bakudreamer's review against another edition
I just read the first third and skipped over most of the case studies. That was disturbing enough.
lora_h's review against another edition
5.0
John E. Mack, psychiatrist, professor at Harvard Medical School, Pulitzer prize winning biographer, writes about the spiritual transformation of people who've experienced what is usually known as alien abduction.
With no axe to grind, John Mack looked at a phenomenon that other scientific minds judged rather than researched. Mack draws few conclusions, although he appears to believe the accounts given to him. His main focus is relating & examining the experience of the human psyche when it comes in contact with the unimaginable, how that experience is processed & continues to affect that person's existence. For anyone interested in spirituality, psychology, sociology or how the mind copes, read this book. It'll get you thinking not so much about aliens, but about human emotional capabilities.
With no axe to grind, John Mack looked at a phenomenon that other scientific minds judged rather than researched. Mack draws few conclusions, although he appears to believe the accounts given to him. His main focus is relating & examining the experience of the human psyche when it comes in contact with the unimaginable, how that experience is processed & continues to affect that person's existence. For anyone interested in spirituality, psychology, sociology or how the mind copes, read this book. It'll get you thinking not so much about aliens, but about human emotional capabilities.
monroev1225's review against another edition
2.0
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.
chalicotherex's review against another edition
3.0
I used to have an intense fear of aliens as a kid. The Grey aliens scared the shit out of me. I was obsessed with them. I can't say I believe in them as a thing that exists, but this book brought the fear out in me. Reminded me of being a kid and having nightmares about aliens walking around my room examining things as I slept, with Hitler crouching in the window and holding a knife between his teeth.
theneverendingtbr's review
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
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.
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