Book Review of Contact by Carl Sagan

Since Carl and I share the same name (the Sagan part, not the Carl part, that is), I’ve felt for many years that I ought to actually know something about the guy and his work. When the mother dear and father dear were reducing clutter in their home and getting rid of books*, and Carl Sagan’s Contact happened to be among them, I snatched it up. And immediately began reading it.

contact

Contact was published in 1985. Sagan** was a prestigious scientist, and he wrote several novels during his time (mostly of the science fiction variety, I believe). Contact is the story of extra terrestrials sending a message to Earth, the response that humans have to receiving such a message, and how science changes as secrets beyond what is known on Earth are revealed. Throughout the story are questions about society, the psyche, religion, and the world as we know it.

One of the pieces that I liked best when reading Contact was how engaging Sagan is in his writing, and how he is able to translate immensely complex ideas and concepts into simple terms. Science and mathematics have never come easy to me, and although I’m sure I didn’t entirely “get” 95% of the theories and equations and scientific laws that Sagan discusses in Contact, it was written in such a way that I a) understood enough to enjoy the story and comprehend the general ideas, and b) wanted desperately to begin studying astrophysics.

I’m sure I won’t actually start studying astrophysics. But you never know.

Once the scientists receive the message in this novel, countries around the world begin working together to decipher the message. In the light that there is another civilization “out there,” the various nations band together and begin to think in terms of “us” as a single group, rather than being distinct from one another. It’s an interesting idea that everyone could (would?) come together and work as a team, and this idea opens the door to ask broader questions of what can we do as a global society if we work together?

Contact not only explains scientific concepts in ways that the layman can understand, but it also dives into so many other things about the world – how we think and act as individuals, how society works, our belief systems – that you can get much more from reading the novel than just a great story. It is beautifully written, and Sagan was clearly keenly insightful when it comes to the way that we work.

Have you read Contact, or other works by Carl Sagan? What did you like about it? Are you a science person? What books have you read recently? Share in the comments section below!

*I’d be saddened about them getting rid of books if it didn’t mean that my collection could increase 😉

**It is SO WEIRD to refer to someone else with my name. How do you do it on a regular basis when you have a common name? Does it start to lead to identity crises, or does it just become the norm? I would love to see a study on something like that.

2 Comments

  1. * don’t think of it as “getting rid” of books….think of it as “sharing the treasures we call books”. Besides, you have more bookshelves than the parents dear.

    **Just to clarify the name thing: you were not named after Carl Sagan. The name “Sagan” is an actress’s name (Sagan Lewis) on a 1980’s medical drama TV show “Saint Elsewhere”. From sources in the know, the parents dear really liked the name and decided to chose an unusual/uncommon name for you, rather than a very common name, especially since the father dear also has an uncommon name (Grange) and the mother dear has a very common name (Linda).

    It is an agonizing decision choosing a name for a child….will it be appropriate? will the child love it? hate it? will there be 3 others of that name in EVERY school class and board of directors in that person’s lifetime (if your name is Linda and you were born in the 1950’s the answer is YES, there are about a million Linda’s out there! Mother dear has been “Linda H” all her life and continues to have to include her last name initial on most correspondence FYI).

    Father dear, on the other hand, only ever has to say his first name and 99% of people he has ever been introduced to, or even just had his name mentioned know exactly who he is. (kind of like “Cher”, or “Madonna”, or “Sting”…you get my drift). Having a unique name is …what’s the word I am looking for?….”unique” 😉

    Oh…and for the record….I love your name!

    (sorry for rambling)

    1. Hahaha!

      **I know – but we do SHARE the same name 😉

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