fellow reviewers complained about the scientific content. Here Sagan is the good old educator again, fighting for popularizing science: Several technical details are described and explained; and the funny thing is, of course, that most of the stuff is at least scientifically possible. (If you are more interested how it works, try Jim Al-Khalili's "Black Holes, Wormholes, and Time Machines". I have also a review on that...) Sagan's book has a strong emphasis on the relation between religion and science which still seems to be of particular importance in the United States. The novel suggests (especially the ending) that science and religion are not opposites but complement each other and that there are signs of the divine (the numinous, as Ellie calls it) in science as well as scientific moments in religion. Read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book and Great Movie!
Review: Sagan had the knack of getting his humanistic point of view out without being offensive to the general populace. He was also a great explainer of scientific ideas in a simple way, to make it easy to understand and interesting. I wish he would have lived longer so he could've written more novels. I think novel writing could have been his best skill. He died too young. Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown Eyed Boy"
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This book was very enjoyable. It very realisticly explains how contact may someday be made. It touches on politics, science, religion and sexism. I highly recomend this book to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: more than a novel
Review: 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.
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