Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: A Reporter's Notebook on Alien Abduction, UFOs, and the Conference at M.I.T. [Paperback]

C. D. B. Bryan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Recounts the cases presented at the conference on UFOs held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992, in which ordinary men and women reported being taken aboard extraterrestrial spacecraft and examined by aliens. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Inspired perhaps by this summer's blockbuster film adaptation of Carl Sagan's Contact, a handful of nonfiction works have been reissued, all of which explore the possibility that we are not alone. C.D.B. Bryan's Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind--an engrossing work written for those skeptical about extraterrestrial visitors--is a compilation of testimonials and interviews about alien abductions. Bryan's sources, interviewed at a five-day academic conference held at M.I.T., include psychiatrists, researchers, science writers, "ufologists," and abductees, including John Mack, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard and author of Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens. In addition, Close Encounters includes transcripts from hypnotherapy sessions with self-described "abductees." Bryan, journalist and author of Friendly Fire (1976), blends a reporter's objectivity with great compassion for the traumatized victims of these mysterious and horrific violations.

From Publishers Weekly

Bryan (Friendly Fire) brings top-notch reporting skills to this open-minded account of a five-day conference on UFO abductions held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992. Many of the purported abductees, who spoke at the symposium and in subsequent interviews with Bryan, tell of being floated aboard spacecraft by gray, four-foot-tall creatures with big heads who subjected them to clinical examinations. Bryan believes in the abductees' sincerity but remains undecided whether such experiences are encounters with nuts-and-bolts craft and real aliens, disturbances of the collective unconscious or something else. Among the ufology heavyweights attending the conference were bestselling abduction researchers Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs, who believe aliens are conducting an ongoing breeding experiment with humans; Harvard psychiatrist John Mack (Abduction), who emphasizes that close encounters often involve personal transformation and growth; folklorist Thomas Bullard; and Sacramento psychologist Richard Boylan, who divulges his own recent encounter with three "interdimensional" beings in the New Mexico desert. Bryan's thought-provoking report takes us to the frontiers of current UFO research and controversy. 50,000 first printing; BOMC and QPB selections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140195270
• ISBN-13: 978-0140195279
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,070,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you up late at night!, May 30, 2002

By 

J. Sykes (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: A Reporter's Notebook on Alien Abduction, UFOs, and the Conference at M.I.T. (Paperback)

This book sits in my bookcase as one of my all-time favorites. I've now read it three times, and find it fascinating and mesmerizing each time. And some parts of it really freak me out.

I'm not a UFO-guru, but this book asks the one burning question: "If we are NOT being visited, then what exactly IS going on? Why are people in remote locations of the world, with no desire to achieve fame, reporting the same bizarre experiences?". This book tries to address that.

Educational, yet entertaining. And it does so in an intelligent, well-presented manner which doesn't come across as pushy or hokey.

Highly recommended! Good luck trying to sleep after reading this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive historical overview of a complex subject., August 3, 2006

By 

W. N. Stape "NJ Review Guy" (Bayonne, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Encounters Of The Fourth Kind: Alien Abduction, UFOs, and the Conference at M.I.T. (Hardcover)

C.D.B. Bryan's journalistic report of his attendance at a huge UFO & alien abduction conference in the early 1990's held at M.I.T. is a clearly written and fair minded look at a complicated and often controversial subject.

Despite the fact that most recent polls indicate that the majority of Americans & indeed the world believe "we're not alone", there are many who refuse to accept or are fearful of discussing the alien abduction phenomenon. Similarly, even when UFO enthusiasts come to agreement about various elements within their own community, there are breaks in the ranks in terms of everything from the effective use of hypnotic regression to the incredibly disturbing notion of alien/human hybrids being harvested.

It can all be dizzyingly confusing and even discouraging for the newly interested and so Bryan's book remains one of the more well organized and objective treatments on the subject. The author never tries to sway the reader in any direction. He stays steadfast to his job of reporting what he saw and trying to make some sense of it without being judgmental or partial to a particular mindset.

In-depth, informative, solidly entertaining and yes at times even patently unbelievable, but it's never boring nor a waste of your time. This would be a great starting point for the novice researcher and a great reference book for the seasoned UFO devotee. I subtracted one star for lack of photos, since a few photos of conference participants would have been a welcome addition and personal touch to this otherwise excellent book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where do we come in?, July 8, 2005

By 

Wade "Wł" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Close Encounters Of The Fourth Kind: Alien Abduction, UFOs, and the Conference at M.I.T. (Hardcover)

This book added to my suspician of a government cover up, opened the pandoras box to Alien abduction, government cover-up, military technology, Similarities between everyone abductee. Theories on all of this and more kept me reading this book cover to cover. Skeptics that want to remain skeptical should not read this book. If you have a closed mind but dont want it to be pried open do not read this book. However anyone else should definitely pick up a copy. Every question I had became answered and questions I never asked were asked and answered. It blows your mind at what could be and what is going on out there. With the help of this book I have come to believe that the government is hostile toward whatever it is that IS out there. We had no part in deciding their welcome, who knows what is to come.