AN ATTEMPT TO “BRING TOGETHER ALL THE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF ALIENS”
Authors Peter Hough and Jenny Randles wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “Aliens---a word which triggers a response in every one of us… All these stem from a deep-rooted, perhaps intrinsic belief in us that there is something out there, in the interminable blackness of outer space… In this book, we have tried to bring together all the different concepts of aliens. This has never been done before… What we have done is taken all of these fields and thrown them en masse into a huge melting pot. When it comes to aliens, we believe the rule book should be discarded… We have solicited the views of fiction writers … The SETI institute in California has furnished us with much information on NASA’s own search for aliens, and the views of physicists are aired… We have asked what the ramifications are for society and religion if one day the world should wake up to hear the awesome news. The aliens are here.”
They note, “People have been reporting encounters with aliens for centuries. Contact with fairies and elves is an established phenomenon within the annals of folklore… Two world wars later, and we were preparing to conquer outer space. Is it mere coincidence that the ‘little people’ of folk tales were now being replaced by their cousins from other planets? The archetypal ‘contactee’ in this new era was an American called George Adamski… Fame and fortune smiled upon him after he made some quite extraordinary claims. What is more, he produced photographic evidence to back up his story and the testimony of many other witnesses. His adventures were chronicles in several books… Although in the first person, all the accounts were ghostwritten.” (Pg. 62)
They point out, “it is interesting that Carl Sagen has become one of the world’s best-known authorities on cosmology after being the originator and presenter of the acclaimed TV series ‘Cosmos.’ John Lilly is probably best known for his strange experiments into the nature of consciousness. His book ‘The Center of the Cyclone’ describes some quite peculiar communications with ‘other intelligences’ during altered states. He was a pioneer of the quest for other life within ‘inner’ space as opposed to searching outside in the universe. His evidence is in many respects the forerunner of today’s UFO abductee and channeler material. Yet almost 30 years ago these two men, now at oppositive extremes of the trail for contact with other intelligences, came together for one simple experience in a dolphin pool which may say more about the problem than anything else they have discovered.” (Pg. 101)
They say of Erich von Däniken’s interpretation of the ‘lines’ at Nazca in Peru, “‘This is very reminiscent of the aircraft parking bays on a modern airport.’ Indeed it is, until one appreciates that the ‘bays’ are in fact the claws of a condor, and just a few yards across! Von Däniken accepted that the idea was absurd in the … BBC documentary. If the plain WAS a huge airport, why is there no trace at all of any buildings? Why are there no unambiguous alien artifacts in this huge area?” (Pg. 142-143)
They suggest, “The full story of the Majestic-12 files has not been told here. Other ‘leaks’ took place, but this is not the place to debate the issue, although subsequent revelations regarding these files seem to us to be consistent with the view that they were planted into the UFO community from outside for motives which can only be guessed at.” (Pg. 169)
This book will be of interest to some looking for the IMPLICATIONS of potential alien contacts for us.
This is a somehow interesting book from the authors, Peter Hough and Jenny Randles, because perhaps it is more of a Peter Hough book, it begins replicating the opinion of famous scientists and sci-fi writers about the UFO phenomena, and that just demonstrates how unless you did some study of the phenomena you really will not get it right regarding UFOs. Comically scientists expect that arrogantly that their knowledge would suffice to explain the actions of a civilisation, or civilisations that potentially could have millions or even billion of years, we just don't have enough knowledge to reach any conclusion in terms of our own data, we have to be humble and try to make sense from the data we are gathering from the encounters we have been having. The book exploits several other passages, it is a major recap on the UFO events, and to be honest a not very successful one, as it relies heavily on "sceptical" "rational" so often simplistic and reductionist views. Interesting to read in terms of research, the authors could be more clever on the subject, but they seem to eager for legitimacy of the scientific establishment.
The books starts very intriguing with illustrations, horror authors who deal with extraterrestrial life, movies, alien thinking or aliens on film. Have spaceships landed? Then Jenny Randles speaks about the New Age Movement, the search for other worlds and concentrates on the evidence. Signals and the controversial question was God an alien? Of course we also hear about crashed spaceships and dead aliens (Roswell). We are left with the eerie questions what is the consequence if they arrive... nice summing up of material of her other books. If you're into UFOs and aliens definitely worth a look!