Amazon.com: Breakthrough: The Next Step (9780061009587): Whitley Strieber: Books

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestselling UFO author and horror novelist Strieber (Communion, Transformation) here recounts his purported ongoing series of alien contacts over the past few years. Abducted in 1987 from his upstate New York cabin by a "visitor," Strieber is taken by UFO to Boulder, Colo., where he holds down his friend Dora Ruffner while her small daughter has her spine hammered by an insectoid alien. In 1993, a male humanoid "visitor" in a white tunic takes up residence with Strieber and his wife, imparting a sense of peace and joy. In other encounters, Strieber takes a jeep ride with a boy and ends up in an alternate universe; the "visitors" stage a journey through Eden; the author slips through the floorboards to enter the body of a human stranger. The aliens' contact with him?and with independent witnesses or contactees cited here?is cloaked in the symbolism of myth, folklore and spirituality. By this account, many who have written to Strieber divulging their UFO-related experiences report meetings with dead relatives. Without giving names or sources, Strieber also describes his involvement in a secret congressional UFO investigation. Fans will be captivated; others will be skeptical or wonder what it all means.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Strieber continues the saga of his encounter with extraterrestrials.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harpercollins (Mm); 1st Harperback Printing edition (June 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 006100958X
ISBN-13: 978-0061009587
Product Dimensions: 1 x 4.5 x 7.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,098,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2051 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult & Paranormal > UFOs
- #10823 in Books > Science & Math > Astronomy & Space Science
- #54449 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality

Would you like to update product info, give feedback on images, or tell us about a lower price?

Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		50%
4 star		22%
3 star		14%
2 star		14%
1 star		0%

See all 14 customer reviews

Share your thoughts with other customers

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Thought provoking & original, but you'll have to concentrate

By Rob UK on October 22, 1999

Format: Mass Market Paperback

From the start, this is an engaging book that captures the reader with an easy writing style and structure. That Strieber is an accomplished author, there is no doubt. This is the first book I have read on the subject of encounters that attempts to plumb the depths of 'why' rather than 'what' and in that respect it is very thought provoking. Strieber has made a commendable effort to present the visitor experience in a new and challenging light, although later in the book, new ideas and philosophies do pop into existence at an alarming rate and can be difficult to follow. On the whole I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to reconcile how the Visitors might fit into New Age thinking, but be warned, you'll have to concentrate hard on the last few chapters.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

Strieber takes the next step and stumbles.

By Chadwick H. Saxelid on June 12, 2003

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Communion told the story of a man confronted with the unkown and struggling to make sense of it. Transformation continued the interior dialogue begun in Communion and, while it helped Mr. Strieber clear up some of his own jumbled memories, it offered his readers no new insights or evidence. Breakthrough: The Next Step however attempts to do just that, but Mr. Strieber's days of being taken seriously ended with this highly subjective attempt to understand just what the Visitors are trying to accomplish with himself and other abductees. Strieber makes a sloppy (and some what disturbing) argument that he is some kind of Chosen One, being granted visions to help enlighten others. The author clearly is attempting to move past being a simple abductee and reinvent himself as a kind of New Age guru. Not helping are the giant spiders in his bedroom and the little bald guys playing piggy-back with him in his New York office. Sadly, despite all the promises of hard evidence he makes, he just trots out the same old tired conspiracy theories and foggy rumors that everyone else does, and offers no concrete sources to fact check quoted statements or theories. In the end, the book is more interesting for its insight into Mr. Strieber's character than for its examination of the abduction phenomena. Best left to the obsessively curious.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

He Lost Me with This One

By M. Broda on September 22, 1998

Format: Mass Market Paperback

"Communion" changed my whole belief system. It was a brilliant, contemplative and credible account of events that may or may not have happened. "Transformation" was interesting but mostly a rehash with a new perspective. This book is where Streiber finally lost me. If he hadn't written this book, I may still be totally convinced by him. When he started this Communion business he was seemed very believably sane, that's what made his story so chilling. I suppose it's possible that it's all true. It' more likely that Streiber is finally losing his mind, maybe the visitors drove him insane, maybe he's simply delusional, or maybe it was a ruse from the beginning. Whatever the case, when I finshed this book, I realized that he had written one book too many on the subject...I didn't buy the next one. but I will read "Communion" again...with a different view of Streiber...and see how it plays now.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Strieber explores himself, and possibly, other realities.

By A Customer on November 15, 1996

Format: Hardcover

Whitley Strieber, in Breakthrough: The Next Step, has once
more accomplished what he largely intended to do with his
other non-ficiton books centering on the UFO/abduction
phenomenon. He has faced his greatest foe, that being his
fear of unknown elements within himself, and has been changed
for the better because of it. Communion and Transformation,
his previous bestsellers based on his encounters with alledged
non-human beings, displays an evolving pattern of his personal
growth in his life and beliefs. While talk of malevolent
aliens abounds in popular UFO literature, Strieber addresses
the issues on a first-person basis and looks beyond the panic
and fear. He speaks of the mental and emotional challenges
which have been thrust upon him by the beings he calls "the
visitors." Further on into the book, he discusses people he
has know who have claimed to have encountered an aspect of
the paranormal, similar to his own. He concludes the book
with thoughts of the intelligence communities involvement
with UFOs and the paranoia which surrounds it. Whether you
believe or not, these "agents of change" are teaching us
more about ourselves.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Whitley lets you know you're not the only one.

By "phanay" on September 12, 2000

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Whitley keeps doing it. With each book, he's bringing me past the fog into an area where answers are that I have been searching for. Each time I think I got it, I try yet another one of his books. Lo and Behold. He did it again. I thought that I had to keep searching for the answers in different areas of the paranormal. But, no, he has them there in his books. Perhaps it is more relevant to other abductees. If you are looking for answers to things that have happened to you. You do need his books. You will find out that things you have experienced and don't want to tell anyone about are really common. He tells of other people's experiences. One of his books, "The Communion Letters," is of many people sending in their experiences to share with him. Enjoy!

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

The Next Step Not An Easy One

By A Customer on October 5, 1997

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Breakthrough could be Whitley Strieber's non-fiction masterpiece. Breathtaking. I did not think he could top Transformation, but Strieber has indeed collected his thoughts on the subject of aliens, god, and death. Strieber does not give any answers, nor does he come to any definate conclusions about the whole ufo-phenomenon. However, he offers insightful theories of the what-ifs. Even if you do not believe, or do not want to believe, reading Breakthrough will definately make you think. It is about life and humanity more than it is about alien abduction. It is about valuing what is, and also what could be. Whitley Strieber has been through a lot since he first published Communion. It is not easy being in the spotlight of skeptics. But even if you are a skeptic, read Breakthrough and ask yourselves: Even if there is no such thing as a "visitor," how can I use the metaphor to make my life better? Indeed, whether it is from truth or from metaphor, there is a message.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?