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This title in other editionseBook editionsAbducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliensby Susan A Clancy
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:They are tiny. They are tall. They are gray. They are green. They survey our world with enormous glowing eyes. To conduct their shocking experiments, they creep in at night to carry humans off to their spaceships. Yet there is no evidence that they exist at all. So how could anyone believe he or she was abducted by aliens? Or want to believe it? To answer these questions, psychologist Susan Clancy interviewed and evaluated abductees — old and young, male and female, religious and agnostic. She listened closely to their stories — how they struggled to explain something strange in their remembered experience, how abduction seemed plausible, and how, having suspected abduction, they began to recollect it, aided by suggestion and hypnosis. Clancy argues that abductees are sane and intelligent people who have unwittingly created vivid false memories from a toxic mix of nightmares, culturally available texts (abduction reports began only after stories of extraterrestrials appeared in films and on TV), and a powerful drive for meaning that science is unable to satisfy. For them, otherworldly terror can become a transforming, even inspiring experience. Being abducted, writes Clancy, may be a baptism in the new religion of this millennium. This book is not only a subtle exploration of the workings of memory, but a sensitive inquiry into the nature of belief. Review:"If you're going to read just one book about alien abductions, make it this one. And if you think alien abduction stories aren't worth considering seriously, Clancy will convince you otherwise. A postdoctoral fellow in psychology at Harvard, she follows the dictum of William James to 'take 'weird beliefs' seriously but not literally.' Thus, she considers that the belief that one has been abducted by little gray beings with large, black catlike eyes, subjected to intrusive and painful physical examinations and exploited to create hybrid human/alien babies serves the deep human need to find meaning in one's life. She presents clear explorations of what most mainstream experts believe are the sources of the abduction story, such as sleep paralysis and the dubious use of hypnosis in 'recovering' forgotten memories of the abduction. Her more original contribution, based on her own research, is that abductees score high on measures of schizotypy (they're far from schizophrenic, but are prone to fantasy and 'magical' thinking) and, more speculatively, experiencing what in the 19th century was called hysteria. Writing in a nonacademic and witty style, Clancy offers an intelligent and compassionate look at people whose 'weird' belief usually elicits derision, and argues convincingly for the need to look deeper into its significance." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Twenty years ago I was abducted by aliens, or so I thought at the time. Actually, I had just gone without sleep for 83 hours. Now at last Abducted — brilliant, humane, and funny — gives a scientific explanation for how the mind concocts such remarkable experiences as being probed and impregnated by aliens, visiting the mother ship, or traveling to distant planets. Writing with sympathy and understanding for the abductees, Susan Clancy delves into their stories to offer a superb contribution to our understanding of human memory, mental anomalies, and how the mind works." Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic Magazine, and author of Why People Believe Weird Things Review:"Abducted is an enormously brave, smart, original book. Susan Clancy's innovative study of why and how people come to believe that they've been abducted by aliens has become a gripping read, with keen insight into the emotional and spiritual lives of the 'abductees' — and how easy it is for anyone to remember things that never happened." Elizabeth Loftus, past president of the American Psychological Society and author of Eyewitness Testimony Review:"Susan Clancy's provocative study of the abductee population offers a thoughtful perspective on the spiritual and psychological elements of abduction stories — and is so entertaining that it reads like a novel." Elaine Showalter, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and author of Hystories Review:"Susan Clancy's book bursts out of the chute right on page one and keeps going at full gallop until the end. It's fabulous! Anyone who thinks that scientists are cold and uncompassionate, or that people who believe they have been abducted by aliens are plain loony, should read this book. With warmth, humor, empathy and eloquence, Clancy illuminates the soul of science — and shows why everyone resists its revelations if they challenge our deepest beliefs." Carol Tavris, author of The Mismeasure of Woman and Psychobabble and Biobunk: Using Psychology to Think Critically About Issues in the News Review:"Even if the idea of alien abduction is absurd, you will find her work fascinating and revealing....Clancy's affection for her subjects infuses the whole book and allows us to see these believers as all too human." Baltimore Sun Review:"Susan Clancy...treats the subject frankly, fearlessly, intelligently, honestly and sometimes humorously. She avoids both the hysteria of believers out to prove that aliens visit our planet and the dismissiveness of skeptics who know they don't." Houston Chronicle Review:"Although it focuses on abduction memories, the book hints at a larger ambition, to explain the psychology of transformative experiences, whether supposed abductions, conversions or divine visitations." New York Times Review:"Clancy is never condescending toward the 50 subjects she interviewed; she simply asks questions, listens and then presents her own carefully reasoned explanation for why they might believe they were abducted. Fortunately, Clancy is well equipped to understand strange events." Scientific American Review:"Clancy has produced a real masterpiece." Skeptical Inquirer Synopsis:How could anyone believe he or she was abducted by aliens? Or want to believe it? Clancy argues that abductees are sane and intelligent people who have unwittingly created vivid false memories from a mlange of nightmares, culturally available texts, and a powerful drive for meaning that science is unable to satisfy. This book is not only a subtle exploration of the workings of memory, but a sensitive inquiry into the nature of belief. About the AuthorSusan A. Clancy is a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at Harvard University and a Visiting Professor at INCAE, the Central American Institute for Business Administration. Table of Contents Introduction 1. How Do You Wind Up Studying Aliens? Notes What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment: 
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