|
Aliens and Angels: UFOs and the Mythic Imagination by Keith Thompson Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, NY 1991 283 pages - $19.95 hardcover |
| Towards the
end of this thought provoking book, the author, on page 246 writes "UFOS
may be the most important phenomenon since the dawn of human history".
What makes this book unique is that it is written by an outsider, that
is someone who is not a veteran ufologist. Thompson a journalist avoids
the all too familiar scenario of being either in the Extraterrestrial
camp or the Debunker camp. American ufology recently has been divided
into those who believe UFO's have to be ETs and those who believe all
UFO's can be naturally explained as misidentifications of known
phenomena. Thompson is in neither camp. He is heavily influenced by both
the psychological theories of Dr. Carl Jung, the famed Swiss
psychiatrist and the theories if Dr. Jacques Vallee who leans toward the
metaphysical or alternate dimensions view. I found this an excellent
book. It contains a good overview of the history of ufology and the
varying aspects of this complex phenomenon. The author has been on the
Larry King talk show on CNN. Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum on the book
jacket has praised the book as has Pulitzer Prize winning psychiatrist
John Mack. This is a well researched, unbiased book. It does not claim
to have the answer to this phenomenon. Perhaps we are not capable of
understanding UFO's until we understand ourselves. Ultimately UFO's may
turn out to be neither aliens or angels or perhaps they are both. |