Contact with Alien Civilizations: Our Hopes and Fears about Encountering Extraterrestrials [Hardcover]

Not very often, for me at least, a book comes along that just totally grabs you, it completely hits the mark. I remember the last time it happened and it was about three years ago - Will Hart's anthropological opus, The Genesis Race.

This time round it is Contact with Alien Civilizations (Who Speaks for Earth) by Michael Michaud. I recognise these rages of enthusiasm are very personal things and while I think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, you might yawn and wonder why I'm getting so hot and bothered. But let me have my run and see if you agree.

It is a subject matter that has always been dear to my heart and yet I have noticed that it hasn't always been to others. What would happen if and when we made contact with an intelligent non terrestrial species? You either overreact like I do and think that the world will change forever or you are very laid back and think you might just raise your eyes away from the telly for long enough to say "That's nice dear" to your wife who has rushed in to tell you the news. What people might actually do as opposed to what they say can be two very different things, but a lot of people in Ufology and even astronomy for that matter seem to take the latter perspective - it won't change much.

Of course this is not only ridiculous, it is actually bordering on the stupid, because contact with an intelligent alien species would fundamentally change everything, of that I have no doubt. I suspect what is really going on when people take this laid back approach is that they just can't get their heads around it and rather than make the effort, they give up and opt out. And that I can understand because it is an enormous concept and I for one just simply cannot imagine all the different strands of our lives that would feel the ripple affect of such an event.

Which is why I admire so much some one who can do that and who can do it in a very thorough and detailed manner. Michael Michaud has done it with this book.

If you mentally said, "Who the hell is he?" as you read his name, then I wouldn't blame you. If there's one thing you could not accuse Michael of doing, it would be of having a high profile. There are reasons and his bio details are intimidating. This is how he is described in the book:

"Michael Michaud has been a leading figure in preparation for possible future contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. As chairperson of the International Academy of Astronautics working groups that considered this subject, he coordinated the drafting of the Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence, also known as First SETI Protocol. Michaud is also a member of the International Institute of Space law, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Astronautical Society, and is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary society. He has published more than thirty six articles and papers on the implications of contact, as well as more than sixty articles on other subjects. He is the author of a previous book entitled Reaching for the High Frontier; The American Pro-Space Movement 1972-1984.

"During his career with the U.S. department of State, Michaud served as the Director of the Office of Advanced Technology and as Counselor for Science, technology, and Environment at the American embassies in Paris and Tokyo. He led U.S. delegations in the successful negotiation of international science and technology agreements. He played an active role in reviving U.S.-Soviet space cooperation and in initiating U.S.-Soviet talks on outer space arms control. He represented the State Department in interagency space policy discussions, and testified before the U.S. Congress four times on space related issues. He presently lives in Europe."

You kind of get the feeling that he might know what he's talking about.

What instantly strikes you about the book virtually as soon as you begin it is just what a thorough job he's done. There is no area of the subject that he doesn't cover (including Ufology) and there can barely be a historical quote from the past on the matter that he doesn't revisit. It is a brilliantly researched and very balanced view of the subject and as he brings it to the boil and begins discussing the possibilities of how contact might happen and what may follow afterwards, he manages to answer all the questions I could ever drum up on the topic. I put the book down satiated. No remaining, "Yeah but what if's?" and "Well what about's?" The subject is as thoroughly trawled over as anyone could possibly wish it to be.

If you have even a remote or vague interest in this subject then this book is a "must buy". Michaud has done us a favour writing it and I thank him.

I thought this book was fairly good, however there are a few bad points about it. These are:

1) The author tends to repeat himself throught most of the book several times when describing concepts. I found this very annoying and the book could perhaps be about 100 pages shorter.

2) I did not find it an easy read - the writing is not that good, it does not to flow nicely.

3) The book covers many aspects regarding its title and this again is a down fall as a lot of the subjects I feel are not treated with as much depth as they should be. Maybe the author should have focused on less aspects and written more about each one.

Apart from that it was a good book, albeit slightly expensive.

This is an OK book - essentially a summary of the views of many others (mainly scientists) on the possibility and consequences of contact with extraterrestrials.

My main criticism - perhaps more of the subject matter than the book itself - is that it lists many questions but hardly any answers - or rather, many possible answers (often repeated at various points). This makes it somewhat dissatisfying to read. E.g. perhaps there aren't any other intelligent beings in the universe, or perhaps there are a few, or perhaps there are millions. Maybe they don't know we're here, maybe they do and are keeping quiet, maybe they've sent a probe to check us out, maybe they've broadcast a message which hasn't reached us yet, or maybe it's reached us and we haven't detected it, or maybe they've already visited us. Maybe A, or B, or then again C, but some people say D, or E, or F. There is no mention of existing possible evidence (e.g. UFO sightings, considered a taboo in this scientific field); the unstated assumption is that no genuine evidence exists.

The book summarizes its own main shortcoming rather well: 'The search [for extraterrestrial intelligence] has been described as an example of too much speculation chasing too few facts'.

On a lesser cricitism, the book has a tendency to put certain paragraphs dramatically in bold, headed 'Mind-Stretcher' (followed by a not very profound thought) or 'A Mirror Image' (followed by something along the lines of 'maybe aliens regard themselves as normal and regard humans as aliens'). I found this a bit patronising, given that the tone of the book is otherwise fairly academic and not apparently aimed at a popular audience.

Overall this isn't a bad book, but it's longer than it is gripping, and I suspect there are better ones out there on this topic.