“The Mote in God’s Eye” made 61. I would have rated it higher. And,,,, it would make a great movie series!
Agreed, Just about the only book I have ever read that really seemed to "get right" just what it might be like when humanity made "first contact" with an alien race.
Great book. Nice to see it on the list.
As would Lucifer's Hammer, and Footfall. On the positive side, Rendezvous With Rama made the list. I challenged my daughter, a precocious 12 year old reader, to "just read the first 20 pages," and just leave it if it was not interesting. She finished it overnight that weekend.
As for combining S/F and Fantasy in one list, was a horrible idea, but understandable. NPR's audience would not have given the vote a second glance if there were no "Sword and Sorcery" chick books on the list.
I was reading that in 1978, when my DI took it (and all of my other civvie stuff).
It took me several years before I found it again and read it. Definitely worth the wait.