Research Books

In the naturalistic tradition of Hobson, Crick and Flanagan, the authors tackle dream formation and "lucid" control with an intelligence and style that is refreshing amid today's cacaphony of hype and varying agendas. In probably the best lay exposition of REM sleep since Dick McLeester's WECOME TO THE MAGIC THEATRE in 1976, these amateur dream explorers map the terrain of the sleeping brain with an excellence worthy of the prizes given to the best sanctioned "academic" publications. The book is as good in its specialized area as Steve Pinker's was to the mind in general in HOW THE MIND WORKS.

As in McLeester's book, THE CONSCIOUS EXPLORATION OF DREAMING takes a balanced and fair approach to lucid dream potentialities and dream control, demonstrating that we always control our dreams to some extent through suggestion and that control and dream behavior are highly customized to each dream individual scenario.

The book is largely anti-psychoanalytical and attemps to show that rather than constituting symbolic distortions or affective resolutions, dreams simply are build-as-you go situations which we create in response to random brain activation. There is an existential "throwness" element to them; we are suddenly in Act II without an Act I. If we dream of panicing during a school exam, it's because we actaully "haven't" prepared for the test and we should panic, given the situation. No need to involve the Id and Superego in explaining the story.

I've been researching dreams and lucid dreams for over thirty tears, and this is surely one of the best tracts on the subject that I have seen in that time. Highly recommended.

Most books about Lucid Dreams are found in the New Age section of the book store. If this has stopped you from exploring the fascinating world of Lucid Dreaming then I highly recommend The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming. Janice and Jay Volgelsong have written a voluminous book about Lucid Dreams. They examine popular scientific and occult theory with a critical eye. Heavily referenced, their book is grounded in their own personal research, experience and observation. If you have been curious about where dreams come from you will find satisfying answers in their book.

Lucid dreaming first came to my attention when it formed the basis of a story in - where else - an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. I had heard the term before but hadn't understood what it meant. Subsequently, an arch-skeptic of my acquaintance called for support in a debate he was having with the members of an Internet newsgroup called alt.out-of-body.

I lurked for a while before joining in the discussion and was surprised to find a group of people were reporting out-of-body experiences and lucid dreaming, some on a regular basis. Although I felt that a number of the explanations being offered were rather fanciful, the reports of the experiences themselves seemed genuine. This was fascinating because it meant that a part of the human population were having dream, or dream-like, experiences that others like myself had never known.

I was curious to read more, so I ordered it forthwith via the Internet.

This is a substantial tome which, in paperback, runs to nearly 350 pages, if you include the detailed annotation, extensive bibliography and index, which are the proper appendices of any work which aspires to scientific credibility.

I mention scientific credibility because, unlike some of what is written about this subject, the authors have adhered to the ideal of scientific objectivity. Although written for a lay audience, they examine the research and thinking in this field in considerable detail, and they have been scrupulously fair in giving the various theories due and proper consideration, even those that some might consider more speculative.

In one aspect, though, they have a considerable advantage over other researchers: they have experienced lucid dreams and OBEs themselves.

The human mind and/or brain has been described as the most complex object in the known universe. Imagine trying to discover how a computer works from scratch: there is no manual, no help files and, initially, no knowledge of what it is made from and how it is powered. Even worse, it is associated with baffling phenomena such as consciousness. Imagine how much of a help it would be if you could think as a computer thinks, if you could learn about it from the inside, as it were.

This is especially true of an inaccessible phenomenon like dreaming, the activity of the conscious mind while the body is asleep. Janice and Jay are, therefore, in the rare and privileged position, for scientists, of being able to observe and experiment on themselves, of having a more intimate acquaintance with their subject-matter than is afforded to most researchers.

They have put this insight to the best possible use in this book, which I would recommend as the first choice for anyone who wants to learn more about lucid dreaming, and I can only endorse the words of one of the foremost researchers in this field, J Allan Hobson, when he writes in the Foreword:

"Brooks and Vogelsong are true scientists in both their adherence to value-free description and their state-of-the-art interpretation of their data.

The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming is a healthy antidote to the abundant New Age hyperbole on this important and serious subject."

