Captured by Aliens: The Search for Life and Truth in a Very Large Universe

Perhaps by virtue of being a reporter, Mr. Achenbach has succeeded in presenting the thoughts and ideas of many, from the brilliant to the sorely misled, with no undue judgement. This shows that his only agenda is truth, or today's best approximation of it, and in this book he does as good a job of finding it as anyone could.Incidentally, his book has convinced me that pleasure reading is still a worthwhile diversion.

Captured by Aliens is a brilliant, hilarious tour of the UFO subculture--the eccentric club of scientists, mystics, visionaries and lunatics who have devoted their lives to the question "Is anyone out there?" It's also a tour of the mind of Joel Achenbach, which--fortunately for the reader--is one of the quirkier, more interesting spots in the known universe. You'll meet a woman who's convinced that she is a "walk-in" from the Pleiades; a man who singlehandedly put interplanetary exploration back at the top of NASA's agenda; a writer whose book about extraterrestrial life has a blurb from God Himself; the scientists who convinced Bill Clinton that they had found fossilized Cheeto-shaped worms in a Martian rock. Along the way, you'll get Achenbach's provocative, funny, and articulate musings about God, truth, space exploration, evolutionary biology, and the meaning of life itself.

Joel Achenbach is on a quest - "a search for life and truth in a very large universe" as the book is subtitled. As is the case with many a personal quest, Joel isn't always exactly sure where he's going, or often where he's been, but that's part of the mystery - and the fun.Achenbach wants to know where we (life) came from, how we operate, if we have neighbors, and how to find (and perhaps visit) them. Finding a bit of underlying cosmic purpose along the way would also be useful.As he mounts his quest, Achenbach manages to talk with people involved in all aspects of cosmology, astrobiology, space exploration, and the popularization of science. He also devotes a hefty amount of attention to "non traditional" resources. In so doing, he applies honest inquisitiveness and a satirist's wit with equal measure upon all he meets.This book often resembles a curious cross between Hunter Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" and Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". That is, it is part satire, part fact, and part introspection. As Achenbach makes his way, he finds himself advised by the likes of Carl Sagan, Dan Goldin, Bob Zubrin as well as UFO abductees undergoing hypnotic regression in a Las Vegas motel room, UFO believer Joe Firmage making his billions in Silicon Valley, and a plethora of others from science and society.Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this book is how Achenbach manages to weave this book of personal wanderings in with a retrospective on Carl Sagan's life. Sagan was clearly fading when Achenbach wrote the book. As he faded (at least as captured by Achenbach from their conversations) he seemed to do so in a fashion that gracefully framed both his accomplishments as an individual and as a deft public communicator of wonder and awe.Just as Sagan was leaving this life, new and more fascinating questions about life and the universe began to supplant older ones that had been answered during his career. He left just as curious - perhaps more so - than he lived it. While Achenbach ends his written account all the better for having made the journey, he also remains just as mystified (perhaps more) as did Sagan by the question of life in a very large universe than when he started. That's fine - since all of us, whether we care to admit it or not, have to confront this sooner or later. A note about style: I have lost count of the books on space I have read over the years. This book had a freshness in approach that I had not encountered before - with the exception, perhaps, of the fictional "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe" and some of Timothy Ferris' writings. Sagan's lofty phrases ("we are made of star stuff") not withstanding, books about space and astrobiology all tend to be a little too serious - and take their topic and its practitioners a bit too seriously at times. These books also tend to draw an artificial line between th

The writing's the thing. I, apparently, am among the small minority of Americans not captivated by the "Are They Out There?" questions. Doesn't matter. I am captivated by Achenbach's prose, which is wry and droll, sometimes bordering on the wiseass, and very funny. Yet, perhaps unususal in a reporter, he attempts to maintain respect for each of the persons he interviews across a broad continuum of thought, even though he can't quite manage it for some of their thoughts. The phrases are so good, I found myself annotating my hardback. Buy it for the style.

In his peripatetic career, Achenbach has always delivered quirky, amusing takes on a wide range of subject matter--from 'genius grants' to the odd, magical symbiosis between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from Thomas Harris's horrific gifts to the bittersweet joys of fatherhood. But until now, Achenbach has contented himself with small subjects. With "Captured by Aliens," though, Achenbach has transformed himself from one of the very best newspaper writers in the country into an author of the first rank--a writer with a startling command of grand themes and complicated theories and a sense of wonder (and humor) that never fails. Plus, he's a real smart guy who treats language with delicacy and respect. Whether writing about quantum physics or nutcases in the desert, Achenbach conveys a sense of the majesty and absurdity of life. This book is an absolute delight.