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Alien Identities : Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena [Paperback]

Richard L. Thompson
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 1995
This is the intelligent fair and logical examination of modern UFO phenomena that countless readers have been looking for written by a renowned scientist and philosopher. also explores possible UFO incidents recounted in the the ancient Vedic DESCRIPTIONs of flying craft floating cities cosmic battles and other wonders. It examines the extraordinary and the extraterrestrial in European folk tales and looks at religious reports of miraculous visitations particularly the 1917 apparition at Fatima Portugal bringing fresh and convincing insights into the identity and purposes of UFO visitors throughout the centuries.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Alien Identities is absolutely seminal, a real ground breaker...A "must-read" addition to the field." -- Whitley Strieber, author of Communion and many other UFO books

"...stimulating, well organized, and an encyclopedic smorgasbord of UFO data and ancient Indian counterparts...stands to become a classic." -- Berthold Schwarz, M.D., psychiatrist and author of UFO Dynamics

"A Summa Ufologica of great importance...Thompon has written perhaps the most honest UFO book extant in the English language." -- Gnosis magazine

About the Author

Richard L. Thompson was born in Binghampton, New York, in 1947. In 1974 he received his Ph. D. in mathematics from Cornell University, where he specialized in probability theory and statistical mechanics.

Dr. Thompson has done scientific research in quantum physics, mathematical biology, and remote sensing. He has extensively investigated ancient Indian astronomy, cosmology, and spirituality, and he has developed multimedia expositions on these topics. He is the author of six books on topics ranging from consciousness to archeology and ancient astronomy.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Govardhan Hill Pub; 2 Revised edition (September 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0963530941
  • ISBN-13: 978-0963530943
  • Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
(13)
4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars If you want good information that reads very well........ September 13, 2000
Format:Paperback
I have a master's degree from Yale in Religion (for what it's worth)and I spent lots of what I feel is unbiased, level-headed rational time investigating religious phenomena, origins of humankind, ancient history, religion and the nature of living things. I have no bias in any particular religious or scientific direction. I have tried to be open to all possibilities regarding extraterrestrial phenomena and possible connections with ancient known and unknown cultures.

This is a good book. It is good reading. No matter what your persuasion, anyone could read this with skepticism or gullibility and feel that information is presented in an unbiased and scientific manner. That is what I like about it -- not to mention the potentially profound revelations concerning Vadic material and other text. When I ordered this book, I had to wait for it. In the meantime I bought 4 others referenced as "related" and none held a candle to this one. THIS IS A GOOD BOOK. Go get it if you have any interest in understanding or contemplating possibilities regarding ancient cultures and human origins.

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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, but covers too much January 1, 1999
Format:Paperback
This book is a fascinating comparison of modern UFO phenomena with similar phenomena recorded in the Vedic texts of Ancient India. Unfortunately, the author tries to cover too much in one volume.

The first half of the book contains an excellent summary of modern UFO and related phenomena. In the second half of the book, Mr. Thompson uses his tremendous knowledge of ancient Vedic texts and shows similarities between the two. Unfortunately, in an effort to bolster his arguments, he adds in Celtic folklore and mythology plus the 1917 events in Fatima, Portugal. It felt like he didn't have enough room to fully flesh out his hypotheses.

If this book is to be updated for a 3rd addition, I strongly recommend that a glossary be added. In the second half of the book, the author repeatedly refers to the various types of entities refered to within the ancient Indian literature and I had trouble keeping them straight. Also, many of the deities could be refered to by multiple names and it became confusing when a particular deity would be refered to by 2 different names within consecutive pages (for example a Christian might refer to Jesus as Jesus Christ or Son of God, etc.).

This is a fascinating book, and I think that Mr. Thompson has a very interesting point to make. I recommend this book to people interested in possible connections between the modern UFO phenomena and ancient mythology and folklore. However, if you are unfamiliar with ancient Indian mythology, I recommend that you keep your own glossary as you read through the 2nd half of the book.

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars EXPLAINS A LOT ABOUT UFO BEHAVIOR January 7, 2006
Format:Paperback
The strange tales of lights in the sky moving in seemingly-impossible ways, craft that land and leave marks on the ground, abductions by odd-looking humanoids, animal mutilations and all the other stories associated with UFOs are largely ignored by the media and by academic scholars. Since there is no explanation for them that fits our current knowledge of how the universe works, people who want to avoid being ridiculed tend to pretend these things don't exist. Some brave souls have tackled the problem and offered "explanations" that may fit some of the tales -- those involved are hallucinating, making it up, or have seen meteors, the moon, ball lightening, or swamp gas.