I haven't finished the book yet but so far it is a great read! This book is a great help in understanding dreaming on a whole new level. Lucid dreaming is something that many are interested in and now have a resource to learn much more about. The authors share many of their own lucid dreams and experiences throughout.

A friend once confided in me that sometimes he realizes he is dreaming and can direct the course of the dream as it occurs. He calls this a "lucid" dream. That has always intrigued me, since I often awaken with the threads of a dream still in memory and often wonder what the experience would have been like with the added awareness that I was 'only dreaming'.

Janice Brooks and Jay Vogelsong along with a third participant, their friend Ruth, are lucid dreamers. Their book is a well-researched and referenced analysis of how dreams are constructed and what controls the course of a dream. It is interspersed with the authors' own dream experiences as illustrations. For example, the chapter on the Suggestion Theory of Dreaming, the authors write:

"...noises from the external world can also find their way into dreams...Such invading noises often become modified into other, related sounds that better suit the dream context, as in the time Jay's snores translated into the sound of chalk scraping on a blackboard in Janice's school dream..."

In another chapter, Jay describes the process of dream awareness. He remarks that..."it takes skill to observe the workings of the dream and participate in the plot simultaneously...".

What was even more striking were the examples of the authors' dream experiments:

"...one can easily devise and perform lucid experiments to test dream memory itself...in our respective lucid dreams, all three of us could remember basic facts about our lives. We could state our names, addresses, employment, ages.....Sometimes, though, we ended up reciting outdated information, as Janice did with an old address and telephone number because she happened to be at the former house in the dream..."

I'm still in the process of reading this book, but so far it has been an illuminating and thought-provoking experience.

This book is a must have for anyone doing grounded theory research or dissertations. Kathy Charmaz helps the fans of qualitative methodology into the 21st century with this wonderfully written guide through grounded theory. The book promises to be of value to students or experts in the field, then delivers as promised!

Can't wait for her next book for my collection!!!

This is by far the best and most detailed introduction to Qualitative Analysis I have seen. Charmaz is thorough, clear, to the point, and the book is well-written so that even beginner analysts could follow her points. Excellent find.

As someone who writes about grounded theory and supervises PhD students using grounded theory, I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this book to them and anyone else using grounded theory. It is infinitely superior to the Strauss and Corbin book which in my opinion is too restrictive and makes it difficult for graduate students to apply grounded theory. Charmaz also very cleverly avoids the schism that rose between Glaser and Strauss on the application of the method by giving the student several alternative steps. A scholarly book which is also very accessible. As someone using grounded theory, I am relieved that Kathy Charmaz wrote this book - she really does do a good job in reformulating it for 21st century researchers.

Charmaz has used her vast experience in qualitative analysis to produce an excellent resource for qualitative researchers. Whether novice or experienced in qualitative research, Charmaz' book "starts at the start" for newer researchers; assists the reflective process of the qualitative methods; and leads the researcher to a firm research outcome thoroughly grounded by informant experience. Charmaz provides substantial examples from her own research to illustrate methods and techniques which encourage the researcher to remain on track, grounded by informant experience and to persevere with reflective and inquisitive thinking. Her book also offers suggestions for creative writing of the project report. I will be prescribing this as a basic text/reference for future qualitative research students.

As the title suggests, Kathy Charmaz's 'Constructing Grounded Theory' is a practical and thoughtful guide to the intricacies of undertaking qualitative research. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect with numerous 'hints' and examples from her own work. Charmaz is an excellent teacher, unafraid to challenge the work of Glaser & Strauss with humility and commonsense. Highly recommeded to all aspiring qualitative researchers.

I use this book as required reading for new employees at our research site. Provides a good overview of clinical research and the duties and expectations of a clinical research coordinator (CRC). We also use this book as a review before any of our CRCs take one of the certification exams. Recommended as a reference for a foundational understanding of clinical research and the CRC position or review of same.

This book was spectacular. It provides a lot of very helpful information regarding the ins and outs of being a clinical reasearch coordinator and would be very helpful for both those just inquiring about the industry and those already in it.

Very helpful when I was getting into trial management as a "newbie." Put a wealth of information at my fingertips in an easy to digest, quick read, very practical format. I continue to flip through this and the CRA Guide every couple of months to refresh as I develop training materials for my sites.

Very useful to me as a project manager.

