Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults

A healthy dose of reality for a topic that greatly needs this very wise man’s words. The author does not dismiss the phenomenon of UFO’s and related phenomena. He builds a case for toning down the emotional rhetoric of some enthusiasts as he demonstrates the great need to be very open minded while removing naïveté regarding politics, world government theories, and the basic nature of human beings. He encourages readers to consider that “reality” is far more than we are capable of imagining. The things within the realm we do perceive through our five senses, that remind us of the way humans think and reason, just might be a well planned veneer of attempt to control human behavior by other humans, not necessarily nonhuman intelligences. In other words, humans may be seeking to manipulate the perceptions of other humans of phenomena that are not human based, for clandestine purposes. His concerns seem well founded.

This book is a good summary of Jacques Vallee's unconventional and thought-provoking (often disturbing) theories of the UFO Phenomenon. Namely, that a strong, measurable, and perhaps intended sociological reaction can be observed in response to said phenomena; that the phenomena may behave as an algorithm and are thus difficult to understand in linear terms; that these phenomena have manifested in various ways throughout history and their true nature is still veiled from us. The chapters appear more as a collection of essays at first glance and the book ends somewhat abruptly. Jacques Vallee is a good writer and has written a novel or two in the past, but this book is not written as a novel nor does it flow as one. You the reader must follow the theories to a deeper, darker place in your mind to get the most from this work. A simple quick read will leave a lot information out. The ideas presented here are multi-tiered and valuable, with great depth. It is an excellent discussion piece for a philosophical or academic debate. Messengers of Deception is a unique contribution to the literature of not just UFO's, but also of Sociology. The book is somewhat short on eye-witness accounts and 'alien' encounters. If you prefer to read on those, may I recommend Dr. Vallee's fine book 'Confrontations' which is rich with anecdotal evidence... I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Vallee once and I consider him a treasure to this field of paranormal research. His books are a must have for anyone with a serious inclination towards the UFO subject. Messengers of Deception is a book which stands apart in many ways like the writer himself.

What to say...Vallee believes that there are both physical and psychological dimensions to the phenomena of UFO's. Yet if one subscribes to the extraterrestrial and conspiricist explanations for UFO's, one runs the risk of falling prey to an even larger conspiracy in which UFO's (or their interpretations) are being used to manipulate the populace and incline them in certain directions. So yeah, you have to be able to think on multiple levels because any solution could just be what someone wants you to think or know. As such we never get an explanation of what UFO's are, where they come from, or who's using them and to what end. But the book remains a sophisticated, if ultimately self-defeating, and circular work that collapses in infinite regress. I give it five stars not so much in response to its theories on UFO's as its exercise in persistent thought, which could have been about something else. It's sort of a case study on the paranoid pattern of thought. Thank you.

This is an excellent book about the "contactees" and their alleged experience with "aliens". Vallee manages to do what the scientific community and the government fail to - accurately isolate and explain the consistent themes and occurrences surrounding contactees and UFO sightings and develop a theory that actually holds water. To quote the epilogue (without spoiling anything for you of course) Vallee's theory on UFOs "has some advantages (to the traditional views), it does not challenge the reports of thousands of credible witnesses, nor does it contradict our present laws of physics. Moreover, it suggests a plan behind the phenomena and indicates that UFO sightings could have serious social consequences." It's got a conspiracy theory ring to it, but with all the literature available today about the 4th Reich, Illuminati, etc this theory fits right in as a very real possibility.

