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Abducidos
En la década de los 90, John Mack, psiquiatra y profesor titular de la Universidad de Harvard, repara en una serie de casos que están llegando a las consultas de sus compañeros de profesión: personas que afirman haber estado en contacto, en el mejor de los casos, con seres extraterrestres. Mack se interesa por este fenómeno de una manera clínica convencional, pero interactuando con este grupo de pacientes comienza a interpretar que quizá tras sus traumáticas experiencias se esconde algo más trascendente que un desequilibrio mental.
Su aventurada hipótesis de considerar a estos individuos como personas sanas mentalmente que se han enfrentado a unas experiencias traumáticas de origen desconocido, le supuso un grave descrédito a una figura de su prestigio que, pese a las presiones y a las maniobras académicas, defendió contra viento y marea su enfoque terapéutico y analítico con sus pacientes.
«Abducidos» es el primero de sus dos libros dedicados al fenómeno de la abducción y en él se analizan desde una óptica profesional y facultativa trece casos de abducción en los que se profundiza para obtener y explicitar muchas de las claves que esconde unas experiencias que desafían no solo a la psiquiatría, sino a nuestra concepción de la realidad.
Su aventurada hipótesis de considerar a estos individuos como personas sanas mentalmente que se han enfrentado a unas experiencias traumáticas de origen desconocido, le supuso un grave descrédito a una figura de su prestigio que, pese a las presiones y a las maniobras académicas, defendió contra viento y marea su enfoque terapéutico y analítico con sus pacientes.
«Abducidos» es el primero de sus dos libros dedicados al fenómeno de la abducción y en él se analizan desde una óptica profesional y facultativa trece casos de abducción en los que se profundiza para obtener y explicitar muchas de las claves que esconde unas experiencias que desafían no solo a la psiquiatría, sino a nuestra concepción de la realidad.
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First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
John E. Mack
29 books114 followersAmerican psychiatrist, writer, and professor at Harvard Medical School.
He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, and a leading authority on the spiritual or transformational effects of alleged alien abduction experiences.
He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, and a leading authority on the spiritual or transformational effects of alleged alien abduction experiences.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
September 26, 2021
Written by a Professor of Psychiatry who studied people who said they had encounters with alien beings, this is the outcome of him listening to their stories and taking them seriously.
It's a collection of various stories and regressions of people who claim to have been abducted.
There's a lot more to this book though, it goes deep psychologically and spiritually.
A must read if you're interested or aware of this phenomena, it's the best one I've read.
It's a collection of various stories and regressions of people who claim to have been abducted.
There's a lot more to this book though, it goes deep psychologically and spiritually.
A must read if you're interested or aware of this phenomena, it's the best one I've read.
September 3, 2013
Really good.
It was scary and one night I had to discontinue because I was really creeped out.
I was hearing noises in the house and thought the aliens were coming through the walls; only the cats. ok.
It was scary and one night I had to discontinue because I was really creeped out.
I was hearing noises in the house and thought the aliens were coming through the walls; only the cats. ok.
April 7, 2021
I did not like this book. There is nothing wrong with the book, it's just that I personally did not like it. (The author is a fully qualified psychiatrist at Harvard who has won a Pulitzer Prize for his book on T. E. Lawrence.)
This book was well done, well organized, used good fluent language and good physical paper and bonding. It was a detailed recounting of thirteen or so case histories of alien abductees. Some had families and children who were also abductees. These abductees were normal psychologically without any psychological co-morbidities. The book was technically good and had "References" and an "Index".
Flying saucers have always interested me. The subject of people who believe that they are alien abductees is interesting to me. I have met a few abductees, but in this book I didn't learn anything. I didn't see any discussion of the psychology of this phenomenon. The content of this book was, to me, boring and uneventful and uninformative.
These abductees were mostly taken by the little gray men with pointy black eyes to a silver spaceship with blue lights where they had their anuses, vaginas, penises and the like penetrated and their body fluids sampled. They had their sperm and ova taken to make hybrids. Some of the abductees believed that they were hybrids themselves. Many of the abductees hinted that they were special in some way. There were no psychological and no spiritual epiphanies for me to learn. And that was it for about 432 pages.
This book was well done, well organized, used good fluent language and good physical paper and bonding. It was a detailed recounting of thirteen or so case histories of alien abductees. Some had families and children who were also abductees. These abductees were normal psychologically without any psychological co-morbidities. The book was technically good and had "References" and an "Index".
Flying saucers have always interested me. The subject of people who believe that they are alien abductees is interesting to me. I have met a few abductees, but in this book I didn't learn anything. I didn't see any discussion of the psychology of this phenomenon. The content of this book was, to me, boring and uneventful and uninformative.
These abductees were mostly taken by the little gray men with pointy black eyes to a silver spaceship with blue lights where they had their anuses, vaginas, penises and the like penetrated and their body fluids sampled. They had their sperm and ova taken to make hybrids. Some of the abductees believed that they were hybrids themselves. Many of the abductees hinted that they were special in some way. There were no psychological and no spiritual epiphanies for me to learn. And that was it for about 432 pages.
July 26, 2017
I would read this book in the evening as I was waiting to fall asleep. This book is great if you want to scare the crap out of yourself when the lights are off. Its been a couple of years since I read this, but I do remember being too afraid to go to the bathroom at 3am. I was convinced that there would be an alien somewhere waiting for me and I would never be the same. Scared the crap outta me. Great book. ♡♡♡
July 8, 2014
The first thought after finishing the last sentence was, "Thank god that is finished!". In all honesty, if I could it would be a 2.5, the .5 coming from the last chapter in which Dr. Mack recovers by adding some sanity to the book. I expected this book to be more critical than what it was, especially for a Harvard professor.
The book is compromised of mostly abduction stories and for me 13 was too many. My two qualms about the book were that Mack used hypnotic regression and his insistance on the lack of pathology. Hypnotic regression is at best a controversial technique due to ease of suggestions and the accuracy of the information. Secondly even though Mack says there is no pathology in these patients I would contend a vast majority had life events and traumas in which an abduction story would be something they could believe. Especially the clients who had unfavorable childhoods or had a difficult time fitting in.
I believe that seeing the emotional response of his clients during these hypnotic sessions led Mack to believe there was something more. In fact, he kind of admits to that in the last chapter.
What saved this from a one star rating was he did have a couple interesting points and observations. I have no doubt that the feelings of the experiencers are no doubt real. And most pyschologists that have studied them suggest there is something there. But I am not convinced that this is more than a mental pathology.
If you are looking for a book that gives an objective or critical critique of the abduction phenomenon you can pass this book up.
The book is compromised of mostly abduction stories and for me 13 was too many. My two qualms about the book were that Mack used hypnotic regression and his insistance on the lack of pathology. Hypnotic regression is at best a controversial technique due to ease of suggestions and the accuracy of the information. Secondly even though Mack says there is no pathology in these patients I would contend a vast majority had life events and traumas in which an abduction story would be something they could believe. Especially the clients who had unfavorable childhoods or had a difficult time fitting in.
