Table Of ContentThe Search for Life and
Truth In A Very Large
■ ■............................................ f . ■ •
Splendid...This is science writing at its best—I could nc
put the book down.” —Washington Post Book World
OUT OF THIS WORLD PRAISE FOR CAPTURED BY ALIENS:
.. on this journey to nowhere, Achenbach is a likable and most informative
guide.’’
—New York Times Book Review
.. wry style of conveying science and wit. .. displayed here, along with a
depth of information, conjectures, findings, and controversies.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Energetic, engaging prose ... can be appreciated for its assortment of charac
ters and for its witty style.”
—Publishers' Weekly
“I could not put the book down.. . .Until ET phones me I will have to settle for
being amazed and amused by . .. this beautifully written book.”
—Washington Post Book World
“Well written .. . adroit use of nicely timed, appropriate humor further enhances
its readability. .. . Strongly recommended... .”
—Library Journal
“The double-entendre [in the] title is easy to miss. The obvious meaning refers to
the thousands of persons who truly believe they have been abducted by beings
from another world. The less obvious meaning—captivated ... [The] subject
matter, attitude and prose style had sucked me in totally.”
—St. Petersburg Times
.. vastly entertaining ... with wit, erudition and a narrative voice that veers
gracefully between the sublime and the ridiculous.”
—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Funny and insightful.... a terrific guide.. . . rockets around the universe with
all the speed and flash and occasional surprise of Disney’s Space Mountain roller
coaster.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Lively and thoroughly engaging .... not debunking UFOs or ridiculing believ
ers, but examining why so many people . . . believe....”
—San Diego Union-Tribune
“[An] entertaining ... travelogue through a colorful intellectual terrain.”
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“[A] lively, welcome and ultimately serious book exploring mankind’s long fasci
nation with the notion of alien life.”
—Baltimore Sun
“The last word on the question ‘Are We Alone?’ It is also brilliant, and funny, and,
like everything else he writes, a joy to read.”
—Christopher Buckley, author of Little Green Men
“Few earthlings have confronted the vast question of extraterrestrial life as enter
tainingly—and provocatively—as Joel Achenbach has. He is not only one of
America’s most talented journalists, he is a cosmic wit.”
—Carl Hiaasen, author of Lucky You
“.. . intelligent tolerance and limber humor focus with sympathy upon the often
loopy people who explore hard science or intuit UFOs.”
—Edward Hoagland, author of Balancing Acts
"... takes us beyond the margin of what we already know—with wit, warmth,
style, and the Mission Control calm of a first-rate reporter. ... that rarest of writ
ers about space, a sane and entertaining guide to the galaxies.”
—Tony Horwitz, author of Confederates In The Attic
“Anyone who’s ever watched a ‘Star Trek’ episode, or seen a space launch, or
owned a lunch box with an astronaut on it has got to read this book. You will not
believe the real story behind America’s space obsession.”
—Katherine Russell Rich, author of The Red Devil
“You will come away with a better understanding of one of the major preoccupa
tions of the twentieth century—the problems and possibilities of life beyond
Earth.”
Steven J. Dick, U.S. Naval Observatory
CAPTURED
BY ALIENS
The Search for Life and Truth
in a Very Large Universe
Joel Achenbach
CITADEL PRESS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
www.kensingtonbooks. com
CITADEL PRESS BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Copyright © 1999 Joel Achenbach
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means
without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used
in reviews.
This edition published in arrangement with Simon & Schuster
Portions of this work previously appeared, in different form, in The Washington Post.
All Kensington titles, imprints, and distributed lines are available at special quantity
discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, educational,
or institutional use. Special book excerpts or customized printings can also be created
to fit specific needs. For details, write or phone the office of the Kensington special
sales manager: Kensington Publishing Corp., 850 Third Avenue, New York, NY
10022, attn: Special Sales Department, phone 1-800-221-2647.
CITADEL PRESS and the Citadel logo are Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
Designed by Ruth Lee
First paperback printing: August 2003
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Achenbach, Joel.
Captured by aliens: the search for life and truth in a very large universe / Joel Achenbach.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Life on other planets. I. Title.
QB54.A23 1999
576.839—dc21 99-37592 CIP
ISBN 0-8065-2496-0
To a great teacher; Chris Morris
(R K.Yonge Laboratory School, Gainesville, Fla.)
C O N T E N T S
Part One: Adventures in the Unknown
1. Dialing Up Andromeda 13
2. The Goldin Age 24
3. The Biggest Unknown 33
4. Aliens in the Archives 43
5. The Gatekeeper 52
6. Space Age Blues 64
7. The Mars Effect 75
8. Course Correction 90
9. The Naysayers 101
10. The Savior 1 12
II. The Pillars of Creation 118
12. The Worm 128
13. Star Trekking 141
14. To Infinity and Beyond 149
Part Two: Visitors
15. A Different Vibration 163
16. Sagan Is Appalled 172
17. The Anomaly Problem 176
18. The Outer Limits 184
19. Hypnotized 195
20. Heaven’s Gate 207
Contents
Roswell Crashes 217
The Hole in the Story 230
Part Three: Onward and Inward
Henry Reports the News 239
Forward Thinking 242
On to Mars 254
At the Flatirons 265
The Face 269
Silence in Green Bank 276
The Mystery Constraint 288
The Rules of Life 293
The Brain of an Alien 303
Death from Above 315
Goldin Sees God 329
Strange Futures 339
There Must Be More 347
Personal J ourneys 355
Acknowledgments 371
Notes 373
Index 399