I am new to clinical research. This answered all my questions and is the perfect book for those who are brand new in the field.

Great practical information on crisis intervention. Easy read and tons of practical applications to use when dealing with clients who are crisis.

As a former crisis intervention worker I am impressed with the all-inclusive nature of this book which covers crisis intervention across multiple populations and practice settings with sensitivity to cultural diversity. As a current social work faculty member teaching crisis intervention course content, I am impressed that Dr. Robert's book is grounded in clinical research with contributing authors who are the experts in this field. A must read for all crisis workers and an outstanding book to incorporate into the classroom. Very impressive!

As an Emergency Room Social Worker, this handbook has been invaluable, it offers comphrensive perspectives in everyday situations and how to handle these crisis. True life situations and hands on approaches to options that can be used with patients in crisis and some facing mortality. This handbook is one of my more invaluable tools for daily emergency room situations.

Dr. Roberts' newest edition of the Crisis Intervention Handbook will be an exceptional resource for all mental healthe professionals. However, the first ten chapters which combine Roberts' seven step model of crisis intervention and solution focused brief therapy will be especially useful to school counselors. Counselors will refer to this book time and again when school and family crises occur. I highly recommend this book.

This vitally important and comprehensive handbook provides informed citizens, healthcare specialists, and mental health professionals with everything they need to know about crisis episodes and crisis interventions. This compelling, yet practical book is vitally needed and provides the most comprehensive information to date on everything from school violence, date rape, 24-hour mobile crisis units to hospital emergency room crises. This book is a rare gem for every graduate student and practitioner in the human services field.

The book is exactly as promised. It arrived quickly and in excellent condition. I wouldn't hesitate to order from this company again. The book itself is much more than anyone has a right to expect. Page after page excites as it informs. It's hard to sit near it without reaching for it and once reaching for it you're hooked all over again. Wow

This book contains lots of new information on recent discoveries and on-going projects that I've read about. Love the information. Lots of photos ,too.

I just received the book today and although I have not yet read it, I am unbelievably impressed by the beautiful pictures. The book is filled with page after page of color pictures covering all areas of the archaeological world from Egyptian tombs and mummies to Incan mummies and the ice man of Europe. Visit Egypt, Peru, England, the Middle East, Turkey, China and many more places. Although the emphasis is on ancient archeology, more recent discoveries are included such as Jamestown, Virginia and the ironclad ships of the American Civil War. The various archeological sites are covered in 246 fascinating pages. Concise stories about each site allows the reader to get good basics for further reading. A different author writes about each site in 2-4 pages. DISCOVERY! is a great book for anyone interested in archeology and history and for someone who enjoys travel. The pictures alone make this a wonderful book and the most amazing fact of all is Amazon's very low price for such a high quality book.

First off, the dust jacket photo on the front is a real turn-off, so ignore it. Each chapter covers a different aspect of current archaeological study, including my favorite, looted Greek artifacts. Not every chapter will appeal to every reader, but I bet nobody can pass the great pictures and not read a snatch about it. Worth the price I paid for it.

A work of art in and of itself, "Discovery!" illuminates the most significant archeological discoveries of the past 15 years. Many of the accounts published here are by the discovers themselves, accounts written with a general audience in mind. The editor/compiler, Brian M. Fagan, is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California<
While the text is the most important element of the book, it also contains 320 illustrations, 312 of them in full color. These expert photographs allow the reader to see and examine the artifacts that are described in such careful detail in the text.<
Thames & Hudson is a publisher that has long produced some of the most important and beautiful art books in the world. This one is literally world-ranging in its scope. The finds are from the proverbial "four corners of the Earth" and some date back into unimaginable prehistory.<
Science buffs and art lovers alike will find this book a necessary addition to their libraries. Even casual readers will find themselves captivated and enthralled.

Don't wait until you or someone in your family has cancer! Now is the time to REALLY understand how our food and environment affect our chances of being diagnosed with cancer.

"Eat to Beat Cancer" is an easy to understand book about how we can PREVENT cancer. Who knew? Follow this book with "To Buy or Not to Buy Organic: What You Need to Know to Choose the Healthiest, Safest, Most Earth-Friendly Food" and you will be armed with the info you need to make the right choices for your health.