I believe that seeing the emotional response of his clients during these hypnotic sessions led Mack to believe there was something more. In fact, he kind of admits to that in the last chapter.
What saved this from a one star rating was he did have a couple interesting points and observations. I have no doubt that the feelings of the experiencers are no doubt real. And most pyschologists that have studied them suggest there is something there. But I am not convinced that this is more than a mental pathology.
If you are looking for a book that gives an objective or critical critique of the abduction phenomenon you can pass this book up.
June 25, 2008
This book is much more analytical and in-depth than others of this type; Dr. Mack is a Harvard Pulitzer Prize winner who documents his cases meticulously. CAUTION: Read in small doses----it gets creepy after a while, but remains fascinating!!
May 19, 2018
Although unwilling to try and define their exact nature, John Mack believes that abduction experiences are real, and he writes to persuade his readers to reconsider their Western, materialistic worldview that results in a dismissive attitude toward the phenomenon. Mack was a Harvard professor and psychiatrist who had his own worldview altered as a result of his work with abductees.
The bulk of the book consists of case studies of abductees (one per chapter). Mack begins each of these with a brief bio of the person, followed by detailed accounts of his or her sessions with Mack during which, through hypnosis, they experience "regressions" that unearth hitherto repressed memories of encounters with entities not of this world. One might wonder how easily Mack slept at night given the disturbing and bizarre experiences he saw his patients re-live in his office.
The book was interesting, disturbing, and worldview-bending. I did grow weary at points of the abductees' attempts to communicate what they obviously felt was beyond their ability (or even human language) to communicate, but Mack's summaries were helpful in bringing some clarity.
The bulk of the book consists of case studies of abductees (one per chapter). Mack begins each of these with a brief bio of the person, followed by detailed accounts of his or her sessions with Mack during which, through hypnosis, they experience "regressions" that unearth hitherto repressed memories of encounters with entities not of this world. One might wonder how easily Mack slept at night given the disturbing and bizarre experiences he saw his patients re-live in his office.
The book was interesting, disturbing, and worldview-bending. I did grow weary at points of the abductees' attempts to communicate what they obviously felt was beyond their ability (or even human language) to communicate, but Mack's summaries were helpful in bringing some clarity.
October 7, 2018
This is an excellent work that will convince everyone of the existence of extra-terrestrials, wherever they come from.
We are given detailed accounts by specific persons who have been visited by these beings. It turned out that most of them perhaps all had been visited by them from an extremely early age, though it was not until much later that they realized this.
The experiencers underwent hypnosis/regression to aid them to recall the incidents in detail.
They were taken up to the extra-terrestrials’ ships and were there exposed to intrusive physical investigations of their sexual organs and anus. These were both unpleasant and painful. Sperm was taken from the men and, as far as I recall, eggs taken from the women.
Later, some experienced seeing many strange-looking babies which they were told were their own.
Despite the unpleasant examinations, the abductees were told that the extra-terrestrials were doing these for positive reasons, i.e. that of trying to improve us humans physically and also to develop us personally and spiritually. The extra-terrestrials are “more advanced spiritually and emotionally than we are”.
One of the salient points that emerged was that several of those interviewed felt they knew the extra-terrestrials from before and, in particular, felt that they themselves were one of them - that they were themselves in part extra-terrestrial.
Those interviewed experienced spiritual development following the experiences.
One, Joe, felt “the fragmented parts” of himself coming together and an increase in “my soul’s love and energy”. He experienced a male-female integration.
We are given thirteen in-depth case histories of alien abductions. The various abductees confirm each others’stories.
I am in no doubt as to the veracity of these accounts.
The accounts are extremely comprehensive; in fact if the book has a negative side to it, it is that there are so many in-depth comprehensive accounts, more than necessary.
But I híghly recommend the book to all those attracted to the subject.
We are given detailed accounts by specific persons who have been visited by these beings. It turned out that most of them perhaps all had been visited by them from an extremely early age, though it was not until much later that they realized this.
The experiencers underwent hypnosis/regression to aid them to recall the incidents in detail.
They were taken up to the extra-terrestrials’ ships and were there exposed to intrusive physical investigations of their sexual organs and anus. These were both unpleasant and painful. Sperm was taken from the men and, as far as I recall, eggs taken from the women.
Later, some experienced seeing many strange-looking babies which they were told were their own.
Despite the unpleasant examinations, the abductees were told that the extra-terrestrials were doing these for positive reasons, i.e. that of trying to improve us humans physically and also to develop us personally and spiritually. The extra-terrestrials are “more advanced spiritually and emotionally than we are”.
One of the salient points that emerged was that several of those interviewed felt they knew the extra-terrestrials from before and, in particular, felt that they themselves were one of them - that they were themselves in part extra-terrestrial.
Those interviewed experienced spiritual development following the experiences.
One, Joe, felt “the fragmented parts” of himself coming together and an increase in “my soul’s love and energy”. He experienced a male-female integration.
We are given thirteen in-depth case histories of alien abductions. The various abductees confirm each others’stories.
I am in no doubt as to the veracity of these accounts.
The accounts are extremely comprehensive; in fact if the book has a negative side to it, it is that there are so many in-depth comprehensive accounts, more than necessary.
But I híghly recommend the book to all those attracted to the subject.
March 14, 2015
Frankly, I find psychological case studies boring in general. The few exceptions have been book-length studies by exceptionally good writers. Mack is all right as a writer, but not exceptional, not here.
The theme of these case studies carried me through the exercise, however. The facts that a tenured senior psychiatrist at Harvard, a psychoanalytically trained Pulitzer winner, would give credence to alien abduction accounts by his clients, that there were so many so accounts available to him in his practice, certainly grabbed my attention.
In fairness, Mack walks a fine line between giving credence to his subjects, most of whom were quite shaken by their experiences, and making any claims about the objective events, if any, behind them. He does not claim that aliens are visiting Earth aboard spaceships, abducting humans to subject them to medical experimentation and the occasional elevating lecture-demonstration about global ecology. He does note, however, that such are the characteristic reports and that the reporters evince great seriousness and no mental disorders.
The theme of these case studies carried me through the exercise, however. The facts that a tenured senior psychiatrist at Harvard, a psychoanalytically trained Pulitzer winner, would give credence to alien abduction accounts by his clients, that there were so many so accounts available to him in his practice, certainly grabbed my attention.
In fairness, Mack walks a fine line between giving credence to his subjects, most of whom were quite shaken by their experiences, and making any claims about the objective events, if any, behind them. He does not claim that aliens are visiting Earth aboard spaceships, abducting humans to subject them to medical experimentation and the occasional elevating lecture-demonstration about global ecology. He does note, however, that such are the characteristic reports and that the reporters evince great seriousness and no mental disorders.
