Making Contact by Sarah Scoles

The biography of the woman who inspired Carl Sagan's Contact.

For anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered, "Are we alone?", this is a brilliant examination of the science behind the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and its pioneer, Jill Tarter.

The Real-Life Ellie Arroway
Jill Tarter is a pioneer, an innovator, and a controversial force. At a time when women weren’t encouraged to do much outside the home, Tarter ventured as far out as she could—into the three-Kelvin cold of deep space. She hasn’t stopped investigating a subject that takes and takes without giving much back.

The Big Question
Today, her computer's screensaver is just the text “SO… ARE WE ALONE?” This question keeps her up at night. In some ways, this is the question that keeps us all up at night. We have all spent dark hours wondering about our place in the cosmos.

Tarter’s life and her work are not just a quest to understand life in the universe: they are a quest to understand what it means to be human here on Earth.

Why this is essential reading:

• Science Fact meets Fiction: If you loved the movie or book Contact, this is the true story behind the character of Ellie Arroway.
• Women in STEM: A powerful look at the challenges Tarter faced as a female astronomer in a male-dominated field.
• The Science of SETI: Explains how we actually listen for aliens—it's not just holding headphones like in the movies; it's complex signal processing and physics.

🔭 From the Desk of Paul Bracken:
"I have immense respect for Jill Tarter. It takes a special kind of scientist to dedicate their entire career to a search that might not yield results in their lifetime. This book captures that persistence beautifully. It's a reminder that science is about the journey, not just the destination."