My copy is out on loan (as it often is) so I went on Amazon to get the publication details for including this book in the recommended reading section of my own new book, Younger by the Day (HarperSanFrancisco, December 2004). I was shocked to see only four reviews and that they weren't all 5 stars. This book is fabulous, truly the only guide you'll ever need for disease prevention, nutrition---even weight loss, since if you eat all the health plant foods Dr. Hatherill recommends, you'll lose weight while you protect yourself from cancer and other degenerative diseases. Not only is Eat to Beat Cancer comprehensive and packed with valuable information, it is useful and practical: you can take its ideas to the grocery store and the restaurant and use them in real life every day. When I first read this book three years ago, I typed up Dr. Hatherill's list of the 8 cancer-fighting food groups and put it on my refrigerator. To this day, I know what to include in my diet on a daily basis; so do my husband and daughter. Please: Do yourself a favor and buy this book. And I should buy another one---one for me, one as a loaner.

This is a wonderful Book. The Author clearly knows a great deal about diet, preventing cancer, and how to simply eat more sensibly--and importantly, he is able to convey this message in a clear and convincing way. Notably, he recommends the sorts of foods and preparation methods that are not only better in a health sense, but that are also quite tasty to boot. Since reading this book, I have adopted a better diet--Thank You, Dr. Hatherill!! I look forward to reading the next book you write on this subject . . . and hopefully, you will do so soon!

General Content: Cancer is one of leading causes of death in our world and contrary to what many people believe, most cancers are preventable. Proper diet plays a key role in preventing cancer and this title by Dr. Hatherill is one of the best resources I've seen for building a cancer-fighting diet. The beautiful part about the recommendations in this audiobook is that they won't just help you to prevent cancer. They'll also help prevent heart disease, strokes and a whole host of other maladies in addition to helping you to shed excess weight. Perhaps most importantly the book contains information on helping to reduce the likelihood that your children will contract cancer.

One of the things that I liked best about this book was that it drew upon information from a number of different countries around the world. Certain countries have very low rates of certain types of cancer so it makes a lot of sense to study them in an attempt to determine what they are doing right. For example, the Japanese have a low rate of lung cancer despite high rates of smoking which seems unusual. However, Dr. Hatherill points out that factors in their diet such as their increased use of soy and consumption of green tea helped to ward off lung cancer. Information like this makes this title a goldmine for anyone looking to reduce their chances of contracting cancer.

Audio-Specific Content: "Eat to Beat Cancer" is read by the author who does a great job. I listened to the abridged version which contained two cassettes and lasted approximately 3 hours. The abridgement was fine but given the amount of excellent information in the audiobook, I'm tempted to go out and buy the book to see what else is in there.

This book is an eye-opener. Lots of very interesting information and a good tool to eat healthier, and glean an understanding into eating properly.

If you ever wanted a justification for home schooling and vouchers you will find it here. We college professors perpetually discuss the poor preparation of US students. Without foreign graduate students this nation would be a basket case. Little did we know that we were the problem. Fortunately left wing ideology has minimal impact on most college graduates once they get a job, so most teachers are not sympathetic to what they got crammed down their throats in Ed School. Nevertheless, Union power + case law + school policy have ham-strung the reformers.

Just to set the record straight, the only sensationalism in Rita Kramer's book is her title. Otherwise, it's formal reporting of the kind you would read in Time. She traveled to lots of schools, attended lots of classes, conducted lots of interviews. She's quite professional and even deferential.

The problem for educators is the picture that emerges. If you know nothing about American education, you might be stunned to find that ed schools are places where academic content is rarely mentioned, and students are trained to be social workers and baby sitters, not teachers as traditionally understood. Psychobabble is the air they breathe; mediocrity is their goal. Social engineering could mean making people smarter, couldn't it?? In our country, however, it means leveling everyone down to C-.

Written in 1991 when Whole Word was still dominant, one ed school professor tells her students: "Tell them to spell, not sound it out. Watch `em, they will. Eventually they'll trust you and they'll learn to read." I mention this in case you ever wondered why teachers can be so loyal to ideas that don't work. Here's why: ed school professors.

A century ago, John Dewey laid out a secret scheme whereby ed schools would be used to indoctrinate teachers and thus bring about social change. The scheme continues. All unnecessary; all wasteful; all destructive. Teachers don't need ed school. (Better they take a course at Toastmasters.) Private schools and parochial schools merely require that prospective teachers be expert in the subjects they'll teach. What a concept!

