Close Encounters Of The Fourth Kind

A Reporter's Notebook on Alien Abduction, UFOS, and the Conference at MIT Alien abduction is hardly the usual topic for a scientific conference, yet in 1992 just such a conference was held at MIT. Respected journalist C D B Bryan had serious doubts about UFO encounters , but decided to attend with an open mind. This startling and thought-provoking book is the result. Fascinating - compelling, terrifying, haunting, yet entirely rational' - The Baltimore Sun'

Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: cases in which personal contact between an individual or individuals is initiated by the “occupants” of the spacecraft. Such contact may involve the transportation of the individual from his or her terrestrial surroundings into the spacecraft, where the individual is communicated with and/or subjected to an examination before being returned. One might expect that a “scientific conference” devoted to people who have reported being kidnapped by “little green men” would be dismissed out of hand. But C.D.B. Bryan, the greatly admired journalist and author of Friendly Fire, did not dismiss it: the conference was to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and would have as its chairmen a Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard psychiatry professor and a professor of physics from M.I.T. Bryan attended the conference throughout its five days. He approached the subject with no prior stand, no agenda, and an open (if slightly skeptical) mind. As the conference progressed, he was astonished by the quality of the stories told by the hundreds of men and women who came forward hesitantly and reluctantly with their utterly amazing—and utterly convincing—accounts of having been abducted and then examined aboard extraterrestrial spacecraft by spindly limbed, telepathic gray creatures with outsized foreheads dominated by huge, compelling, tear-shaped black eyes. What most astonished Bryan were the similarities found again and again in these accounts and the consistency of their details. It is here that the heart of the mystery lies: as the Harvard professor John E. Mack asked at the conference, “If what the abductees are saying isn’t happening to them, then what is?” This question—and the possible answers—are at the center of this richly explicit, serious, and riveting book. Bryan recreates the conference. He interviews ufology’s most prominent psychiatrists, psychologists, hypnotherapists, researchers, physicists, physicians, and folklorists. He interweaves throughout the testimony of the abductees themselves, who tell us their stories in chilling detail. He presents, in depth, the Close Encounter experiences of two women whose stories he tells on the basis of both their spontaneous recollections of the events and their memories that were retrieved through sessions of hypnosis of which Bryan himself was a witness. Finally, Bryan examines the current theories—psychological, psychiatric, medical, parapsychological—that have been put forward by the unconvinced to explain the abduction phenomenon. Are the abductees suffering from some sort of false memory syndrome? . . . a multiple or dissociative personality disorder? . . . Are they fantasy-prone? Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind is a detailed, objective exploration—the most concrete to date—of one of the enduring and amazing mysteries of our time. It is a book that will equally fascinate believers and nonbelievers.

This classic book from the 1990's is re-published here due to popular demand. WITHOUT CONSENT was the first book to concentrate on accounts of alien abduction in the UK and as a result remains a classic of its kind. This unique book takes a close look at the alien abduction experience and treats it in a logical and serious manner. All aspects of the alien abduction phenomena is detailed along with a look at some of the main theories to try and explain these accounts. WITHOUT CONSENT takes an honest look at one of the most controversial areas of UFO research and in the end leaves you the reader to make up your own mind.

This examination of a case of alien abduction “will captivate, bother, intrigue, and even frighten as one . . . contemplates its implications” (Dr. J. Allen Hynek, founder, Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) Reviews). The Andreasson Affair is more than just a classic example of a close encounter. It is—to use the jargon of ufologists—a case of such “high strangeness” that even the most open-minded investigators were at first inclined to dismiss it out of hand. Yet it has become probably the best documented case of its kind to date, the subject of an intensive 12-month investigation conducted for the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) that involved, among other things, the recording of large quantities of testimony given under hypnosis, extensive lie detector testing of witnesses, detailed analysis of corroborative circumstantial evidence, exhaustive comparison with other such accounts, and much more. The Andreasson Affair includes: The most detailed description of any UFO abduction experience. Betty’s precise drawings of her experience. A supporting foreword to the book by astronomer Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Verification of all events associated with Betty’s experience. This new edition contains a new afterword for a new generation “Something extraordinary happened to Betty Andreasson. Maybe she encountered non-human visitors or maybe something even more strange. Whatever the origin of her experience, her immensely powerful story awed me. Its rich and provocative imagery will remain with me forever.” —Whitley Strieber, author of Communion

“Even for nonbelievers, the author’s palpable excitement over the subject matter is endearing and entertaining. Ufologists won’t want to miss this work.” —Foreword Reviews In 1972, American astronomer and ufologist J. Allen Hynek first coined the term “close encounter.” He also identified three types of close encounters with UFOs. Since then, several more types of encounters have been proposed. A close encounter of the fourth kind is an alien abduction. A closer encounter of the fifth kind is voluntary, bilateral contact with an alien species. We are no longer just looking at strange flying objects in the skies; now we are beginning to interact with the actual pilots, crew, and passengers! Do aliens exist? In 2013, one poll showed that nearly half of all Americans (48 percent) believe UFOs may be a sign of extraterrestrial visitation; another found that 10 percent of Americans claim to have actually witnessed an actual UFO; and yet another showed that 2.9 million Americans believe they had actually been abducted by aliens. If aliens exist and are visiting us, we need to talk! Who will speak to them on behalf of planet Earth? Who can translate their intentions—good or evil—toward the human race? How can we learn about their advanced technologies? Can aliens speak human languages? These and even more fascinating questions are all addressed in How to Talk to an Alien. “Nancy du Tertre covers the various considerations involved with extraterrestrial communication, including the use of alien technology, ET linguistics, and the possibility of using telepathy and dreams. Her handbook for the future should be on every thinking person’s bookshelf.” —Jim Marrs, New York Times–bestselling author

A serious, explicit, riveting investigation into the bizarre world of UFOs and alien abduction. At its center is a 5-day UFO conference at MIT, under the chairmanship of a physicist from MIT and a psychiatrist from Harvard. For 5 days a mixed group of delegates asked the questions: Do UFOs exist? Is it possible to believe that aliens have landed on earth and abducted ordinary men and women to experiment on them? Bryan attended the conference and met, interviewed and listened to the testimony of psychiatrists, researchers, hypnotherapists, physicists, and folklorists. Includes the experiences of abductees who came forward to tell their stories in chilling detail.