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Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us? (Communion 2)
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 001.942
EAN: 9780312967048
ISBN: 0312967047
Label: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 324
Publication Date: February 15, 1999
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Studio: St. Martin's Paperbacks
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Editorial Review:
In his 10 years of experience as a publicly recognized close-encounter witness, Whitley Strieber has labored to lift the veils of skepticism and denial from scientists, politicians, and reporters. He's appreciated a climate of increasing open-mindedness, noting also that any hard evidence confirming the existence of UFOs, close encounters, and alien abductions has been, to date, lacking. But times, he writes in Confirmation, have changed. "Gone are the arguments that science has nothing to work with. Behavioral science has not only the witnesses but also physical proof that something unknown has happened to at least some of them, in the form of apparent implants that have been removed from their bodies." Further, "fantastic advances" are enabling false alien-abduction stories to be weeded out the from the true ones. But it reads like a stew of bold assertions tagged onto eyewitness accounts, the "truth" of which remains largely anecdotal, and mixed in with a discussion of new theories about false-memory syndrome. Confirmation might rally the believers, but it will make the unconverted skeptical and querulous.
Whitley Strieber has never suggested that the alien presence among us is benign, and his confessions and investigations have always been unnerving. Sinister, secret, and bizarre are words he uses to describe "them." Strieber's "evidence" that there are aliens among us falls into three areas: an increase in amateur videotapes of strange objects in the sky; the massive amount of abduction testimony that is different from older accounts; and the insidious implants that have been removed from close-encounter witnesses (of which he is one). This last area is creepy, indeed, and we can be glad that science is conducting careful studies. What the implants are made of, how they function, and what their purpose might be--these questions hold the key to Strieber's mystery.
His reporting of the "facts" begins on July 11, 1991, in Mexico City during a total eclipse of the sun. A UFO was spotted and videotaped by hundreds. Exhaustively he argues against the variables--it can be, for example, neither Venus nor a star. He recounts the heated public debates and asserts that this 1991 event was not isolated, but heralded an extended period of sightings. Of course, he admits, hoaxes abounded, too.
When it comes to discussing the three videos that have actually appeared on TV depicting aliens, Strieber's extrapolations do not harden to proof. Yet he begins part 2 of Confirmation with this assertion: "The evidence that UFOs are flying around in our skies is so extensive that it is reasonable to consider that these unconventional objects are in some way real, and that many of them seem to be under intelligent control." This part of the book (it's livelier than the first part, because it's even creepier) presents testimony of actual encounters. These narratives came to him in letter form and his approach is to discern common threads among wildly diverse experiences. Rejecting psychological explanations for alleged abductions, Strieber pounces on what he thinks of as the reliable source--"the natural memories of people who have had continuous recall of their experiences from the time they happened." Now, when was the last time you trusted your memory as a reliable source? But Strieber believes without a doubt that we are receiving communication from another world. Describing the strange and chilling world of the abduction letters, he's convinced that they indicate "the working of a nonhuman mind, or of a part of the human mind so hidden that it has never before gained a voice." So is it Close Encounters or psychosis?
Unfortunately, with every extrapolation or assertion, Whitley Strieber's arguments seem more and more strained; the "proof" remains, alas, poofy, as when he compares the increasingly elaborate abduction narratives to those of crop circles--another documented but unexplained mystery--citing elaboration itself as proof of increasingly different abductions. Since the first sightings, crop circles, too, have grown far more elaborate and complex. Is it really any wonder that peoples' stories should become increasingly endowed with imaginative complexity? How is that proof? It's all creepy, to be sure, and certainly worthy of serious, sustained investigation. But do not look for proof or hard evidence in Confirmation. The promise is unfulfilled, the confirmation pending. --Hollis Giammatteo
Warning: After you read this book you will believe in alien life.The possible existence of extraterrestrial life is a phenomenon that has sparked more debate, controversy, fascination, and passion than any in recent history. Outpourings of UFO sightings, alien abductions, and covert government activity point to a truth which-as much as some people would like to-simply won't die. Now, in this provocative new book, bestselling author and UFOlogist Whitley Strieber boldly explores the vast territory of alien encounters, uncovering the most conclusive evidence of all: physical evidence that aliens may really be here.Marvel as Whitley Strieber tells his own compelling story-and those of countless others-while you discover:-Shocking new close encounters, many involving groups of people
-Thousands of sightings worldwide, many captured on video
-Shocking evidence of five mysterious implants surgically removed from human bodies
-And much, much more!The most compelling question in the universe has remained unanswered for centuries. Now, finally, there is...Confirmation.With a gallery of thought-provoking photos!
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Wise Words From America's Foremost Dingus
I go by the name of Dingus McGee. Yes, you've heard of me, boy. I'm the man who plays musical instruments outside your local chemist's shop or cigar store. I'm a regular one-man band, I am. I dance a little jig. You've heard me say, "I'm Dingus McGee and I'll busk for a fee" a million times, and not only in your young man's dreams.
Over the years, a lot of wisenheimers have pointed out that the word 'busking' already implies performing for money, therefore making my catchphrase partially ... Read More
Rating:  - agenda here?
Well in my opinion, there is no longer any doubt that some things appear to be flying in our skies, and some people have had some unusual experiences (mostly disturbing, but some apparrently enlightening), but the question is, is it all as it seems? The fact of the matter is, various military branches from around the globe have real hardware that could easily fool us. Holographic projections can and are used to place images within our skys (this is related to controversial theories surrounding the 911 ... Read More
Rating: - OK, but not a groundbreaker
This is an OK book. IT was interesting to read and pretty well written. I didn't think, however, it was exceptional and nor did I find it full of information that I could find elsewhere. It did make some interesting paints and it did add some information that I did find interesting. I classify it as a core UFO book, but not something of revolutionary nature.
Rating: - Nothing new, nothing convincing
Hard evidence? If you consider fuzzy photos and anecdotal evidence to be "hard", then yes. Otherwise, this book really offers nothing new. Everything that is presented in this book is easily explained by any UFO skeptic. If you are interested in hearing a more natural reason for UFOs and so called unexplainable phenomena, check out "Demon Haunted World" by Carl Sagan or "Why People Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer. Overall, the book wasnt bad... it was interesting, but I was very let down by the ... Read More
Rating:  - Some evidence...
When the title of your book is "Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us" it would probably be a good idea to produce some hard evidence. This book is the loosest of innuendo; the shakiest of suppositions; and probably hurts more than helps the UFO movement. The so-called "hard evidence" - the shards of foreign materials found in a few people are classified as alien, even though not one of them is of a foreign substance not found in nature. I love a good UFO tale, but this book proves absolutely ... Read More
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