Welcome to the place where torturers are trained and weeded out!This book is first step in finding an answer to the pathetic state of today's educational system. What are teachers taught? What is the criteria for determining a good teacher from a bad teacher? Or do they even try? Who decides this, and how? Ms. Kramer gives you the raw data to answer these questions yourself. The reader sits in on Teacher Ed classrooms with Ms. Kramer from the east coast to the west coast. You stop at the elite and exclusive schools, such as Columbia University's Teacher's School and Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, as well as the schools that simply churn out teachers in mass, such as Eastern Michigan University. The book gives readers a general survey of what happens in Ed Schools in the U.S. It is an initial look at the crime scene. Many other questions will arise pertaining to the causes of the observed corruptions, but these would be material for other books. Although Ms. Kramer does let her disapproval be known throughout the book, so did she when she chose a title. She would be an accessory to the crime if she didn't voice her disapproval. Thus, contrary to some other reviewer's opinions, I applaud Ms. Kramer for letting her evaluation of the facts be known -- its high time!On a personal note: As one who has been through a Teacher Ed program, this reviewer does not believe that the events have been exagerated in any way. My school was NOT one of those surveyed, but reading this was like a deja vu experience for me. This actually happens!

Other books tell about the bizarre premises, concepts and methods in schools today. But where on earth do these ideas come from? And why do administrators and teachers believe this stuff? The short answer is: ed schools. Rather than being a model of scholarship, today's ed schools waste away time with endless prattle about theories and philosophies. Rita Kramer toured the country, spending a good deal of time at each of a number of ed schools. She visited prestigious eastern schools, mainstream schools, and everything in between. Kramer reports on everything she saw: vapid looks of the students, meaningless classroom activities, faculty members who loathe the very same goals that most people expect from schools, and grades, assessments and final degress devoid of any substantive value. This book tells a vital part of the story in understanding what's wrong with our schools. I can't think of a better book recommendation for a young person considering ed school, a student in ed school, or a teacher who is trying to figure out why the time spent in ed school has so little to do with his or her classroom success. It's not really out-of-print, so if you can't get it at Amazon, try a print-on-demand service.

I enjoyed reading Rita Kramer's first-hand account of what our future teachers are learning. Although she is not dispassionate, she is absolutely well-informed about the travesty that passes for "education" in the "ed schools." Future teachers are indoctrinated, not educated, and that is the major reason for most of our problems in education today. If you care about improving schools, and if you are worried about your own child's education, READ THIS BOOK!

If you are taking a circuit analysis course I consider this book a must have. It covers all the standard problems you will encounter and does not jump steps in the problem solving process. It's only fault I have found has been a poor coverage of Bode Plots.

This book looks very comprehensive on the subject of electric circuits and offers easy to follow solutions.

The only way to be successful in circuit analysis is by doing lots of problems. Practice, practice, practice. But that is worthless unless you are certain you did the problem correctly and you know WHY. This book doesn't just list a few examples and then a bunch of problems with short answers. Every problem in this book is worked out completely, step by step, without skipping "obvious" parts. As a student, not much is obvious when you start out and this book doesn't assume that it is. This is the single most useful resource I've found for learning circuit analysis. I only wish I discovered it earlier in the semester. Schaum's is good for starting out but this is better for practice problems. I even discovered that my instructor had copied several problems verbatim for some of his tests. But even if that wasn't the case, I learned difficult concepts much more quickly that I otherwise would have. The only improvement I would suggest is updated fonts and graphics, but that would be purely cosmetic. The text and illustrations are still quite clear enough to learn the material. Thanks REA!

Over 1000 pgs of nothing but solutions. Circuit analysis is daunting and even wretchedly time consuming if you go about it blindly. Attending lecture and going over book examples won't suffice nor lessen the burden of completing, let alone handing in flawless answers, assignments and their 'headache inducing' brain teasers. Like all things, patterns and repetitious notables allow oneself to 'get it!' Circuit design and analysis is no different animal: difference being the amount of studying and mental work put in isn't directly correlated to the quality of your grade, or comprehension. If you're new to circuit analysis or even an expert, you'll be doing yourself a favor by grasping the seemingly impossible array of passive and nopassive networks. Don't dare contemplate working in electronics or as a technician if you haven't acclimated yourself to the rigor of finding voltages and currents, let alone having the foresight to construct designs and then select the proper components and their numerical values. It all makes a $H!T load of sense....but its mastery demands an equally $H!T load amount of quiet study.