January 23, 2011
I read this book as a child, because I used to be obsessed with Aliens. I didn't believe they existed, but I loved reading about them in a fictional sense. This book scared me so much (in an omg they may exist sense) that I never finished it.
September 12, 2025
WARNING: graphic mentions of sexual assault. please don't read this if it may upset you.
This is not a true review, as I haven't yet finished the book. I started in December and have had some difficulty getting through it, as the book is long, dense, and repetitive. Please forgive my sloppy writing. I just wanted to get my thoughts out there for now.
I went into this book with a really open mind. The first several stories were interesting and not completely unbelievable. But now I'm halfway through and the stories have become increasingly more ridiculous. It pretty obvious that many of the "abductees" are severely mentally ill, with hallucinations being the norm, and many many many delusions of grandeur. At least one patient suffered from obvious sleep paralysis, and interpreted this problem as him being stalked by some kind of inter-dimensional alien. It's understandable that the average person might not know what sleep paralysis is, and would try to come up with explanations for what he experienced. But the answer should have been obvious to the author, who was a psychiatrist. Instead of mentioning the possibility that the experience had a rational (and rather common) explanation, the doctor apparently went along with the patient's alien interpretation. This is a repeated problem with the book. Some of the things that happen have no apparent rational explanation. But others do, and the most obvious explanations often go ignored.
Almost all of the stories involve some form of sexual abuse, some of it extremely graphic. One of the "abductees" describes an experience where he transformed into an alien and sexually assaults another abductee (a human woman). That whole chapter was the most ridiculous and unbelievable so far. Another woman had been terrified of sex for almost as long as she could remember. She loved her husband, and he was kind and patient, but she couldn't have sex with him without panicking and feeling like she was losing control. One of the memories that were retrieved with hypnosis was of her being vaginally and anally probed by an alien at the age of 13. This is not an uncommon theme in this book, but that story in particular really got to me.
In one story, the patient started attending therapy because he believed that he had been sexually abused by his grandmother, who had certainly sexually abused his dad. His dad was a known pedophile as well, who had tried to abuse the patient's younger sister. The same patient said that the alien spaceship he was taken to as a child was his true home. Seeing as he came from a disturbingly awful family, I can understand why he would be desperate to belong anywhere else.
The author repeatedly insists that his patients show no signs of being mentally ill, while contrarily relaying stories that are full of countless indications of mental illnesses. It's not normal to walk around a hotel room hallucinating, bump your head in the process, then claim that the experience was just the aliens' way of teaching you some kind of lesson (???). It's not normal to convince yourself that your newborn son is somehow an alien, with no proof whatsoever. And don't get me started on all the cases where the people were obviously sexually abused as children.
I feel for the patients. I really do. And who knows, maybe some of them did experience exactly what they described (meaning, real alien abductions). The most persuasive stories are the ones where the abductees find out years later that their relatives had the same exact experiences as them.
I still intend to keep an open mind, and to finish the book. But I am incapable of closing my mind to common sense in the process.
This is not a true review, as I haven't yet finished the book. I started in December and have had some difficulty getting through it, as the book is long, dense, and repetitive. Please forgive my sloppy writing. I just wanted to get my thoughts out there for now.
I went into this book with a really open mind. The first several stories were interesting and not completely unbelievable. But now I'm halfway through and the stories have become increasingly more ridiculous. It pretty obvious that many of the "abductees" are severely mentally ill, with hallucinations being the norm, and many many many delusions of grandeur. At least one patient suffered from obvious sleep paralysis, and interpreted this problem as him being stalked by some kind of inter-dimensional alien. It's understandable that the average person might not know what sleep paralysis is, and would try to come up with explanations for what he experienced. But the answer should have been obvious to the author, who was a psychiatrist. Instead of mentioning the possibility that the experience had a rational (and rather common) explanation, the doctor apparently went along with the patient's alien interpretation. This is a repeated problem with the book. Some of the things that happen have no apparent rational explanation. But others do, and the most obvious explanations often go ignored.
Almost all of the stories involve some form of sexual abuse, some of it extremely graphic. One of the "abductees" describes an experience where he transformed into an alien and sexually assaults another abductee (a human woman). That whole chapter was the most ridiculous and unbelievable so far. Another woman had been terrified of sex for almost as long as she could remember. She loved her husband, and he was kind and patient, but she couldn't have sex with him without panicking and feeling like she was losing control. One of the memories that were retrieved with hypnosis was of her being vaginally and anally probed by an alien at the age of 13. This is not an uncommon theme in this book, but that story in particular really got to me.
In one story, the patient started attending therapy because he believed that he had been sexually abused by his grandmother, who had certainly sexually abused his dad. His dad was a known pedophile as well, who had tried to abuse the patient's younger sister. The same patient said that the alien spaceship he was taken to as a child was his true home. Seeing as he came from a disturbingly awful family, I can understand why he would be desperate to belong anywhere else.
The author repeatedly insists that his patients show no signs of being mentally ill, while contrarily relaying stories that are full of countless indications of mental illnesses. It's not normal to walk around a hotel room hallucinating, bump your head in the process, then claim that the experience was just the aliens' way of teaching you some kind of lesson (???). It's not normal to convince yourself that your newborn son is somehow an alien, with no proof whatsoever. And don't get me started on all the cases where the people were obviously sexually abused as children.
I feel for the patients. I really do. And who knows, maybe some of them did experience exactly what they described (meaning, real alien abductions). The most persuasive stories are the ones where the abductees find out years later that their relatives had the same exact experiences as them.
I still intend to keep an open mind, and to finish the book. But I am incapable of closing my mind to common sense in the process.
May 1, 2008
Best book going on alien abductions. John Mack is no crazy pushing an agenda of proof. The accounts presented by this respected psychiatrist point out a uniformity of abuction experiences that defies rational explanation other than what they claim to be. Mass illusion? Possibly. No paranoia - no government conspiracies - straight reportage with comment. Mack leaves the abductions question open as to authenticity, though only a crack.
March 6, 2022
Interesting book by the Harvard Psychologist and Professor who believes that there is truth to many abduction stories. My thoughts are: If just one of these stories is true, it changes everything.
July 25, 2023
I picked this book up after watching the Showtime series called UFO. The last couple episodes referenced this book and the author quite a bit. Dr. Mack was a Harvard guy. He was high up in the food chain and he became particularly interested in the abductee phenomenon. He ended up taking on about a hundred "abductees" as patients. This book contains the cases of about 12 or so of these clients. As a disclaimer, this is my first foray into reading about abductions, aliens, etc. I approached the topic with high doses of fascination and skepticism. I figured I would start with a book written by a guy who risked his excellent reputation to explore the phenomenon.