Jacques Vallee is a talented intellectual entrepreneur. He has selected the mysterious topic of UFOs and applied the scientific method to offer a range of hypotheses to offer possible explantations of the phenomena. Messengers of Deceit: UFO Contacts and Cults explores the experience of contactees and looks at the implications of the spread of UFO cults for social order. This book was published in the seventies and dealt with the infamous cult of Heaven's Gate and a variety of other cults including the Raelians. Vallee looks at how the beliefs of contactees are affected by their alleged contacts and how these beliefs are associated with UFOs and cattle mutilation, etc. The belief in salvation from the sky as well as terror from sky have a way of undermining rationality. Vallee speculates that the overall effect of the UFOs and their cults appear to be to undermine a science that disregards the phenomena because of the ludicrous nature of the beliefs espoused by the contactees. He points out how respectable people have distanced themselves from absurd beliefs in the past, but these absurd beliefs ultimately became socially effective in the form of religious movements and political ideologies. Working from this vantage point, Vallee posits that the phenomena of UFOs and their cults undermine the idea of human self-mastery, pushes toward planetary unification, lays the foundation for high demand religions, spreads irrational thought and motivations, and even support an odd variant of racism. Is there a relationship between the spread of irrational belief systems and totalitarian political movements? A good deal of research has been done about occult movements and their role in the rise of National Socialism. There are similar traces of irrationality in the rise of Soviet Communism. Vallee's sociological look at the rise of UFO cults uses the genius of an accomplished Aikido master to take the weight of a person's fascination with fantastic mysteries to bring them into the realm of rational speculation. Vallee views the atmosphere created by the cults to appear as if a human or perhaps other intelligence was trying to manipulate human beings toward irrationalism and away from reason. He does so while also being able to tap into the hype and create a successful series of books. Vallee reminds me a bit of the political scientist, Eric Voegelin, who studied politics through the lens of religious symbolism while trying to maintain the objective status of the scientist. It is very difficult to explore the symbols of order lodged inside the human consciousness without becoming entangled with the symbols themselves. Vallee and Voegelin appear to be able to keep their balance as they explore symbolisms that cause so many others to lose their balance.

This is a Must Read from Jacques Vallee. Read it, learn from it, and beware of the dangers of those forming cults who would control the world.

Jacques Vallee is one of the most thoughtful writers in UFO research, but Messengers of Deception is easily his weakest book. The central argument — that UFO mythology is being exploited by cult leaders who claim alien contact — is interesting enough, but Vallee never seriously considers the obvious alternatives: maybe these people are simply crazy, or cynical opportunists who found a useful story. The cult sections feel especially dated and flat. Where the book gets more interesting is in the darker visions reported by contactees — terrifying, apocalyptic warnings. But even here, Vallee doesn't fully follow the thread. John Keel had a better answer: those frightening visions are scarecrows. Whatever is behind these encounters seems to be delivering a simple territorial message — you're trespassing, back off — rather than any genuine prophecy. Worth reading if you're working through Vallee's bibliography, but don't start here.

I have been reading J Vallee UAP writings in sequence and must confess that with each new book he becomes even more thought provoking. In this book Valle addresses the incidents and experiences of UFO contactees and the messages conveyed in some of the key contacts. His scientific approach is evident throughout and though he does not consider his views conclusive he offers several hypothesis that builds his theory of UAP as a control system. Without spoiling the insights articulated in this book I will offer this; The author offers a theory about "time" that I found astounding. Definitely a book that must be read for those that desire a comprehensive and will rounded view of the UAP.

I was very intrigued reading the pages of this book. It is well structured and not difficult to read. If this is your genre, then you'll really like this book.

Still a highly relevant book . The book is hugely thought provoking and easy to read. It has not aged at all and seems to me to be a basic foundational text for a grounded, open investigative approach to a fascinating and potentially world altering enigma. Does not disappoint.

A great read. I didn’t read this guys books in the 70’s because I wanted to believe in Aliens from other planets. I wish I had read them. It seems our whole science industry has been conditioned to make us believe that aliens from “ space” are possible. I think Vallee missed that. I have bought two more of his books.

Mah..this book I was a little disappointed.. By Vallè, I would have expected more..Here this theories are not confirmed, too forced..

ood book, another fascinating theory about the origin of the ufos and their impact and role in today's human conscious ness.