For those of you who like to ponder the night sky, and wonder if there is intelligent life out there, then Carl Sagan's Contact is just for you. Actually, I saw the movie version first but the book is just as good, if not better. There's enough concrete scientific data to satisfy the buffs out there, but (if you're like me), the real value of this story is in the religion vs science debate. Sagan actually manages to bring these two together in a totally believable, and very thought-provoking way. Sagan conveys not only his brilliance as a scientist, but also his deep love for humanity.