Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference Held at M.I.T. Cambridge, Ma. [Textbook Binding]

Abduction Study Conference (Author), David Pritchard (Author), Andrea Pritchard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995 | ISBN-10: 0964491702 | ISBN-13: 978-0964491700

The Abduction Study Conference, held at MIT, is the best scientific conference ever convened on abductions. Alien Discussions, the resulting proceedings, provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary introduction and research report on the abduction phenomenon.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Whatever the cause, hundreds of people--perhaps thousands--around the world are recounting strange and vivid experiences of being abducted and medically examined by seemingly alien beings in unearthly surroundings. This volume contains the papers presented at a conference on UFO abduction experiences held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, June 13^-17, 1992. The scientists and researchers who presented the 118 papers examined the medical and physical evidence and offered their personal perspectives on this complex phenomenon. Especially interesting are reports of alleged bodily implants and the varied theories that might account for those experiences. Selected papers include "The Influence of Investigators on UFO Abduction Reports" (Thomas E. Bullard, Indiana University); "Hypnosis and Accuracy of Abduction Memory" (Stuart Appelle, SUNY-Brockport); "Physical Evidence and Abductions" (David Pritchard, MIT); "Religious Perspective of Stories: Contactee to Abductee" (J. Gordon Melton, UC^-Santa Barbara); and "Psychosocial Characteristics of Abductees" (Mark Rodeghier, University of Illinois at Chicago). The unabridged questions and comments of conference participants that followed the presentations are also reprinted. George Eberhart

Review

"Many years down the road, it (Alien Discussions) may well be looked at as one of the pioneering volumes that started the work that eventually led to the solution of this mystery." -- Gordon Stein of the Skeptical Inquirer, Sept/Oct 1995

"The faults of this book are endemic faults of the abductionist college... Nonetheless, Alien Discussions is an indispensable book for anyone interested in abduction claims, whoever is really making them." -- Peter Bookersmith for Fortean Times from London, Aug/Sept 1995

"This is one of the best books ever published on a UFO-related subject and will be considered one of the essential works in the literature. It's a real landmark in the serious study of the phenomenon." -- Jerome Clark: Ed. International UFO Reporter, UFO encyclopedia author

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Product Details

• Textbook Binding: 683 pages
• Publisher: North Cambridge Pr (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964491702
• ISBN-13: 978-0964491700
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,313,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE comprehensize guide to the abduction phenomonon, March 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference Held at M.I.T. Cambridge, Ma. (Textbook Binding)

This edited volume is undobtedly THE comprehensive guide to the alien abduction phenomenon. It includes arguments for the both sides of the debate, all of which are presented by knowledgable, educated persons. This is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the subject matter. The volume includes all proceedings of the discussion, including graphs and charts shown: nothing is left out. An edited/abriged version of this volume is available from a diffrent publisher--aviod it. The abridged versiion, though it may be an eisier, faster read, is FAR inferior to this complete text.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Necessary reading, December 2, 2008

By 

Abyssal (WV, USA, North America, Earth, Sol System, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference Held at M.I.T. Cambridge, Ma. (Textbook Binding)

I'm not well read in this field, but the coverage was pretty good and lots of hard statistical data were presented. Skeptics' ideas were given fair hearing and evidence inconsistent with paranormal and conspiratorial interpretations of the phenomenon were also presented. By far not a perfect volume, but the best I've encountered. Certainly more accurate, thorough and even handed than any "skeptical" treatment of the subject.

An appendix of a sampling of abductee accounts would have been neat. And sometimes references are made to symposium content that didn't make it into the book, but over all pretty well. Good enough that I would call it "necessary reading" for anyone interested in the phenomenon regardless if they're a believer, skeptic, or just curious.

5.0 out of 5 stars The most important conference on the abduction issue to date: indispensable for the serious researcher, December 4, 2010

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Archer Books "Archer Books" (Dubai UAE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference Held at M.I.T. Cambridge, Ma. (Textbook Binding)

This 680-page double-columned hardcover tome is the complete proceedings of the Study Conference on the Alien Abduction phenomenon held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology between June 13 & 17, 1992. This remains, to date, the largest conference on this subject ever organised globally, and virtually every serious academic involved in researching the abduction issue at the time attended and participated.

The conference was chaired by Professor David E. Pritchard (PhD Physics) of MIT and co-chaired by Professor John Mack (MD) of Harvard University Medical School. Participants included specialists from multiple academic disciplines: physics, biology, psychiatry, medicine, astronomy, history and sociology among them. The 54 academic participants and speakers included (in addition to Professors Pritchard & Mack): Jerome Clark, Stuart Appelle, Col John Alexander (a real surprise), Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs , John Carpenter, Joe Nyman, Walter Webb, Michael Swords, Mark Rodeghier, folklorist Thomas "Eddie" Bullard, hypno-therapist Yvonne Smith, Richard Haines, Don Donderi, Michael Papagiannis, optical physicist Bruce Maccabee and many others.

In 118 academic papers, just about every aspect of the abduction phenomenon is investigated and discussed. The book contains a mass of data: tables, graphs, charts and drawings; full transcriptions of the presentations, lectures, seminars and round-table discussions. The testimonies of abductee-participants are also transcribed in full.

It must have been a substantial enterprise to bring it all together, and credit goes to Andrea Pritchard, Pam Kasey and Claudia Yapp for taking on the editing job and producing such a fine result.

Much can be learned from reading this book, but don't expect easy answers: it's an ordered collection of the research and resulting discussions between every serious academic investigating this subject in 1992, so there are differing and wide-ranging perspectives.

If you have more than a casual interest in this subject and want a substantial academic overview from different perspectives then this volume is indispensable. A good copy will cost you dear, and take up some shelf space; but it's worth it.