From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Sun May 19 2002 - 15:48:10 MDT
Text dump of PDF document: < http://198.63.56.18/pdf/vallee.pdf >
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Book reviews
(References and notes at the end of Part 2)
Jacques F. Vallee
November 2000
1. UFOs & Abductions, collective work edited by David M. Jacobs. Lawrence,
KS: Univ. Press of Kansas, 2000. Hardcover, 382 pages.
At the time when the editors of JSE suggested that I review UFOs &
Abductions I was absorbed in reading professor Couliano's book Out of
this World. I was struck by the parallels between the subject matter of
these two equally serious works, and even more by the fact that they were
written for two communities of researchers working in almost complete
disregard – and indeed, frequent disdain – of each other. What this
alienation says about our supposed age of openness in research and
increasing interdisciplinary debate in academia is a fascinating question
best left for the sociologist or the historian of science. Whatever its
cause, I hope to highlight the fact that it is deplorable.
A neglected field of research
The reluctance of academic scholars to become involved in the study of
UFOs and abductions is a central theme of the collective work edited by
David Jacobs. He makes it clear that this study "can easily encompass the
entire breadth of intellectual inquiry." With contributors as qualified
as Stuart Appelle for his overview of academic attitudes towards the
phenomenon, Ron Westrum for his analysis of the formative years of the
research, Don Donderi for its legal, scientific and military framework,
Michael Swords and Jerome Clark for the early UFO age and Thomas Bullard
for the mythical backdrop of the reports, UFOs & Abductions opens with a
welcome diversity of viewpoints that underlines the relevance of the
subject to many disciplines. These sections serve as an introduction to
the meat of the book, written by three authors who have been intensely
involved in investigations and theories of abduction events, namely David
Jacobs, himself the author of a classic historical study and two earlier
abduction books: Secret Life (1) and The Threat (2), Budd Hopkins and John
Mack. Following their contributions, Michael Persinger offers a
contrasting statement from the point of view of neurological research.
David Jacobs closes with suggestions for future research that bring the
reader back to his central theme, emphasizing "the existence of a
potentially important phenomenon" while recognizing that "the present
volume displays some of the deep divisions in UFO and abduction
research." Although the knowledgeable ufologist is unlikely to find
anything really new in this compilation (the contributors are widely
published and are not reporting here on any novel research) its strength
lies in the fact that, as a summary of the extant literature, it
highlights mysteries that are indeed begging for scientific scrutiny.
...See PDF document above...
--
Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, [Cochise County] Arizona (USA)
Primary: < fortean1@mindspring.com >
Alternate: < terry_colvin@hotmail.com >
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