This book is a great guide to review
electrical circuits and math too.
It shows basic examples as well
as more advanced examples. Each solution
is covered thoroughly.

Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation

This is an ambitious and serious work, accessible in style, and packed with information in over four hundred pages. It has three main themes, clearly defined in the introduction.
The first is the love between Adrienne Monnier and Sylvia. The details of this, so we are told, 'were and are still little known' in 1983 when this book was first published. The second is her admiration for, and championship of, James Joyce. The third is her bookshop, Shakespeare and Company, which was a key feature of the literary scene in Paris between the two World Wars.
By far the most detail is provided on her professional relationship with Joyce. Her efforts to get Ulysses published and smuggled into America, her financial and personal efforts to support the author, and the amount of time and energy she invested, are the key theme of the book.
Naturally Sylvia knew all the other familiar literary figures of the time. Hemingway and Pound are frequently mentioned, as is Gertrude Stein.
As intimated in the introduction there is less to be said about more personal relationships. In a way this seems rather a pity. The anecdotal style and recurring references to various incidents along the way give the writing a rather disjointed feel. Inevitably there is also a certain sense of déja vu particularly for anyone familiar with biographies of Hemingway for example.
The strength and the weakness of the book is the amount of text devoted to James Joyce. Joyce attracts great, but not universal, enthusiasm. The man himself seems to have had more arrogance than charm. Depending on the side of this divide which the reader favours this book will firmly hold the attention or will, in places, rather pall.

This is one of the best books that I've ever read about the 'lost generation' of Americans literary refugees in Paris. The writing is excellent, the research exhaustive and thorough with unparalleled access to Ms. Beach's 'surpressed' portions of her autobiography "Shakespeare and Company". It is readily apparent from this book that without Ms. Beach and her unflinching support, there would have been no "Ulysses" (and maybe no James Joyce). But there was so many other authors she supported and nurtured as well, as the quote from Ernest Hemingway cited above illustrates as well. This book is almost a 'must read' for those persons interested in American literature of the mid 20th century.

This one has been around for some time now and it is not the worse for wear. For those interested in our literature and literary Paris during the 1920s and 1930s, then this is one of those "must reads" (I truely hate that term, but know of no better to describe the improtance of this work at this time). The author's research is absolutely miticulous and fills in many gaps in the story of this remarkable woman. Do be warned though. Many of the names of people mentioned here are rather obscure (at this day and time) for those not immersed in the literary world. This can make the work a bit difficult to follow at times. That being said, this is a wonderful work to read to cause many of these names to become less obscure than they are now...one more of the many reasons to read this work! The book covers some of the intimate details of Beach's relationship with friends and lovers that she so well side steps in her own account of this time. Recommend this one highly. Actually, you probably should purchase this one as it is one that is a good book for reference and one you will probably want to reread.

This is quite a spectacular book, a privileged look into the most famous English language bookstore in Paris, Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare & Company. Not only is it delightful to read the history of how Sylvia's modest dream became such a huge success, but it is also fascinating to read about Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and James Joyce when they were young. The language is rich and fulfilling, the photos insightful, and in the end, I really felt as if I had been part of it all, sitting in Sylvia's bookstore, hearing the rustle of pages as the day passed away.

This is one of those books where you care about the characters. Their past and future becomes important and that the characters are real people make this book all the more fasinating. A book one does want to end. But end it does with style.

Forgive me if I gush, but Jacques Vallee is my all time favorite "ufologist." His book REVELATIONS helped to see that there was a real mystery to the phenomenon and that there were those like himself who deplored the abuse of hypnosis in the service of "abduction research" and the fascination with "crashed saucer" tales and government conspiracies.

