'Aliens' gets behind the conspiracy theories and folklore and holds up a mirror to our culture
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Appleyard always has interesting things to say - and this book is no exception. Full of insights and the fruit of extensive research, I learned a lot. He approaches this contentious subject with seriousness and fairness. As he says at the start, 'Both derisive scepticism and abject faith will obstruct understanding'. Neatly divided into two sections, starting with 'Answers', followed by 'Questions', particularly helpful were his explanations of why Alien sightings and abductions really took off after 1947.
But most telling were the frequent observations about what such cultural obsessions (whether in movies, conspiracy theories or common folklore) reveal about us - in a world that is post-God, post-modern and post-pretty much everything, aliens restore a sense of the 'other' and transcendent.
A Brilliant book written with wit and passion but also sanity and insight - I couldn't put it down.
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Why people THINK aliens are here
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This is a brilliant, thought-provoking book about the way human beings look at the unknown. Appleyard talks about past phantoms like fairies, unusual Medieval 'sightings', theories about ancient artefacts like the Pyramids, the need for human minds to explain phenomena, the need for science to dismiss 'speculation', the need for religion to 'square' reality with belief and the nature of perception. Every page is thought-provoking a serious and profound study of the nature of 'alien watching' peppered with chapter and verse plus examples of sci fi stereotypes that have shaped our thinking.
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Excellent
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This is a fascinating take on the alien phenomenon as something which, whether real or not, gives us an insight into who we are and what our aspirations are as humans. Appleyard writes both lucid and dense prose covering literature, film and science, dissolving the boundaries between fact and fiction for the purposes of his very convincing argument. For that reason, you don't really have to believe in ufos, abductions etc. to enjoy this book. It's more about what these experiences/fantasies tell us about ourselves.
Only one quibble. He may not have had much say in this but I think the title could have been less geeky-sounding - I nearly didn't buy it because of that and the cover. The whole package seems frivolous but inside is a treatment that is very serious, very intellectual, quite challenging and fired by an intense personal interest.
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