First off, I appreciated aspects of Dr. Mack's approach. I liked that he resisted the urge to label the abductees as "crazy" and then be done with it. This guy was truly open minded to other people's experience of reality. Instead of disregarding abductees, he asked the question "what can we learn about reality from these people?" Dr. Mack was open to reshaping his own views as a result of his encounter with the abductees. I, personally, haven't met many thoroughly credentialed people that are willing to reconsider their own views/training so I appreciated Dr. Mack in that regard.
When Mack looked closely at these cases, he found that many of the abductees had no behaviors, tendencies or views that would label them as unstable or unreliable. Instead, he found evidence of significant trauma that was in need of processing, so he put the abductees in a state of hypnosis and processed the trauma with them. Again, Dr. Mack knew what repressed trauma looked like and he saw this in the abductees. When Mack "relived" these experiences with his clients what he found appeared (to my rational mind) absolutely astonishing and absurd. His findings also uncovered a repeating story line.
Some abductees simply experienced the float up to the ship with the tractor beam deal. Others remembered specific procedures. Others had a "kinship" with particular beings on the ship. Still others felt more of a closeness with the aliens than they did with human beings. Some remembered that they were actually part human/part alien and the abductions were just a reconnection with their true source.
By the end of the book a common story line had emerged. Here it is: Once upon a time, human beings and E.T.'s came from the same source. Since then, we've gone our separate ways. Unfortunately, humans are killing the earth and E.T.'s need to step in to save us and our planet. How are the E.T.'s going to do this? By creating a hybrid alien/human race with an elevated/less destructive consciousness. Currently, human consciousness isn't broad enough to accept this truth. Luckily, there are hybrid agents already among us. They have forgotten their source, however, and repressed their purpose. Hence, the abductions. They need to reconvene with the mothership.
I am fascinated and speechless. What else is there to say?
First off, I appreciated aspects of Dr. Mack's approach. I liked that he resisted the urge to label the abductees as "crazy" and then be done with it. This guy was truly open minded to other people's experience of reality. Instead of disregarding abductees, he asked the question "what can we learn about reality from these people?" Dr. Mack was open to reshaping his own views as a result of his encounter with the abductees. I, personally, haven't met many thoroughly credentialed people that are willing to reconsider their own views/training so I appreciated Dr. Mack in that regard.
When Mack looked closely at these cases, he found that many of the abductees had no behaviors, tendencies or views that would label them as unstable or unreliable. Instead, he found evidence of significant trauma that was in need of processing, so he put the abductees in a state of hypnosis and processed the trauma with them. Again, Dr. Mack knew what repressed trauma looked like and he saw this in the abductees. When Mack "relived" these experiences with his clients what he found appeared (to my rational mind) absolutely astonishing and absurd. His findings also uncovered a repeating story line.
Some abductees simply experienced the float up to the ship with the tractor beam deal. Others remembered specific procedures. Others had a "kinship" with particular beings on the ship. Still others felt more of a closeness with the aliens than they did with human beings. Some remembered that they were actually part human/part alien and the abductions were just a reconnection with their true source.
By the end of the book a common story line had emerged. Here it is: Once upon a time, human beings and E.T.'s came from the same source. Since then, we've gone our separate ways. Unfortunately, humans are killing the earth and E.T.'s need to step in to save us and our planet. How are the E.T.'s going to do this? By creating a hybrid alien/human race with an elevated/less destructive consciousness. Currently, human consciousness isn't broad enough to accept this truth. Luckily, there are hybrid agents already among us. They have forgotten their source, however, and repressed their purpose. Hence, the abductions. They need to reconvene with the mothership.
I am fascinated and speechless. What else is there to say?
February 4, 2022
This book is outstanding! It really changed my perception of the whole abduction experience. The book is split up with each chapter discussing an abductee telling their experiences. The abductee undergoes hypnosis performed by John Mack a Harvard professor of psychiatry. Through the hypnosis, they give a kind of of firsthand experience of what occurred during the abduction. Each abduction was unique in their own ways. Whether aliens show up in a bedroom and take the person while the person is still in bed or a UFO pulling a person out of a car that is traveling down a road, just to name a few. The book goes into detail about how the aliens research humans by abducting kids at a young age and doing varies procedures to them throughout the rest of the abductee’s life. Each story seems to have a common goal. The aliens want to save planet earth by showing the abductees the future of earth becoming destroyed and creating human/alien hybrid babies. A must read for the believers & skeptics out there!
May 16, 2011
Over the years I have read a number of books on UFOs and abductions, and found this one to be one of the most important. Not only because the author/researcher is a Harvard psychiatrist, which admittedly adds to its credibility. But also because the various cases which this book describes gives the reader a careful and balanced impression of the intellectually challenging phenomenon of these encounters. Halfway through the book I found myself watching the film "Intruders" again, also a fair representation of the great many of abductions that appear to have been going on since decades.
The only setback of this book, apart from that of course it doesn't offer a lot of answers, is that after a few case histories, the account gets a little repetitive. For an experienced reader of books like these it made it a little less 'fun' to read than for instance 'Communion' or 'The interrupted journey', but to a critical audience I guess this style could make it more persuasive. All in all, 'Abduction' may turn out to be one of the most important books in the genre.
The only setback of this book, apart from that of course it doesn't offer a lot of answers, is that after a few case histories, the account gets a little repetitive. For an experienced reader of books like these it made it a little less 'fun' to read than for instance 'Communion' or 'The interrupted journey', but to a critical audience I guess this style could make it more persuasive. All in all, 'Abduction' may turn out to be one of the most important books in the genre.
June 30, 2012
This is a must read for anyone with questions about what might be behind some UFO sightings. If you think we may be being visited by alien races, this book will be thought-provoking to say the least. Mack comes across as entirely credible, methodical, extremely careful, and quite likeable. He couldn't have done a better job on what could have been a very easy to discredit book. Instead, his expert and careful handling of the subject resulted in a book that is entirely believable, an encyclopedia, an outstanding classic in the field.
Anyone who finds this book interesting will probably enjoy the alien remote viewing books by Courtney Brown.
Anyone who finds this book interesting will probably enjoy the alien remote viewing books by Courtney Brown.
December 4, 2024
This took me FOREVER to read. It's not bad, but it's super dense. It's supposed to be an academic text and it definitely reads like one.
January 18, 2025
What a disappointment
May 24, 2021
"To search expectantly for a radio signal from an extraterrestrial source is probably as culture-bound a presumption as to search the galaxy for a good Italian restaurant" (McKenna 1991).
