- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Scribner; First Edition edition (7 Mar 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743256859
- ISBN-13: 978-0743256858
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 3.6 cm
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
45,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #28 in Books > Mind, Body & Spirit > Paranormal & Unexplained Phenomena > UFOs
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Product Description
John Humphrys
'The perfect combination: an intriguing subject in the hands of a great journalist'
LITERARY REVIEW
'The best and most widely informed and penetrating book of its kind since C J Jung's FLYING SAUCERS of 1959'
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
ALIENS is a true pleasure
29 Mar 2007
Aliens is what happens when a curious, brilliant, truly gifted writer and devotee to both scientific rigor and scientific imagination begins to ponder why so many people who are not nuts in any clinical way, swear they have had encounters with extra terrestrial beings. It is estimated that 2% of Americans have had experiences that are 'consistent with those that abductees experienced before they knew they were abductees.' And since aliens are most unlikely to show partiality in whom they abduct, the figure of 2% may be applied to the entire world's population. Why do so many people believe in aliens? Why are aliens such a common and trusted factor in fiction? Appleyard states, "The consistency of the visions over time and across cultures must say something more about the human mind than simply that it is prone to madness. [] This is not a geek thing, a crazy person's thing, an SF nut thing, it is a thing that has invaded all our imaginations..."
Reading Aliens is a true pleasure and an adventure into the present state of the human mental condition. The mercy with which Appleyard observes endears, his reasoning astounds and his knowledge humbles. And aliens, whatever they are, are real. Aliens, in whatever way, exist.
Appleyard first takes us on a baffling journey through the history of alien encounters, sects devoted to aliens, UFO's and how alien fiction continuously reflects real society. He seamlessly (deliciously and shamelessly) oscillates between research material, scientific theory and scenes from SF movies and books.
In the second part of the book Appleyard asks the questions that inevitably rise from part one: Why are aliens here? And what is `here' exactly? Are flesh and bones creatures flying nuts and bolts spaceships? Almost certainly not, argues Appleyard, and that for several very good reasons.
But, even more interesting is the question of whether an alien encounter per definition must have something to do with something extra terrestrial. What is this universe in which we live? How do we relate to it? What is this endless abyss on the bottom of which we find ourselves? Are these visiting beings from the bottom as well or perhaps from some other plane? And if they are products of mere evolution based on chance, is there a reasonable chance that creatures from a completely different evolutional process are in any way compatible to us, meaning that they look and act remotely like us so that we would actually be able to understand their gestures and even speech? (It turns out, that chance is practically zero).
Whether you are curious about humanity or extra-terrestrials, Aliens is a must read.
Passport to the Cosmos
Reading Aliens is a true pleasure and an adventure into the present state of the human mental condition. The mercy with which Appleyard observes endears, his reasoning astounds and his knowledge humbles. And aliens, whatever they are, are real. Aliens, in whatever way, exist.
Appleyard first takes us on a baffling journey through the history of alien encounters, sects devoted to aliens, UFO's and how alien fiction continuously reflects real society. He seamlessly (deliciously and shamelessly) oscillates between research material, scientific theory and scenes from SF movies and books.
In the second part of the book Appleyard asks the questions that inevitably rise from part one: Why are aliens here? And what is `here' exactly? Are flesh and bones creatures flying nuts and bolts spaceships? Almost certainly not, argues Appleyard, and that for several very good reasons.
But, even more interesting is the question of whether an alien encounter per definition must have something to do with something extra terrestrial. What is this universe in which we live? How do we relate to it? What is this endless abyss on the bottom of which we find ourselves? Are these visiting beings from the bottom as well or perhaps from some other plane? And if they are products of mere evolution based on chance, is there a reasonable chance that creatures from a completely different evolutional process are in any way compatible to us, meaning that they look and act remotely like us so that we would actually be able to understand their gestures and even speech? (It turns out, that chance is practically zero).
Whether you are curious about humanity or extra-terrestrials, Aliens is a must read.
Passport to the Cosmos
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