Aliens: Why They Are Here - Rilegato

Appleyard, Brian

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0743256859 ISBN 13: 9780743256858

Casa editrice: Scribner, 2005

Riassunto

"Since 1947, aliens have poured from the abyss that lies between ourselves and the world." So begins Bryan Appleyard's dazzling survey of one of the most pervasive yet under-reported phenomena of modern times: aliens -- what they are, why they are here, and what they say about us. Before science and technology took hold of our lives we called them different things: angels, demons, goblins. But in the post-nuclear world, in which man has discovered his cosmic insignificance, our need for aliens has reached the stars. Since 1947 there has been a deluge of sightings, abductions, cover-ups, conspiracies and all their associated sub-plots from cattle mutilation to anal probes. Science fiction both on the page and on the screen is in thrall to our perception of Little Green Men. How did we get here? And what does our fascination with all things alien, whether extraterrestrial or manufactured, say about us in a post-religious world? Bryan Appleyard's brilliant book is both a cultural history and an intellectual tour de force, covering everything from the joyful anthropocentrism of "Star Trek" to the bloody-minded nihilism of Stanislaw Lem.

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Recensione

'A beautifully written survey of modern myths and the guilt that inspires them, and a tour de force of zany scholarship'
Roger Scruton
"The perfect combination: an intriguing subject in the hands of a great journalist"
John Humphrys
‘The best and most widely informed and penetrating book of its kind since C J Jung's Flying Saucers of 1959.’
LITERARY REVIEW
‘Appleyard covers the ground with a reporter’s competence spiced by an oddly credulous or possibly disingenuous relish . . . while telling the whole ufology story with enough verve to keep you reading and vigour to keep you doubting . . . At the end of a really stimulating ride on the roundabouts of space and the swings of the psyche, all we end up knowing is that we are what we are.’
David Hughes, SPECTATOR
‘Engagingly written ... its arguments challenge, even where they shock or fail to persuade.’
New Humanist March issue
‘[Bryan Appleyard’s] account of the cultural origins of modern ufology and alien-mania is rich and rewarding, fortified by a detailed knowledge of science fiction’
Noel Malcolm, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘An intoxicating intellectual journey, ALIENS also contains an impressive variety of wonderful stories and oddball characters . . . by the time our visitors (from other galaxies) arrive they may be greeted by the next stage of our evolution, the feeling machine. With luck, this enjoyable book will still be available in some medium to help both computers and aliens understand the way humankind once thought, felt and worried.’
Terence Blacker, SUNDAY TIMES
‘A brilliant (though ultimately not surprising) study of psychological alienation’
SCOTSMAN
‘ALIENS is an invigoratingly sceptical history of one of the most intriguing and important phenomena in postwar culture ... endlessly fascinating. The question of whether aliens exist is a question about what human beings really are, and lies behind all contemporary debates, in which hoary issues of science and religion are being endlessly rehashed. In ALIENS, Appleyard confronts this question directly. The result is a profound meditation on what it means to be human.’
New Statesman 07/03

‘Bryan Appleyard is one of the shrewdest, most knowledgeable journalists in Britain, so you might well ask why he has devoted an entire book to a sobre appraisal of creatures from outer space. He would answer that anything which has become an article of faith for millions of people . . . deserves the tribute of serious analysis . . . fascinating’
Christopher Hudson, DAILY MAIL
‘Aliens, Appleyard concludes in his fascinating investigation, are real all right. But only in so far as they embody our desperate need, as we stare in to the pitiless blackness of space, to answer the question: Surely there must be more to life than this?'
James Delingpole, MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Convincing . . . His dissection of the era [the 50s] is masterful and convincing. . . Appleyard examines his own UFO sighting . . . As it turns out, the vision arrived under hypnosis and he cleverly uses the experience to show how the mind can play tricks with reality . . . this is an astonishing book, as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. The truth about aliens is still out there -- way out there -- but Appleyard has brought it closer' Alison Rowat, THE HERALD (Glasgow)

'Bryan Appleyard, a robustly sane and respected author, risked mind and reputation to write ALIENS . . . The book is a good, fun read, and Appleyard is an engaging writer.' Alan Cane, FINANCIAL TIMES MAGAZINE
'Appleyard's curious, cranky book seems to be on to something' Adam Mars-Jones, OBSERVER

'Bryan Appleyard's intelligent survey of the 20th century's vast mythology of the alien' Roz Kaveney, INDEPENDENT
'Seductive' Johann Hari, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
‘Some of Appleyard's book is brilliant ... at times it is profound ... fascinating and great fun’ The Times
‘An engrossing journey to the dark side of human nature that teeters agreeably on the brink of paranoia’
Guardian 13/05

THE FIRST WORLD WAR by Hew Strachan
‘One of the world's foremost experts on the First World War takes a uniquely global view of what is often misconceived as a prolonged skirmish on the Western Front. Exploring such theatres as the Balkans, Africa and the Ottoman Empire, Hew Strachan assesses Britain’s participation in the light of what became a struggle for the defence of liberalism, and shows how the war shaped the rest of the century that followed it’
Sunday Telegraph 21/5

L'autore

Bryan Appleyard is a special feature writer and columnist for the SUNDAY TIMES. He is the author of several previous books including BRAVE NEW WORLDS: GENETICS AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Scribner
• Data di pubblicazione: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0743256859
• ISBN 13: 9780743256858
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 336