Yes, the aliens, after performing cattle mutilations, carrying out hybrid breeding programs, expanding individual (or collective, a la morphic resonance) consciousness by love and spiritual terrorism are going to pull back their saucers and pyramids from our pale blue dot and reply, as one group, to the ancient radio transmitter with a "We are here, humans, we come without having observed you once and view you as equals. We know you are sophisticated..." Meanwhile, Cambodian and Indonesian Genocides, Forrest Gump, and Mary Jane are all sailing on boats called "continents", exhausting gases like hippos fanning shit over the shivering ice caps (because we knew they were cold, our asses raised like the engines on our boats -- surprised suns providing the most heat). We're digging for something in the bottom of the boats: Guts of rope, ball bearings and cannon balls. Surely, bent over so far, shitting constantly, there is no worry of being attacked...it is more surprising that one can shit in this position at all, in Downward Dog. How is this possible? And now one is close enough to eat the toes right off their own feet -- and still shitting!
Yet shit is remarkably absent from this book. The aliens do not seem to be interested in that part of us, not like children, fools and tricksters are.
Instead, they're interested in anal probing, impregnation and fleshlights to a faultless degree (because of their advanced spirituality). Unless if you're experiencing samadhi on a regular basis, there's a chance our little friends will whisk you away, if not this life, then another, and if not you, then a friend or acquaintance of yours, and likely their family.
Since the grays can occupy different dimensions, it is hard to say the experiences abductees have of them corresponds to, well, exactly what they're describing. Likely, the aliens use these various traumatic methods of probing, implanting, cutting, impregnating, in conjunction with the catastrophic images, perhaps as the only means left to pierce, permeate or make porous the vast majority of people's crustier-than-crustacean egos (a crab is less egotistical than the normal human, which is probably why we find them tastier than ourselves too, while much consciousness in a dish will spoil it). After all, they're not abducting the Dalai Lama or any Himalayan monks, those conscious of consciousness, because they're already jiving with our shapeshifting guardians. "Those large black eyes" a monk might say, "are eyes to get lost in."
Are you opposed to getting lost in them? What's the risk? Even they admit they're afraid of our emotions, our depth, we being dark souls who have carried the flame far from the Source. Those large, endless eyes, full of love, bigger than us, and yet, reflecting how far we've come. Are they you, a genetically dead-end humanoid, trying to recover something they've forgotten? Or do they admire this human difference for what it is, and are not attempting to retrieve anything (excepting some hybrid children that may or may not be for us when the world is wiped clean). What if your connection was stronger with one of them than with any human, and you missed the children you created with your alien wife or husband? You realized some dual identity to yourself, felt some purpose that needed to integrate these two halves.
Mack says toward the end, "Writer and futurist Jean
Houston, at the Congress of the World Parliament of Religions in
Chicago in September 1993, commented that all myths begin with
a form of betrayal." It may be that aliens are abducting us, and whether or not are performing these traumatic experiments on us, know how to betray us. But is that it? Do they want us to view them as mythological beings at a later point in time? It seems, rather, that the woman who gets impregnated by the aliens or whose "seed" gets genetically modified beforehand, resulting still in the same outcome -- will she suckle the hybrid? They seem to be playing with our biological altruism towards related things -- "That baby is mine, but..." What? Of course, this isn't some chromosomal abnormality, this is the splicing in of another species, forced (re)entry, as the species is more advanced spiritually, abductees report feeling this, often claiming we were two species separated from the Source long ago.
Does disgust arise towards the hybrid baby because it is other, the mother desiring it to be a different species, while also trying to integrate it into the human, or because it is a more primitive species, that has been forcefully integrated with the human? For example, Kafka's cockroach-man. In evolutionary theory, cockroaches are hundreds of millions of years older than the human species and a different phylum entirely. They experience the world in a way that is older than us, in a way that came before us, that is non-human, yet still continues to the present alongside us, our scurrying friends. To be the cockroach-man is really just to have our experiences superimposed woefully short over the cockroach's much longer evolutionary vision. "I'm nowhere near as ancient as that..."as we look and see our scuttling legs disappear miles away into the dark behind us. He stands in contrast to Lin from Perdido Street Station, the artist khepri, a human with with a scarab head. The Egyptians rightly understood these animal-headed humans as gods, as they represent the human hosting a unique intelligence, and the human is something that can support these different intelligences.
The otherness of the hybrid may not be overlooked because of the above analysis; the "listless" hybrids even being a eugenic experiment in removing man's self-destructive, and therefore destructive, impulses...how is a parent to approach them with affection? They seem to point the way ahead for man's spiritual development, and though forced, perhaps that is all the decency we deserve, even according to our spiritual value, if we cannot listen to our dying Earth.
Here's to the Pentagon releasing UFO documents before June 1st this year, and to the next Copernican Revolution, when we find out not only are we not living in the center of the universe, but neither is our intelligence. Here's to the displacement of our intelligence and the unfolding of Indra's Web in the West, to the destruction of false Enlightenments and to the creation of cosmic cooperation.
Rhizomatic creep-spread
And diversity training
With my telepathic wife
Over morning bread.
Ten lotus prayers before
Existential coffee
(The Every New Sunrise).
I've gone,
"That's fine!
Other then you anyway --
Dear, we'll make it."
Who are you again?
Yes, the aliens, after performing cattle mutilations, carrying out hybrid breeding programs, expanding individual (or collective, a la morphic resonance) consciousness by love and spiritual terrorism are going to pull back their saucers and pyramids from our pale blue dot and reply, as one group, to the ancient radio transmitter with a "We are here, humans, we come without having observed you once and view you as equals. We know you are sophisticated..." Meanwhile, Cambodian and Indonesian Genocides, Forrest Gump, and Mary Jane are all sailing on boats called "continents", exhausting gases like hippos fanning shit over the shivering ice caps (because we knew they were cold, our asses raised like the engines on our boats -- surprised suns providing the most heat). We're digging for something in the bottom of the boats: Guts of rope, ball bearings and cannon balls. Surely, bent over so far, shitting constantly, there is no worry of being attacked...it is more surprising that one can shit in this position at all, in Downward Dog. How is this possible? And now one is close enough to eat the toes right off their own feet -- and still shitting!
Yet shit is remarkably absent from this book. The aliens do not seem to be interested in that part of us, not like children, fools and tricksters are.
Instead, they're interested in anal probing, impregnation and fleshlights to a faultless degree (because of their advanced spirituality). Unless if you're experiencing samadhi on a regular basis, there's a chance our little friends will whisk you away, if not this life, then another, and if not you, then a friend or acquaintance of yours, and likely their family.
Since the grays can occupy different dimensions, it is hard to say the experiences abductees have of them corresponds to, well, exactly what they're describing. Likely, the aliens use these various traumatic methods of probing, implanting, cutting, impregnating, in conjunction with the catastrophic images, perhaps as the only means left to pierce, permeate or make porous the vast majority of people's crustier-than-crustacean egos (a crab is less egotistical than the normal human, which is probably why we find them tastier than ourselves too, while much consciousness in a dish will spoil it). After all, they're not abducting the Dalai Lama or any Himalayan monks, those conscious of consciousness, because they're already jiving with our shapeshifting guardians. "Those large black eyes" a monk might say, "are eyes to get lost in."
