Contact

By: Carl Sagan

Narrated by: Jodie Foster

Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

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....

©1997 Carl Sagan. All rights reserved (P)1997 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"Engrossing first novel....an exciting intellectual adventure and science fiction of a high order." (Publishers Weekly)
"Ingenious and satisfying." (Newsweek)
"The greatest adventure of all time." (Associated Press)

So glad I got this

Abridged versions are offensive, but I am so glad I decided to give this one a go because of the reviews. This is more believable than the movie and made me eager to read the full print version. How sad it is that we have lost Sagan. Jodie Foster is as good reading this as she was in the movie. All in all an excellent experience. Do yourself a favour and get Contact - you'll be glad you did too. If you haven't already, checkout the Wikipedia entry for Contact for some of the issues Sagan raises - also a good read.

Went for it despite abridgment - glad I did.

Would you listen to Contact again? Why?

I think once is fine.

What other book might you compare Contact to and why?

Not sure.

What about Jodie Foster’s performance did you like?

Foster's reading style and intonation are a good match for Sagan's intelligent authorial voice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

God, this pi is good!

Any additional comments?

I almost passed on this because it's abridged. In the end, it was definitely worth the $6.95 sale price, and I enjoyed how the story trucked along. I appreciated Sagan's wealth of scientific knowledge, and his humble attempt to tackle big questions. Pretty good stuff.

Classic science fiction at its best

Leave it to that wonderful space guru, Carl Sagan, to come up with a tantalizing glimpse of what the world might look like if we were to contact alien beings far more advanced than ourselves. Even though I am not a fan of most current science fiction, Sagan's intellectual credibility and the grounding of his tale in our current world situation lend the story a feeling of wonderful possibilities. Reading it gave me of the same feeling I used to get as a kid (and all too rarely get now) when contemplating the vastness of space.

A wonderful trip with a few unnecessary diversions

The idea of contact with an alien intelligence puts our views of Earth in another perspective. How will these other-worldy folk judge our civilazation? Will we measure up? This book tackles these issues but, goes a little too far in the politically correct practice of reversing sterotypes for women while reinforcing them for men. Women are unifromily strong, brilliant, and in leading roles (George Bush is replaced by a woman) while men are biggoted and old-fashoned. This is a distraction but, I still enjoyed this book and the wild ride it describes. Carl gives equal tratment to the social and religous implications of contact as the cool science.

P.S. OK, I admit it, I am a guy.

Great listening!!!

Wonderfully read and narrated. This story is about a young scientist whose true love is to explore outer space and ends up exploring inner space as well.

Contact is much more than a space stoy

Contact is a wonderful (to date) fantasy tale and a passionate example of Carl Sagan's ability to interconnect science and philosophy. It is a story which gives careful consideration to the numerous implications of finding out that we are are not alone. Jodie Foster is a most-welcome and familiar narrator. My only complaint is that this is the abridged version, and that we don't get to play Carl Sagan's world just that much longer.

Amazing

Dazzling endeavor! Far more exciting then the movie version! A mind blowing story that will open up your mind to something much bigger!

Great performance, but I’d prefer unabridged.

This is a beloved book. I would prefer an unabridged audiobook as I felt this abridgment left out too much of the story. It’s still worth the listen.

This book is a real gem.

This book is a real treasure in my opinion. Set through the eyes of a Astronomer who isn't afraid to peek beyond the veil, this book stays busy with something at all times. There are no lazy points or places where you feel a drag. This laconic read is heady enough for the science nerds (like myself) but also staid enough for the more passive reader. Jody Fsoter is OF COURSE perfect as each character. It is even better because she plays the main character in theories adaptation. Os if you enjoyed the movie you may even more thoroughly enjoy this audibook.

Carl Sagan sees beyond outward human expressions and in many places in this book reveals a genuine insight into human logic and human fear and wonders. He displays a tremendous wonder for all that this universe has to offer and challenges very tough philosophical questions as though this book was written by many people and not just one. He explores social, religious, scientific and metaphorical or potential ramifications of first contact will bring.

I have no gripes or corrections. This book is one of the best audiobooks I've heard. Bar none. You likely will not be disappointed!

Cheesy sounds, bad book, good narrator

From being recommended so much I was surprised to find that this book was very bad. I typically like to stretch the imagination but this one panders to a fantasy and paranoia that was deeply unsatisfying. If I had read this in 1985 I might have related but for our own time and with what we know now it simply does not live up to it's reputation. For a heavy SETI mind I would suggest reading it to get your own opinion on it and to not take my word for it but for most you will either be confused or disappointed in the outcome of the book. I should go no further.

However, I'm not going to discourage readers from listening. The narrator Jodie Foster is clear and does the voices well enough to suit the story. If you enjoyed Contact as a book keep in mind that this is abridged (cut short), but a good recording (minus a few cheesy sound effects which are easy enough to ignore).