Others who say these phenomena are produced by alien beings from other planets find themselves on the fringe of respectability and some have lost their academic positions because they took the abduction stories seriously (Dr. John Mack is one such). But now comes Richard L. Thompson to offer another view of these weird happenings. I'm an admirer of Thompson's work on a favorite book, Forbidden Archeology, and I've also read a lot of the same books he uses as sources for Alien Identities. Here, Thompson makes parallels between what happens to those involved with UFOs (sightings and contact) and stories from Indian Vedic sources, both ancient and modern.

I find these comparisons compelling, but also found it difficult to keep track of the various Vedic books and concepts he discusses. The Vedic sources, many going back thousands of years, are largely unknown in mainstream US society.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A down to earth context for out of this world ideas. December 29, 2004
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of the difficulties in the 'UFOlogy' field is that there are plenty of offbeat accounts, and in some cases evidence but mostly in pieces, or without context, or with potential other explanations. (There is more than most people are aware of, though.)

Authors such as Dr. Jacques Vallee have given interesting historical overviews of UFO lore. Of course, all these accounts are 'accounts' and 'Lore', they are not scientific evidence, but since these experiences don't seem to happen on command inside a science lab, this may account for that problem. The fact that the surgeon general has not yet made a ruling about the existence or effect of UFOs or 'experiences' potentially related, will not change whether they or the experiences exist.

ALIEN IDENTITIES is a book title I cringe to give to people and consider an embarrassment to the content. Consider it was written when such a title (not to mention Streiber as an intro) were apparently considered a hot sell and hence the publisher promo. The CONTENT of the book has a calm, fair, respectability in its own fashion that belies the assumption and hype of the title.

This book is a great introduction for people new to the subject. The first half is a recount of documented Vedic history, which is part and parcel of their religion. The second half is a recount of documented recent history--accounts in the UFOlogy field. Which, like religious history, are equally tenuous and unprovable.

However, when you read the detail from the historical accounts, and then you read the detail of claims from the last half century, the parallel is more than just striking.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars In the Realm of Shining Devas
Alien Identites: Ancient Insight into Modern UFO phenomenon, is without a doubt, my favorite book of all time, there are so many wonderful things I have to say about this book, I... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Scrimshaw
4.0 out of 5 stars Hare Krishna in outer space
I admit that "Alien identities" is a strangely fascinating book.

The author, Richard L. Thompson, is actually a member of the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON), where he is... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Ashtar Command
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating
this book is highly recommended to all like me who are irresistibly drawn to the ufo subject, extremely informative,well written and I found the chapters on the ancient Vedanta... Read more
Published on March 3, 2010 by timothy mulvey
5.0 out of 5 stars A balanced Account
This is one of the best books dealing with the subject of UFOs I have read. The author has a very sober and balanced account of the subject. Read more
Published on February 13, 2009 by Robert N. Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most brilliant books I have read!
Very well-researched and insightful work by Dr. Thompson! I have read this gem of a book from cover to cover not once but thrice - undoubtedly one of the most original ufological... Read more
Published on January 21, 2004 by Vik Ramsoondur
4.0 out of 5 stars Vimanas
I always found it very interesting how ancient writings, in this case ancient Indian texts descibing flying machines dating back to 3000B.C. Read more
Published on January 4, 2002 by "titan2160"
1.0 out of 5 stars I Don't Know why I Bought This
I guess I thought I was going to get an intelligent book about the subject of extraterrestrial contact in ancient India. Read more
Published on June 17, 2001 by K. R. Findlay
5.0 out of 5 stars UFO Paralells
I was not only impressed with Alien Identities, I literally could not put it down. As a Phd. I have a skepticism toward UFO reports but R. Read more
Published on January 25, 2001 by scott mcgregor
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating on all levels
The first half is especially good. In the second a purely exoteric examination of vedic mythology, one of the most detailed systems in history, reveals explicit descriptions of... Read more
Published on October 28, 1997 by aztecpriest@msn.com
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