Are you opposed to getting lost in them? What's the risk? Even they admit they're afraid of our emotions, our depth, we being dark souls who have carried the flame far from the Source. Those large, endless eyes, full of love, bigger than us, and yet, reflecting how far we've come. Are they you, a genetically dead-end humanoid, trying to recover something they've forgotten? Or do they admire this human difference for what it is, and are not attempting to retrieve anything (excepting some hybrid children that may or may not be for us when the world is wiped clean). What if your connection was stronger with one of them than with any human, and you missed the children you created with your alien wife or husband? You realized some dual identity to yourself, felt some purpose that needed to integrate these two halves.
Mack says toward the end, "Writer and futurist Jean
Houston, at the Congress of the World Parliament of Religions in
Chicago in September 1993, commented that all myths begin with
a form of betrayal." It may be that aliens are abducting us, and whether or not are performing these traumatic experiments on us, know how to betray us. But is that it? Do they want us to view them as mythological beings at a later point in time? It seems, rather, that the woman who gets impregnated by the aliens or whose "seed" gets genetically modified beforehand, resulting still in the same outcome -- will she suckle the hybrid? They seem to be playing with our biological altruism towards related things -- "That baby is mine, but..." What? Of course, this isn't some chromosomal abnormality, this is the splicing in of another species, forced (re)entry, as the species is more advanced spiritually, abductees report feeling this, often claiming we were two species separated from the Source long ago.
Does disgust arise towards the hybrid baby because it is other, the mother desiring it to be a different species, while also trying to integrate it into the human, or because it is a more primitive species, that has been forcefully integrated with the human? For example, Kafka's cockroach-man. In evolutionary theory, cockroaches are hundreds of millions of years older than the human species and a different phylum entirely. They experience the world in a way that is older than us, in a way that came before us, that is non-human, yet still continues to the present alongside us, our scurrying friends. To be the cockroach-man is really just to have our experiences superimposed woefully short over the cockroach's much longer evolutionary vision. "I'm nowhere near as ancient as that..."as we look and see our scuttling legs disappear miles away into the dark behind us. He stands in contrast to Lin from Perdido Street Station, the artist khepri, a human with with a scarab head. The Egyptians rightly understood these animal-headed humans as gods, as they represent the human hosting a unique intelligence, and the human is something that can support these different intelligences.
The otherness of the hybrid may not be overlooked because of the above analysis; the "listless" hybrids even being a eugenic experiment in removing man's self-destructive, and therefore destructive, impulses...how is a parent to approach them with affection? They seem to point the way ahead for man's spiritual development, and though forced, perhaps that is all the decency we deserve, even according to our spiritual value, if we cannot listen to our dying Earth.
Here's to the Pentagon releasing UFO documents before June 1st this year, and to the next Copernican Revolution, when we find out not only are we not living in the center of the universe, but neither is our intelligence. Here's to the displacement of our intelligence and the unfolding of Indra's Web in the West, to the destruction of false Enlightenments and to the creation of cosmic cooperation.
Rhizomatic creep-spread
And diversity training
With my telepathic wife
Over morning bread.
Ten lotus prayers before
Existential coffee
(The Every New Sunrise).
I've gone,
"That's fine!
Other then you anyway --
Dear, we'll make it."
Who are you again?
December 9, 2024
In "Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens," John E. Mack boldly navigates the controversial terrain of extraterrestrial encounters. Initially met with skepticism, Mack's work now, in 2024, appears visionary against the backdrop of governmental acknowledgment of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
The book delves into the narratives of those who have encountered non-human intelligences (NHI). Each account unfolds with an eerily similar archetype and structure, prompting contemplation: is this a shared mental phenomenon, a spiritual event, or a fusion of both? Mack tantalizingly grazes the surface of these questions.
One intriguing aspect Mack touches on is the "hero’s journey" parallel found in these stories. Are these encounters part of a shared consciousness, or do they draw individuals into a transformative experience? Mack hints at a New Age undertone, a thread that would have benefitted from deeper exploration, especially in dissecting the psychological and spiritual layers.
While the patterned storytelling occasionally dips into monotony, it paradoxically underscores the authenticity of these experiences. The recurring themes, while somewhat repetitive, suggest a broader connective thread—a testament to the phenomenon’s reality on some level.
Overall, "Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens" stands as a pivotal work, a beacon of insight and thoughtful analysis in a fascinating and often-dismissed field. Mack’s commitment to unraveling the complexities of this subject is both commendable and enlightening. An essential read for those intrigued by the intersection of the unknown and the human psyche.
abandonados
February 18, 2025ate o momento o autor nao parece perceber a natureza manipulativa dos supostos alienigenas. fica obvio q o autor acredita na bondade deses seres, apesar de os ``encontros`` conterem abuso sexual, seguido por mensagens na qual o ser fala para o abduzido q ele eh especial, que ele entende mais da natureza, e que aquilo q foi feito Ali eh para o bem maior.
ok, alien, entao pq nao abduzir a POrra do trump ao inves de uma crianca aleatoria ou um desempregado do interior dos eua???
ou esses encontros sao alucinacoes vividas, ou os aliens estao simplesmente fazendo experiments em ratos de laboratorio
ok, alien, entao pq nao abduzir a POrra do trump ao inves de uma crianca aleatoria ou um desempregado do interior dos eua???
ou esses encontros sao alucinacoes vividas, ou os aliens estao simplesmente fazendo experiments em ratos de laboratorio
January 20, 2026
Awful.
Many of the book’s extremely similar anecdotes and interviews blur together, offering little new insight. Protracted and gratuitously graphic sections from interviewees describing their own sexual or domestic abuse detract from the core narrative.
Many of the book’s extremely similar anecdotes and interviews blur together, offering little new insight. Protracted and gratuitously graphic sections from interviewees describing their own sexual or domestic abuse detract from the core narrative.
September 4, 2024
5 stars for the writing of the late Dr John E Mack, not for much of the content on / with his clients. Beginning and end portions with his thoughts were stellar, as well as some of his interspersed commentary in the subjects’ accounts / sessions. Otherwise at times it was harder to get through. RIP
August 21, 2024
DNF out of a sense of not wanting to hurt myself by continuing to read it. And not wanting to soak in other people's misery, as it seems disrespectful.
It started out really good I must say. I'm interested in the paranormal -- for reasons I continually try to understand -- but, unlike some reviewers, I'm not into the "genre" for its "scary" aspects; I can at least theoretically separate the idea of it being pure "entertainment", or really, I find deep conversation on such mysteries as aliens and UFOs, entertaining the way Crime and Punishment is entertaining, because it's an extended discussion.
