Starstruck: Cosmic Visions in Science, Religion and Folklore

This is a good book covering the various social issues surrounding UFO and extra-terrestial beliefs in the USA. The writing style is accessible, the scholarship seems good. As a folklorist, I was eager to see a folkloric treatment of the subject (given the title), but I was disappointed. Folklorists offer a variety of approaches to various popular beliefs, but I saw none of the *real* folkloric literature reviewed here; not a one in the bibliography, even. I think this is merely the accident of an ill-conceived title from a scholar who is not a folklorist -- fair enough. But I will proceed with this review as if it *should* include more discussion of the folklore of "cosmic visions" to encourage the author to write a second edition that includes the folkloric approach.To be sure, any good treatment of the subject will naturally echo with folkloric issues and processes, and this book does. Yet, given its title -- it does have the word "folklore" in it, after all -- the book needed to pay homage to the word. For example, the cultural process known as the "legend" (which is both a technical term in folklore and of course a generally known genre of 'fantastic local story') resounds with social forces at work, the discussion of which can help elucidate many issues concerning "cosmic visions" of UFOs, etc. For a starter, check out Bill Ellis's writings. He is an approachable writer but also a firm intellectual in the area of popular belief and how folklore can help explain it.In addition, anthropologists and archaeologists have dealt with a genre which is close-kin to UFOs: it is called "cult archaeology" or "folk archaeology" (and some irritable British scholars have called it the "lunatic fringe" of archaeology, etc., perhaps true at times, but not a diplomatic term -- but give some slack to the Brits, for they have dealt with 'cult archaeology' longer than anybody). A large body of scholarly literature has been written on cult archaeology (some of it touching UFO-ology), but none of it is mentioned in the book. Including some of the findings of this approach would just make a good book better.Failing to even mention that two other major fields of academia have worked on problems of or similar to UFO belief is disapppointing even if the author is from a different scientific discipline. If I were to write about the folklore of high-energy physicists, you would expect me to at least gain some basic understanding and cite the basic publications concerning the issues of high-energy physics and the social life of the physical scientist, not to mention any physical scientist who had also written on the topic....right? So, the reader should supplement with the books/articles of John R. Cole, Kenneth Feder, Stephen Williams, Eugenie Scott (on Creationism, a related issue), and others, some of whom are collected in the book "Cult Archaeology and Creationism" edited by Harrold and Eve.But do not let my irritation with this book stop you from reading it. It presents a good summary of many of the issues surrounding our "cosmic visions" and would make a good textbook for an undergraduate college course.... if supplemented with the writings of the other folkorists and anthropologists made silent by this book's focus. -- wt

A 'Down to Earth' treatment of an 'up in the clouds topic'. Professor Harrison has covered this topic extensively, thoroughly and without bias. The author has high credentials in both SETI and NASA but that does not stop him from being both objective and able to present all sides of the argument. An easy read of an academic work, which has about 16 pages of references. Written in a way that is absorbing to both the casual reader and a serious student of the topic, this is the book that had to be written sooner or later and professor Harrison was the one to do it. At the advertised price, it is an absolute bargain. You will be hard pressed to find a book that comes close to this one. As you, by now, may have deduced, I thoroughly recommend this book.My thanks to professor Alber Harrison for having written it.Regards to you all.Karl Rasmussen.

Harrison's Starstruck is an instant classic that is a must-read for anyone interested in our place in the universe and human's use of science, religion, and folklore as a means of finding meaning in our lives. Written in a style that is accessible to laymen as well as scientists (not a trivial feat), Harrison cuts through a wealth of information about what we know and what we don't know about fundamental questions that have been at the core of human existence. All the while, he maintains a sense of wonder and imagination as he addresses mankind's fascination with the cosmos, with extraterrestrials, with space exploration. Harrison, true to his psychological roots, gives us tentative answers when he can, but often raises more questions along the way. And that makes the book all the better. This is a book that I could not put down and I plan to read again.