Ufo Abductions: A Dangerous Game (Paperback)

by Philip J. Klass (Author) "It was the third week of September 1966, and the "UFO Era" was almost 20 years old, when the October 4 issue of Look magazine..." (more)
Key Phrases: superficial physical examination, regressive hypnosis, abduction tale, New York, Betty Hill, Budd Hopkins (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"... Klass does deflate, with very sensible investigative work, the most celebrated abduction cases, such as the Hills and the Travis Walton case, and he applies the same penetrating blade to Budd Hopkins' and Whitley Strieber's work. The criticism of the procedures of hypnotic regression and recovery of forgotten experiences is especially telling ..." - Inner Journeys

Product Description
Some say they have been abducted and subjected to terrifying physical examinations. Others claim that young children have been kidnapped and returned only after the removal of flesh samples. Still others allege that women have been kidnapped and impregnated, the unborn children later removed for a vast cross-breeding experiment. These crimes against humanity are not perpetuated by an international terrorist organisation. The 'abductees' assert that they have been kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings. UFO abduction claims have spawned a veritable cottage industry, providing the fodder for an explosion of magazine articles, television interviews, newspaper features, best-selling books, and movies. Somewhere beyond all the tumult lies the truth. Dedicated to 'those who will needlessly bear mental scars because of the foolish fantasies of a few', "UFO Abductions" lifts the shroud of mystery from the invisible epidemic of UFO abduction claims. Philip J Klass, an internationally recognised sceptical authority on the subject of UFO reports, traces the history of these claims, from the celebrated Betty and Barney Hill case in 1966 to the extraordinary tales which are surfacing today. His response to these claims and the answers he provides are both absorbing and factual - a fascinating glimpse into an American subculture obsessed with visitors from outer space.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; Updated edition (March 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879755091
• ISBN-13: 978-0879755096
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,128,019 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the few alien abduction books worth reading., July 13, 1999

By	Michael Bulger (Rochester, NY, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In this book, Philip Klass deals with the phenomenon of "alien abductions"--that is, the by-now widely known instances in which individuals, often with the aid of hypnosis, recall being taken by aliens aboard spacecraft and subjected to biological experiments. Klass deals thoroughly and convincingly with the hypnosis aspect of the phenomenon, and rightly points out that far from being a gateway to "repressed memories," the technique is actually very likely to elicit fabrications, and perhaps even to plant memories of events that never happened. Additional space is given to cases like that of Travis Walton, which Klass maintains was almost certainly a hoax. Some discussion is also made of the possibility that temporal lobe epilepsy may be responsible for the experiences described by some individuals.

Klass' explanations range from the strong to the very weak. His dissection of hypnosis and the likelihood that most abduction "researchers" are in fact guilty of planting false memories (inadvertently, it should be noted) is devastating. When he brings up TLE, however, he's really reaching. Klass was also notable for promoting ball lightning as an explanation for many UFO sightings, and the same conclusion can be drawn here: perhaps a few cases can be explained in this way, but likely not many. More common phenomena, such as sleep paralysis and waking dreams, would seem to be more appropriate for explication.

In any case, this book is typical Klass. It's an entertaining and easy read, with the caveat that Klass' attacks on abduction "researchers" and abductees are occasionally nasty (in the case of one individual, the possibility that she might be of interest to alien researchers is discounted, albeit apparently in jest, simply because she is physically unattractive). His logic goes awry once in a while, but overall it is difficult to come away from a reading of this book and fail to appreciate the level of delusion required to consider oneself an abduction researcher. Klass makes a convincing case that the efforts of Budd Hopkins, Whitley Strieber and others are actually harmful to the individuals they analyze and to the public at large. For anyone interested in alien abductions, this book should be required reading.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling book, March 26, 1999

By	Nancy A. Fox (West Covina, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Philip Klass, one of the leading UFO skeptics, delves into the UFO abduction phenomena with fascinating results. To quote the back cover, "If you have read Whitley Strieber's Communion or Budd Hopkins's Intruders, you owe it to yourself to read UFO Abductions." Mr Klass presents the other side of the coin in the abduction phenomena.

The book discusses the claimed experiences of Betty and Barney Hill, Betty Andreasson, Whitley Strieber and other celebrated abductions. He also writes a very cogent chapter on the dangers of using hypnotherapy to unlock these experiences.

After finishing this book, I couldn't help but wonder what the general consensus about UFO abductions will be in 300 years. Perhaps our descendants will know these visitors on a first-hand basis, or maybe they will laugh at our gullibility. As one of our current theories about the Salem witch trial concerns contaminated wheat, perhaps future scientists will decide that over-exposure to MSG or the newsprint used in the National Enquirer lead to this particular cultural phenomenon.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is worth your time, September 29, 2001

By	Aaron Smith (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Any of the other reviewers who didn't like this book are morons. UFOs don't exist...get over it. A different species from thousands of light years away don't go zipping around in saucers and abduct people just for the heck of it. All you who REALLY want to find out about the UFO contriversy, read this book and everything else Klass has written. It's so refreshing to find a normal, logical person in the UFO contriversy and not some New Agey idiot.