Our April, 2002 book, "The Sparrow" by Mary
Doria Russell. Visit Mary's website for more information on this book and other projects.
From Amazon.com In 2019, humanity finally finds
proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come
to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus
quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension
that it will lead them to question the meaning of being "human." When the lone survivor of the expedition, Emilio Sandoz,
returns to Earth in 2059, he will try to explain what went wrong... Words like "provocative" and "compelling" will come to
mind as you read this shocking novel about first contact with a race that creates music akin to both poetry and prayer.
