The most intriguing stories are often found in the details, and this is the case for music writer Scott's engaging and conversational look at the creation of the gold-plated records that are still traveling throughout the universe on the two Voyager probes launched in 1977 ... Descriptions of the time and intellect devoted to the process of content selection, as well as the ingenious methods of data transfer used for the nonaudio components, are fascinating, but the personal tales behind this 'message to the stars' are just as enthralling. Sagan, the leading scientist behind the Voyager recordings, published his own account, Murmurs of the Earth, just after Voyager launched, but Scott has the benefit of a wider range of information and sources and an objective view of the process. This is also a very relatable and human way to approach deep space exploration.
Music writer and self-described astronomy geek Jonathan Scott is our cheerful tour guide on this mission, and The Vinyl Frontier is our comprehensive and comprehensible itinerary ... [a] brisk, estimable account ... Throughout this volume, Scott examines the debates and the choices and tells us how the members of this committee went out into the field (and actually once to a supermarket) to create the images they wanted [for the Golden Record].
... if you want the dirt, go with Mr. Scott. Admittedly, reading him feels a bit like getting caught in a meteor shower of anecdotes and gags, with cosmic debris rattling off your helmet like rimshots. At times the plot wobbles and characters fail to coalesce. Matters of classical music are sometimes mangled; as Mr. Scott proudly confesses, had he chosen the music for the golden record, aliens would think humankind had only three chords ... Mostly, though, he has done his homework. He has the nerd’s determination to track down details, to badger surviving protagonists with questions no one else has asked. Above all, he has a golden ear for irony. Far from second-guessing or lamenting the record’s imperfections, he revels in its pops, clicks, glitches and quirks.
Scott’s book is a testimony to the amount of work that Sagan, who died in 1996, and his team put into the Golden Record, which was not vinyl but metal (copper), plated with gold. And while this is about the production of the record and not the Voyager mission itself, Scott masters the technical details, often with a touch of humor ... The narrative, though, is not without its problems ... So many characters weave through the story that it becomes especially annoying when lesser ones pop up with whom we aren’t on a first-name basis. One almost needs a program to figure out whom he is writing about ... Scott assumes we already know a lot about the Voyager mission, but it’s probably a safe bet to say we don’t.
Jonathan Scott’s exuberant, conversational book The Vinyl Frontier recounts the entirety of this fascinating project, which was completed from start to finish in little more than six weeks ... Scott’s book doesn’t get too bogged down in the science, instead focusing on how the Golden Records’ images and sounds were selected ... that's the pleasurable takeaway from Scott’s book, which provokes serious contemplation about how humans and aliens—provided they make contact—could ever manage to communicate.
The Vinyl Frontier tells the tale well, doing a particularly good job of giving a feel for the people involved and the day-to-day aspects of the project, although it does not break any dramatically new ground. One of this book’s strong points is its emphasis on the fact that the Voyager record was very much a product of its age and of the country in which it was made ... The book is written in a lively, often jocular tone. This is sometimes distracting...but it serves to keep the narrative moving at a brisk pace. Scott also has a tendency to imagine conversations and events for which the documentary record is spotty, which can make it hard to tell which portions of the text are well supported by historical evidence and which are not ... [some] music metaphors tend to be strained ... Sometimes the musical links are helpful, though ... The Vinyl Frontier’s major contribution to the Voyager story is showing how many different narratives surround it.
Scott...shares interesting details, behind-the-scenes insights, and addresses myths, such as why the Beatles music was left off completely ... More than a time capsule, Jonathan Scott describes in this book a brilliant combination of science and art, which together created a weird but wonderful artefact compiled by an amazing group of people. Created from a strange marriage of politics, bureaucracy, budget, ambition, innovation, and beauty, Scott describes a portrait of humanity that is still traveling out among the stars.
The story of the Voyager record is fascinating ... But Scott makes the tale even more intriguing with occasional asides and well-deserved moments of disbelief ... Insightful, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable, this is the sort of popular history book clubs adore.
... a high-energy, interplanetary pop song of a book ... Delivered with effortless grace, this buoyant look at one of NASA’s most unusual but oft-overlooked efforts will appeal to music fans and astronomy buffs alike.
