Regardless, the focus of the book is on the experiencers themselves, not the phenomenon, and how their experiences effected their lives - their world-views, their physical, psychological, and emotional states. I think other hypotheses should have been discussed more in-depth as well, specifically the inter-dimensional hypothesis proposed by Jacques Vallee, who would have been another good example of a well-known, trained scientist that takes the subject seriously to include in the book, and who is someone that has also made significant contributions to the study of UFOs and the abduction phenomenon for decades. The book does not attempt to prove any specific theory of the phenomenon, although Ryan does seem to focus on the extraterrestrial hypothesis in the book (which is, of course, not the only hypothesis of the intelligence behind the phenomenon) particularly in his chapter about the attitude that science tends to have about this subject, and what some scientists are doing now to try and discover more about it. The combination of journalistic and narrative style is immersive and easy to read - I really liked how he never took a conclusive position on the nature, agenda, or purpose of the phenomenon (aside from concluding the phenomenon is real) but simply reported the experiences of those he interviewed. *This review was originally posted in my personal website. This book had none that I could find, and this detail tells me quite a bit about the attention to detail and the care and respect with which Ryan wrote this book. This is not snobishness I write typos like the best of them, but when I notice them while reading (and I *do* notice) it breaks my flow and distracts me. I never got impatient as in ".ok, let's get to it!" My second point is that book typos distract me. It has exactly the right amount of background as a preamble of each story. Two minor points that are very important to me. I suspect that if you like these topics, this book will be a welcome break from the cold analysis and interpretation of research data. The author also treats each case with respect and compassion, which is the way it should be. This second edition pleasantly surprised me, not only for the extra material and the follow up on some witnesses, but also for the immediacy of some of his stories in light of the admission of the US military that there's something flying out there, and that they do not (apparently) know what it is. There's very few books that discuss the human perspective of the phenomenon. I liked the first edition, but it was much shorter and left me wanting for more without a place to look for it. In all honesty, I enjoyed reading this book more than I thought I would. And to someone who has gone through something unexplained, these experiences are as real as they come, independently of the objective reality of whatever happened. You see, a debunker can try to dismantle a sighting or experience with some degree of success, but no debunker is able to touch upon what the experience meant to the person, as in the oftentimes used phrase "nobody can take it away from them". Sprague is on the effects of these experiences on the people who go though them. And this is the strongest attribute of this book, as the focus of Mr. It only covers UAP sightings in the most general way. Sprague on social media, we have common friends, and I admire him and consider him one of the most honest and objective researchers of these phenomena. That said, I have different "skeptic scales" depending on the topic, and as any true scientist, I try not to reach to conclusions without looking at the data. #2: I am *very* skeptical by temperament, profession, and training. Full disclosure #1: I am very interested in these topics (cryptozoology, forteana, UAPs, etc.).
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