Post originally by krayt at 2004-02-03 05:15:17
Converted from Phorums BB System

Both books are worthwhile, and they don't really overlap much either (intentially, I believe, as the GURPS Uplift 2/e book has been written with CA-compatibility in mind). the Contacting Aliens book goes into much more detail, but its scope is proportionally narrow. for someone who isn't into RPGs, CA is probably the most interesting. But if you intend to run an Uplift campaign (in any system), you'll definitely want both books - the GURPS book is essential for getting the full scoop on the large picture, but Contacting Aliens offers a lot of in-depth information on the setting's species (and also makes worthwhile expansions on the galactic languages). Sadly, not all of the information in Contacting has been incorporated in the Species Writeups in the rpg book (the Soro should have Hard of Hearing, to mention one thing), but that's another matter.
as an added bonus, the Contacting Aliens book is written with an in-universe perspective (as a field handbook for Council Agents), which makes it useful as an in-game "briefing material" for GMs introducing players to the setting.