This book takes us to his beginnings. Starting in the late 1950s, just before the ascendancy of De Gaulle and the establishment of the Fifth Republic, when he is an astronomy student and aspiring Science Fiction writer and ends in the immediate aftermath of the publication of PASSPORT TO MAGONIA. Along the way we have a first hand account of the "ufo controversy in america" and elsewhere. Additionally, there are reflections on a convention-bound France, where Vallee has to struggle against senior astronomers serene indifference to computers. Reflection on the US: like de Tocqueville, young Vallee looks upon this country with a mixture of admiration and horror. Here and there, there are insights into the looming computer revolution that would explode in the 1970's and 1980's. Vallee is in France in 1968 and records his take on the student uprising of May and June.

And then of course, there are the accounts of love. Like the entry where Vallee writes that he and his lover have just torn the bed and now he lies in the full flush of "jouissance" thinking "why do i need a vow, when I can still taste in on my lips" (DAMN! Those french know how to live!)

Yes there's a lot to get out of this book than just UFO's. But that is the main topic. We see the defining moment for Vallee when he tracks an anomalous object only to have the senior astronomer summarily tear up the print out. We see Vallee's burgeoning fascination with the subject and his passion that science find an explanation, first corresponding with Aime Michel, then making contact with J.Allen Hynek, Project Blue Book's consultant and at the time still a "skeptic."

The insight into Hynek is probably the most important part of the book. We see the role that Vallee plays in encouraging Hynek to admit that there are unexplained cases. Vallee is there when Hynek gets new of the "Soccoro landing" and sees Hynek in the aftermath of the "marsh gas" fiasco. Vallee's admiration for Hynek is obviousk, but there are also other detail. Hynek's love of the limelight and his pride at having little fringe benefits from the air force like his own jeep and driver. We find out that Hynek was an Anthroposophist (a disciple of Rudolf Steiner) and we see him at his most gullible when he brings back "film proof" of psychic surgery (Vallee & Co. are less than impressed).

Besides Hynek, there is correspondence with John Keel in the full grip of paranoia while dealing with strange happenings in the Ohio River Valley, a brief in encounter with Al Bielek (he of future "montauk project" fame) trying to pass himself off as a government spook, an account of origin, trouble history, and anticlimatic ending of the Condon Committee. But most importantly is the "paradigm shift" that Vallee undergoes as a result of studying the phenomenon from a cautious advocate of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (EHT) to a proponent of thinking in terms of Extra-Dimensional Entities and paying close attention to Psycho-Social factors and parallels with folklore and mythology and the backlash he suffers (and continues to suffer) from the "believers" who make up the rank and file of the UFO subculture.

As an added bonus the paperback edition includes the text of the "Pentacle Memorandum" written at the time of the Robertson Committee.

In sum, a first hand history of the UFO phenomenon in the 1960's. When read in conjunction with Jim Moseley's SHOCKINGLY CLOSE TO THE TRUTH and Patrick Huyghe's SWAMP GAS TIMES one can get a very full picture of "UFO history" of the last 50 years.

This is my favorite journal since reading "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau.

Jacques Vallee is a legend in Ufology (study of unidentified flying objects). More than that, he's a true scientist, which is a rarity in "the field". This book takes you through some pivotal moments in UFO history.

You'll learn a lot in this book, not just UFOs, but the meaning of science itself.

Certainly an essential book for anyone studying UFOs... or the possibility of alien life. (Are we alone in the universe?)

On a side note, this books is pricless for all the little tidbits and reflections on Allen Hynek, "The Galileo of Ufology".

This dazzling diary offers a glimpse into the mind of a scientist who seems to challenge every preconception and established piety... Replete with profoundly insightful, often devastating observations. Publishers Weekly, 6 July 1992

What picture of the author emerges? I find that the qualities that come through most clearly are Vallee's love of people, his intense curiosity, and his willingness to march to his own drum... Vallee's book will be a valuable resource in providing first-hand insight into the early development of the UFO controversy.

Jacques Vallee is a respected scientist and an entertaining writer who just happens to be interested in UFO's. His concepts of the 'why' are illuminating, as is his frustration at the handling of the issue by those on all sides.

If you are interested in whats "out there" read and learn. If you on the other hand scoff at all mentions of aliens and such, and consider man to be the center and grandest part of the universe, read this man's books with an open mind and you might begin to doubt some long held beliefs. Vallee is quick to dismiss frauds and charlatians, and focus on the real issues. Arresting stuff.