In 1974 a message was beamed towards the stars by the giant Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, a brief blast of radio waves designed to alert extraterrestrial civilisations to our existence. Of course, we don't know if such civilisations really exist. For the past six decades a small cadre of researchers have been on a quest to find out, as part of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. So far, SETI has found no evidence of extraterrestrial life, but with more than a hundred billion stars in our Galaxy alone to search, the odds of quick success are stacked against us. The silence from the stars is prompting some researchers to transmit more messages into space, in an effort to provoke a response from any civilisations out there that might otherwise be staying quiet. However, the act of transmitting raises troubling questions about the process of contact. In The Contact Paradox, author Keith Cooper looks at how far SETI has come since its modest beginnings, and where it is going, by speaking to the leading names in the field and beyond. SETI forces us to confront our nature in a way that we seldom have before - where did we come from, where are we going, and who are we in the cosmic context of things? This book considers the assumptions that we make in our search for extraterrestrial life, and explores how those assumptions can teach us about ourselves.

Beginning in the 1950s, alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects in Canadian skies bred tension between the state and its citizens. While the public demanded to know more about the phenomenon, government officials appeared unconcerned and unresponsive. Suspicion of government deepened among certain sectors of Canadian society in the decades that followed, leading to demands for greater public transparency and a new kind of citizen activism. In Search for the Unknown Matthew Hayes uncovers the history of the Canadian government's investigations into reports of UFOs, revealing how these reports were handled, deflected, and defended from 1950 to the 1990s. During this period Canadians filed more than 5,000 reports of UFO sightings - many with striking descriptions and illustrations - with branches of government and law enforcement. Although the government conducted some exploratory studies, officials were unable to solve the mystery of UFOs or provide satisfactory answers about their alleged existence, and they soon declared the matter closed. Dissatisfied citizens responded by taking matters into their own hands, starting UFO clubs and civilian investigation groups, and accusing the government of a cover-up. A mutual mistrust developed between citizens who were suspicious of their government and officials who dismissed their fears and anxieties. This provided fertile ground for anti-authoritarian attitudes and the cultivation of conspiracy theories. In an era of political division, and amid heightened awareness of states' responsibilities for their citizens, Search for the Unknown reveals the challenges that governments face in responding to public anxieties and preserving trust in public institutions.

Long ago, the Galactic Federation sent the Atlans, a fierce group of humans from the Pleiades, to Earth to confront the newest colony of the combative ever-spreading alien race known as the Reptilians. The ensuing battle sank the continent of Lemuria and drove the Reptilians underground beneath the Indian subcontinent as well as to Antarctica. Able to shapeshift to appear human, the Reptilians then infiltrated the Atlantean civilization, abducting humans and creating Reptilian hybrids. As Len Kasten shows, this technique of infiltration and hybridization prior to an all-out attack has been the hallmark of Reptilian conquest throughout the galaxy.Chronicling the history of the Reptilian Empire's influence on Earth and their conquest of 21 star systems, Kasten reveals how the human race is enmeshed in a skillfully concealed plot to enslave humanity and exploit our planet's physical and biological resources.Revealing Hitler's pact with extraterrestrials and the Reptilian influence on the Nazi state, he shares new documents that disclose the rescue and rehabilitation of Nazi war criminals to assist in the Cold War, which then corrupted many U.S. government institutions. Focusing on crucial events in the decade after World War II, he examines the Reptilians' human allies, the Illuminati, who control the levers of financial, technological, and military power throughout the world through various secret societies.

"Von Daniken writes and theorizes compellingly, giving pause to even the most rigid of skeptics, and the more than 150 colour photographs only enhance the dreamy experience of letting one's imagination go along for the ride." Foreword Magazine Why do flying machines and astronauts appear in the artworks and sacred texts of all ancient cultures? What is the meaning of the immense earth drawings, impossible to view from the ground, that can be found all over the globe? How could prehistoric cultures have engraved diorite and other hard rock with such incredible precision without the use of modern tools? In this mind-bending new book, Erich von Daniken draws on his latest research to update his astounding theory that the inhabitants of other planets have kept in contact with humankind since the earliest times. * Assess for yourself the stunning visual evidence presented in some 200 photographs. * Examine previously unpublished testimony from expert informants. * Discover new research undertaken by von Daniken after the opening up of previously inaccessible regions, such as the jungle city "Buritaca 200" in Colombia.

Unter welchen Bedingungen entsteht "Leben" und wie ist es im Kosmos verbreitet? Damit beschaftigt sich der Autor und stellt wichtige Facetten einer jungen Wissenschaftsdisziplin ausfuhrlich vor: * Was ist und wie funktioniert "Leben"? * Entstehung des Lebens auf der Erde * Kosmische Voraussetzungen fur "Leben, wie wir es kennen" * Leben im Sonnensystem und daruber hinaus * Suche nach ausserirdischen Zivilisationen Zudem wird das spannende Gebiet der Astrochemie behandelt, welches erklart wie sich die molekularen Grundbausteine des Lebens unter kosmischen Bedingungen bilden. Das Buch wendet sich an interessierte Studenten der Natur- und Ingenieurwissenschaften, Abiturienten, Dozenten, Lehrer und nicht zuletzt an Amateurastronomen.

Since our very beginnings, human beings from all civilisations across the globe have encountered the Others - intelligent, self-motivated beings that are clearly not human in their origins. This book offers the most comprehensive survey ever made of such otherworldly visitors, from gods, angels, demons and djinns to hobgoblins, poltergeists and ghosts to UFOs and aliens. In addition to fully detailing the history of these encounters, the book attempts a bold explanation (never before undertaken) of the true nature of these beings. The book will explore the increasingly frequent "entheogen" encounters facilitated by substances such as dimethyltryptamine, ayahuasca, 5-Meo-DMT and LSD, as well as the beings encountered by individuals suffering from Alzheimer's-related Charles Bonnet Syndrome, young children's non-corporeal companions, and the seemingly independent beings met during lucid dreaming and near-death and out-of-body experiences.This book continues Anthony Peake's work in developing a completely original model of reality based upon an amalgamation of ancient belief systems, subjective human experiences of the extraordinary, and the latest discoveries of neurology, neurochemistry, quantum mechanics and cosmology. This model proposes that consciousness, far from being simply an accident of evolution, is the actual root source of the material universe. It suggests that at its most basic level everything that is seemingly physical is rendered into existence by consciousness.