It goes without saying that the discussion has to be done in a way that is respectful at all times, never salacious. The preface to the book seemed to say that it was going to fit these requirements; and that by no means was what I was necessarily expecting. But it got past the first stage. Mack claims to be interested in going about his investigations in the same manner as me, and he also seemed to understand that it wasn't about whether or not this was "Real" or not, as such terms are not the right ones to discuss trauma or the paranormal. This seems to be something pure "genre" fans just refuse to understand: if it's a book about a mystery, then garsh, where's that darn solushin then??? Someone makes a bold claim, or goes into painful detail on what happened to them, and they're waiting in the wings to say "Gotcha!" with some bit of snark to completely nullify another human being's experience. If you don't believe, or if you read books to be convinced, GFY.
So it was going fine, the first experience, a man, wasn't so bad. It brought up some of the tropes that seem to exist throughout UFO lore, the sense that they're coming here to warn us to change our ways, etc. There was also the alien sex, which for men is, like, totally awesome! But it was the second case, of the woman who had been assaulted by the aliens (cuz turns out alien sex with women is really really fucking terrible), where I started to feel like I shouldn't be listening to this.
The verbatim(?) transcribing of these assaults in themselves feels like a form of assault to the listener or reader (obviously by no means the same, but it isn't positive...). But what crossed the line was the hypnosis. I am very skeptical of hypnosis. Not because I think it isn't real, but largely because I don't trust hypnotists. I don't trust strangers who make people go into trances in order to take suggestions. Have people benefited from it? If they say they have, I believe them. I'm not speaking for everyone or saying it should be banned, I'm saying I don't trust hypnotists, whether they have a degree or work at Harvard or fuck all. Mack fits the gross male doctor who thinks that his degree gives him the right to poke into people's lives with hypnotic suggestion. I didn't trust him going into it. College psychiatrists conducting evil research via hypnosis is a trope in itself! So there was some trust building that needed to happen with Mack. And he failed.
The point of no return was when he started telling his subjects to split their personality and have that separate personality go and do things and then report back. One of these splits was referred to as a "spy". That a Harvard professor couldn't understand the inappropriateness of such connotative language, especially in the subconscious where connotations matter so much more, amounted to me to straight up untrustworthiness. He also kept telling his subjects to "stay with the nervousness" and convinced them to talk about these atrocities even when they said they didn't want to. Denying their consent while being hypnotized. When one of the experiencers related how the aliens wouldn't listen to her consent, I said to myself, "what if you replaced 'alien' with 'Dr Mack'? What would happen?" And it turned out you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Mack sold a lot of books off the backs of normal folks who had been violated. The nature of their abuse belongs to them and I hope they have found a positive way of dealing with it, but ultimately it isn't any of my business. Mack's death in a car accident is sketch AF as well.
I'll always be interested in the topic, but more and more I find that I can't entertain myself at the cost of strangers being abused. Be well, everyone.
It started out really good I must say. I'm interested in the paranormal -- for reasons I continually try to understand -- but, unlike some reviewers, I'm not into the "genre" for its "scary" aspects; I can at least theoretically separate the idea of it being pure "entertainment", or really, I find deep conversation on such mysteries as aliens and UFOs, entertaining the way Crime and Punishment is entertaining, because it's an extended discussion.
It goes without saying that the discussion has to be done in a way that is respectful at all times, never salacious. The preface to the book seemed to say that it was going to fit these requirements; and that by no means was what I was necessarily expecting. But it got past the first stage. Mack claims to be interested in going about his investigations in the same manner as me, and he also seemed to understand that it wasn't about whether or not this was "Real" or not, as such terms are not the right ones to discuss trauma or the paranormal. This seems to be something pure "genre" fans just refuse to understand: if it's a book about a mystery, then garsh, where's that darn solushin then??? Someone makes a bold claim, or goes into painful detail on what happened to them, and they're waiting in the wings to say "Gotcha!" with some bit of snark to completely nullify another human being's experience. If you don't believe, or if you read books to be convinced, GFY.
So it was going fine, the first experience, a man, wasn't so bad. It brought up some of the tropes that seem to exist throughout UFO lore, the sense that they're coming here to warn us to change our ways, etc. There was also the alien sex, which for men is, like, totally awesome! But it was the second case, of the woman who had been assaulted by the aliens (cuz turns out alien sex with women is really really fucking terrible), where I started to feel like I shouldn't be listening to this.
The verbatim(?) transcribing of these assaults in themselves feels like a form of assault to the listener or reader (obviously by no means the same, but it isn't positive...). But what crossed the line was the hypnosis. I am very skeptical of hypnosis. Not because I think it isn't real, but largely because I don't trust hypnotists. I don't trust strangers who make people go into trances in order to take suggestions. Have people benefited from it? If they say they have, I believe them. I'm not speaking for everyone or saying it should be banned, I'm saying I don't trust hypnotists, whether they have a degree or work at Harvard or fuck all. Mack fits the gross male doctor who thinks that his degree gives him the right to poke into people's lives with hypnotic suggestion. I didn't trust him going into it. College psychiatrists conducting evil research via hypnosis is a trope in itself! So there was some trust building that needed to happen with Mack. And he failed.
The point of no return was when he started telling his subjects to split their personality and have that separate personality go and do things and then report back. One of these splits was referred to as a "spy". That a Harvard professor couldn't understand the inappropriateness of such connotative language, especially in the subconscious where connotations matter so much more, amounted to me to straight up untrustworthiness. He also kept telling his subjects to "stay with the nervousness" and convinced them to talk about these atrocities even when they said they didn't want to. Denying their consent while being hypnotized. When one of the experiencers related how the aliens wouldn't listen to her consent, I said to myself, "what if you replaced 'alien' with 'Dr Mack'? What would happen?" And it turned out you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Mack sold a lot of books off the backs of normal folks who had been violated. The nature of their abuse belongs to them and I hope they have found a positive way of dealing with it, but ultimately it isn't any of my business. Mack's death in a car accident is sketch AF as well.
I'll always be interested in the topic, but more and more I find that I can't entertain myself at the cost of strangers being abused. Be well, everyone.
Read
September 24, 2019I have high respect for John Mack and thus I leave this book unrated despite the fact that I don’t believe in his conclusion: namely that the “Abduction phenomena” represents a literal interaction between humanity and extraterrestrial intelligence.
I’m skeptical for five main reasons. The first is that there has not been any unequivocal evidence for a single abduction experience- which is something John Mack mentions early on- in the 50+ year history of the phenomena. The second is that with extremely few exceptions the typical abductee, even after “recovering” their memory of the event, cannot describe how they entered the spacecraft where the procedures are subsequently performed on them. The third is that reported abductions are down (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bost...). The fourth is that many of the landmark cases have since been proven hoaxes. The Andreasson Affair was exposed as spousal abuse, Betty Hill’s subsequent career proved that regardless of what happened to her and her husband she was unable to distinguish between a lamppost and a flying saucer (being brutally mocked even within the UFOlogy community), Travis Walton’s famed encounter seems to have been a plot concocted with his brother’s help )https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4094), Stan Romanek (currently in prison for possession of child pornography) seems to equally be a simple charlatan. Finally, my own natural pessimism comes to play. I wish, wish, wish, wish, wish, WISH! that there are three to four feet tall grey skinned humanoids who are extremely technologically advanced and yet wish us well in the universe to warn us of our own folly. But I can’t. Our civilization is totally ready to swan dive off the cliff’s edge purely because we believe that giving the already incredibly rich and selfish more money will eventually make everyone’s life better. There’s no wise old man in space who’s going to save us at the last moment from ourselves.
