By H.G. Wells. An example of the first contact between humanity and an alien race on the violent end of spectrum and crossing genres with Alien Invasion.

By Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. A far future story of first contact after human societies already span hundreds of star systems. This story explores alien biology, society, art and impacts on humanity's economics, politics, and religions.

By Carl Sagan. Scientists discover a message from an intelligent source and must travel deep into space to meet it.

By Ken MacLeod. A Novel of First Contact. The point of view shifts in this novel between bat-like aliens on another world and a human ship approaching the world with the intent to colonize it.

By Arthur C. Clarke. The background of this well-known novel and movie is that an alien race explores and investigates worlds throughout the galaxy and encourages the development of intelligent life.

By Whitley Strieber. Before Roswell was a common household word, Strieber tells a "What if?" story about an alien spacecraft and that crashed near Roswell in 1947.

By Robert Charles Wilson A Near-Future story when scientific breakthroughs allow humans to eavesdrop on an alien planet and makes readers think about humanity's role in the universe.

By Naomi Mitchison. A novel that centers on a female protagonist whose goal is to communicate with other worlds.

By James White. This sequence of stories describes several first contacts, most of which are initiated by providing medical assistance.

By Stainslaw Lem. An example of a more cynical take on First Contact. A planet's ocean is the alien life form and the characters have a difficult time relating to its sheer alienness. A story of big questions--not all of which are answered--memory, and mystery.