Prologue: The great search -- Ancient alients -- Where is everybody? -- Pop culture aliens -- Flying sucers -- The alien next door -- Deep space -- Contact -- No contact -- When we become them -- Terrestrial intelligence

"First Contact explores the ancient idea--and epic quest to prove--that we are not alone in the universe. Presented in a heavily illustrated cabinet of curiosities format, the book explores our fascination with aliens from early history to present day, including chapters on alien conspiracy theories, aliens in science fiction, the actual science behind our search for aliens, and what happens if and when they come...or, if we are in fact descended from them. Each chapter is filled with bite-sized explainers and longer sections on meatier topics such as habitable zones, xenolinguistics, and UFO religions. Smaller topics include alien abductions, ancient astronauts, exodinosaurs, Project Cyclops, and the Great Moon Hoax"-- Provided by publisher