I’m skeptical for five main reasons. The first is that there has not been any unequivocal evidence for a single abduction experience- which is something John Mack mentions early on- in the 50+ year history of the phenomena. The second is that with extremely few exceptions the typical abductee, even after “recovering” their memory of the event, cannot describe how they entered the spacecraft where the procedures are subsequently performed on them. The third is that reported abductions are down (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bost...). The fourth is that many of the landmark cases have since been proven hoaxes. The Andreasson Affair was exposed as spousal abuse, Betty Hill’s subsequent career proved that regardless of what happened to her and her husband she was unable to distinguish between a lamppost and a flying saucer (being brutally mocked even within the UFOlogy community), Travis Walton’s famed encounter seems to have been a plot concocted with his brother’s help )https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4094), Stan Romanek (currently in prison for possession of child pornography) seems to equally be a simple charlatan. Finally, my own natural pessimism comes to play. I wish, wish, wish, wish, wish, WISH! that there are three to four feet tall grey skinned humanoids who are extremely technologically advanced and yet wish us well in the universe to warn us of our own folly. But I can’t. Our civilization is totally ready to swan dive off the cliff’s edge purely because we believe that giving the already incredibly rich and selfish more money will eventually make everyone’s life better. There’s no wise old man in space who’s going to save us at the last moment from ourselves.
January 21, 2015
I started reading this book mainly because I read Whitley Strieber's Communion and it was one of the scariest books I have ever read, but also because I am fascinated with the idea of aliens.
At first, I thought I was going to enjoy this book thoroughly when it talks about how aliens not only push our perception of what is real, but it starts off fairly terrifying because of the factual and scientific data that is presented. You feel a lack of control and that you are going to be visited by aliens tonight, if you haven't been already in your life.
But then you start reading more and more cases. All the cases become extremely similar, and they begin to melt into each other. There are few details that vary and you become desensitized to what is happening, and you stop caring. The cases lose their impact. It's way too repetitious. The parts that could be interesting or scary, are glossed over with too little detail given. While Communion goes over all the gruesome and frightening details while building suspense, this book just doesn't deliver the same thrills and instead becomes boring.
Of course, this book is meant to be more factual and documenting. It is from a psychologist's view point, and of someone who is trying to help victims. Communion on the other hand seems to be more of a story, almost fiction besides the fact that it is toted as being factual. Reading the intro and the first couple of cases, would have been more than enough and I wish I would have stopped there rather than continuing on for the rest of the almost 500 pages.
At first, I thought I was going to enjoy this book thoroughly when it talks about how aliens not only push our perception of what is real, but it starts off fairly terrifying because of the factual and scientific data that is presented. You feel a lack of control and that you are going to be visited by aliens tonight, if you haven't been already in your life.
But then you start reading more and more cases. All the cases become extremely similar, and they begin to melt into each other. There are few details that vary and you become desensitized to what is happening, and you stop caring. The cases lose their impact. It's way too repetitious. The parts that could be interesting or scary, are glossed over with too little detail given. While Communion goes over all the gruesome and frightening details while building suspense, this book just doesn't deliver the same thrills and instead becomes boring.
Of course, this book is meant to be more factual and documenting. It is from a psychologist's view point, and of someone who is trying to help victims. Communion on the other hand seems to be more of a story, almost fiction besides the fact that it is toted as being factual. Reading the intro and the first couple of cases, would have been more than enough and I wish I would have stopped there rather than continuing on for the rest of the almost 500 pages.
April 12, 2023
Had higher hopes. Mack doesn't possess, or perhaps overlooks what the general public finds tasteful enough to take seriously. This book could have gotten greater buzz in larger circles if more direction & attention was given. RIP Mack, you wrote the best of these abduction analysis books. Perhaps given more time and filtering things could have gotten really, REALLY interesting.
April 25, 2007
This is not a fictional book. It is a collection of stories from the files of a psychiatrist who has specialized in working with those who claim they have been abducted by aliens.
They are fascinating stories. What is most fascinating is that their stories are so similar, though how they "interpret" their experiences are dissimilar.
As a psychiatrist, John Mack feels that such people need to be treated carefully, not because they are dangerous people, but because they need to be able to tell their stories and integrate their experience so they can "go on."
I won't tell you what Mack's position is, nor the details of the stories, but it is a fascinating read.
My thoughts are, "what in society is causing people to have these experiences? What is out of balance that needs to be brought into balance in our society." No, I don't believe in aliens, therefore I don't believe in abductions, but what is "abducting these people's imaginations?"
They are fascinating stories. What is most fascinating is that their stories are so similar, though how they "interpret" their experiences are dissimilar.
As a psychiatrist, John Mack feels that such people need to be treated carefully, not because they are dangerous people, but because they need to be able to tell their stories and integrate their experience so they can "go on."
I won't tell you what Mack's position is, nor the details of the stories, but it is a fascinating read.
My thoughts are, "what in society is causing people to have these experiences? What is out of balance that needs to be brought into balance in our society." No, I don't believe in aliens, therefore I don't believe in abductions, but what is "abducting these people's imaginations?"
June 26, 2017
This book is well structured, competently written, but full of self contradictions.
Mack seemed to think that it was possible to distort a readers perception of his own "evidence" in the way he claimed that supposed "aliens" could distort perception of time, space and everything else. Those who "believe" already will fall for this but it doesn't stand up to sceptical scrutiny.
I nonetheless recommend this to anyone with an undecided mind or who is sceptical, to read with a "one step back" attitude, weighing up what Macks "experiencers" are quoted as saying, what he says this "proves" and the general inconsistancies between the two.
Read this book critically and you will discover that it dispels any notion that the events alleged "really" occurred. The inconsistancies in the "facts" (if we take them at face value) and interpretations are too numerous and too large.
Mack seemed to think that it was possible to distort a readers perception of his own "evidence" in the way he claimed that supposed "aliens" could distort perception of time, space and everything else. Those who "believe" already will fall for this but it doesn't stand up to sceptical scrutiny.
I nonetheless recommend this to anyone with an undecided mind or who is sceptical, to read with a "one step back" attitude, weighing up what Macks "experiencers" are quoted as saying, what he says this "proves" and the general inconsistancies between the two.
Read this book critically and you will discover that it dispels any notion that the events alleged "really" occurred. The inconsistancies in the "facts" (if we take them at face value) and interpretations are too numerous and too large.
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