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Contact (Abridged) Audiobook
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(3.00) - 42,058 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Grammy Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album!
The future is here...in an adventure of cosmic dimension.
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.
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"Carl Sagan is my hero. In this book, his imagining of our modern-day (well, 1985's) reaction to a message from space manages to be both realistic and a little romantic. He raises questions about the existence of a god (a recurring theme in his work) and how the competing worlds of science and religion deal with the implications of contact from the cosmos. As always, Sagan's work is very thought-provoking, and this novel is no exception."
— Sasha (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Contact deals with issues…worth pondering.The range and depth of ideas is quite uncommon.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Like a good mystery, Contact keeps us curious to the end…ingenious and satisfying.”
— Newsweek -
“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.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review -
“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…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.”
— Publishers Weekly
Awards
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Winner of the Locus Award
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A New York Times bestseller
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An iBooks bestseller in Science Fiction
Contact Listener Reviews
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Ron, 9/8/2017
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casey lowe, 7/28/2015
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" One of my favs, full of interesting ideas, science lore, possibilities and more... "
— Tia, 2/19/2014 -
" re-read this because I had leant it to a friend along with the DVD of the movie...connecting to the numinous this weekend with gratitude! "
— Claudia, 2/6/2014 -
" Wouldn't it be such a waste of space if we were all alone? "
— Nada, 2/1/2014 -
" LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. It was long and wordy, but I was engaged the entire time. Also, much better than the movie, which I had seen as a child and then watched again after finishing this book. I want to read this again next time I'm stuck on a long bus ride. "
— Savannah, 1/22/2014 -
" I saw the movie first so I had that comparison in my mind the whole time. That being said, I thought the narrative was very good. It challenged my understanding of physics but that is a good thing. Loved the characters. Much better than the movie and I really liked the movie. "
— Dave, 1/21/2014 -
" This is my second reading of this book, a rarity for me. I saw it on the shelf and picked it up as a rest from some of my more taxing reads. I enjoy both the ideas he presents and the words he uses to do so. I recommend this book, with the following caveat: I give it three stars, instead of four, because his biography says that, though he was a millionaire many times over at his death, he left his children virtually nothing. That's the best reason not to increase the value of his estate by buying his books. "
— Conrad, 1/21/2014 -
" It is tragic that Carl Sagan died so young. Few scientists have the gift of prose. He will be greatly missed. "
— Anya, 1/16/2014 -
" In a word... boring. It didn't hold my interest, and I quit after reading about one third of it. "
— doug, 1/10/2014 -
" The book is mostly 4 stars, but I bumped it up to five for embodying all my hopes and dreams and making me cry a lot with hope and despair. "
— Bria, 1/9/2014 -
" Better than the movie, and well dammit, I liked the movie too! "
— Bren, 12/10/2013 -
" If you've seen the movie, read the book. It's (as always, right?) much better and tells a better story. "
— Moses, 11/27/2013 -
" One of the best books I've read - again and again. His imagination takes a what if to the nth degree. "
— Ilene, 11/23/2013 -
" I loved it more than the movie. "
— Daniel, 4/14/2013 -
" God, I LOVE this book! It's the only Sagan I've ever read, and I'm not sure why, since I love non-fiction as well. I can confidently recommend this book to athiests (like me!), but who aren't the pedantic, self-righteous type. "
— Casey, 3/5/2013 -
" Read this in high school and remember enjoying it. Thought it hysterical that my English teacher warned me about taking Sagan too seriously about his facts. I told her..."This one is fiction." "
— Bev, 10/7/2012 -
" I read this a few years before the movie came out. Twice. I never do that. I do not have a background in science and maybe I could suspend my disbelief more readily, but I thought thus book was wonderful. The movie was extremely disappointing and left out a lot of the book. "
— Jessica, 8/15/2012 -
" Very Good. I enjoy Carl as a scientist, when I saw the sci-fi film and learned he wrote the book, I had to check it out...BE PREPARED... THE BOOK IS A DRAMA, not a sci-fi. ITS ALL ABOUT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, science fiction is just the vehicle. Very hard to put down. "
— Alan, 7/5/2012 -
" Liked the movie much better....there is the passion which is lacking in the book "
— Divya, 5/23/2012 -
" Great! Much slower than I thought it would be. Maybe that's because it is extremely scientific. Good read though. Glad I read it. "
— Coby, 1/24/2012 -
" This is my favorite book. I've read it too many times to count. It is far reaching and beautifully written. Moving and numinous. "
— Carrie, 11/28/2011 -
" One of my all time favorites. It does what good books are supposed to do, it makes you think & question. It provides a brief glimpse into the mind of Sagan, who has spoken much of science obviously but also religion. Brilliant book. "
— Jay, 10/1/2011 -
" One of my favorite books and films "
— Julianne, 8/5/2011 -
" overwhelming, but I like how Contact provides some interesting scientific facts. "
— Arya, 7/27/2011 -
" Interesting but very slow. I had a tough time finishing it. "
— Kamil, 7/10/2011 -
" I loved the imagination and complexity of the lead character's emotions but the story lacked the hardcore science that I crave. "
— Christina, 6/29/2011 -
" I did enjoy the book, but the movie in my mind was much, much better. "
— Esme_weatherwax, 6/28/2011 -
" Despite my hatred of space, I am really enjoying this book. "
— Sarah, 6/15/2011 -
" Great story! But having never seen the movie, I was surprised at how long it took for the humans to actually meet aliens. "
— Scythan, 6/10/2011 -
" If you saw this movie you must feel like this story is a complete waste of time. Luckily on the book side that assumption would be glaringly wrong. Who says that scientists can't write truely great literature. This is one of the best books I've ever read. Easily. "
— Gwen, 5/30/2011 -
" Liked it much more than the movie. "
— William, 5/26/2011 -
" I know these people.<br/><br/>Although, my favorite part was the acknowledgments page at the end, concluding with Ted Sturgeon. "
— Kdirewolf, 5/9/2011 -
" Read this in high school and remember enjoying it. Thought it hysterical that my English teacher warned me about taking Sagan too seriously about his facts. I told her..."This one is fiction." "
— Bev, 5/6/2011 -
" Very Good. I enjoy Carl as a scientist, when I saw the sci-fi film and learned he wrote the book, I had to check it out...BE PREPARED... THE BOOK IS A DRAMA, not a sci-fi. ITS ALL ABOUT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, science fiction is just the vehicle. Very hard to put down. "
— Alan, 5/5/2011 -
" Actually I read this book in portuguese<br/><br/>very very good "
— Adriana, 4/29/2011 -
" This book started out great, but I soon got bogged down in the Christian religious side of the story and never could really enjoy the book.<br/><br/>I do not recommend this book as a sci fi. "
— Lbaker, 4/25/2011 -
" Sagan is my man! Completely smitten by him. "
— jadesteva, 4/24/2011 -
" Much richer than the movie, very scientific, but also very compelling human stories. It's a long one, but I was hooked. "
— Allison, 4/12/2011
About Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) was professor of astronomy and space sciences and director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He played a leading role in the Mariner, Viking, and Voyager spacecraft expeditions, for which he received the NASA medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the highest awards of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation, as well as many other awards for his contributions to science, literature, education, and the preservation of the environment. His book Cosmos, the companion book to his Emmy– and Peabody Award–winning television series of the same name, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and the bestselling science book ever published in the English language, and his bestselling novel Contact was turned into a major motion picture.