WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT
PARALLELS
Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena
by Richard L. Thompson, Ph.D.
Carefully researched and well written... [Richard L. Thompsons] approach to the UFO problem is refreshingly innovative.... Parallels is a major addition to ufological literature, too much of which in recent years has come to seem overspecialized and repetitive.
Roger W. Wescott, Professor of linguistics and anthropology, Drew University
Parallels is stimulating, well-organized, and an encyclopedic smorgasbord of UFO data and ancient Indian counterparts.... What a refreshing treat. Richard L. Thompson is obviously a scholar who knows his subject and has read and integrated a wealth of literature.... He demonstrates considerable skill, knowledge and penetrating insight with his divergent hypotheses for the disparate pieces of information....
Parallels: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena, will not be read on one sitting, nor will it be easily set down. Beware! For like an excellent detective story, the book can become cognitively addicting.... Parallels stands to become a classic.
Berthold Schwarz, M.D., psychiatrist and author of UFO Dynamics
[ Parallels ] will contribute a valuable insight into the possible origin of UFOs. Bravo! Parallels is the much searched for Rosetta Stone of UFO literature.
Clark C. McClelland, pioneer NASA aerospace engineer, United States Space Program, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Though a few books and articles have briefly flown over the common ground of UFO sightings and contact, and the descriptions of aerospace craft and nuclear-like weapons in Hindu scripture, Richard L. Thompsons Parallels: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena turns a scholars satellite lens on this fascinating and mysterious subject.... Parallels is a mind stretcher that goes as far as the evidence can allow for UFO-type phenomena in ancient India.
Hinduism Today
As an ordained Tibetan Buddhist monastic, I refer to texts from India as the ultimate source material by which to answer questions. Both oral and written teachings which I have given throughout the years have focused on comparing the descriptions of vimanas in the Vedic texts to modern Western UFO investigations. Having been involved in this work for decades, I highly recommend Dr. Thompsons book as one which will help Westerners understand the Vedic knowledge pertaining to so-called UFO phenomena.
Reverend Mary Teal Coleman, Dharma Institute
Parallels provides the reader with a perspective that not only compares UFO events from different cultures but also from different ages.... [Richard L. Thompson] offers a balanced approach for the psychological evaluation of UFO Experiences, but he shows courage and scholarship in addressing all levels of evidence: physical, biological, psychosocial and spiritual levels of experiences. Physical traces, abduction reports, the role of the government, and UFO communications, all are grist for the authors mill.... Part One is an excellent summary of the problems and findings of modern UFO research.
R. Leo Sprinkle, Ph.D., Counseling psychologist, Wyoming, U.S.A.
Like Jacques Vallees Passport to Magonia, Parallels is absolutely seminal, a real ground breaker. It looks at this peculiar phenomenon with marvelous insight and imagination. A must-read addition to the field.
Whitley Strieber, author of Communion
Brilliant! Parallels is a remarkable comparison of some of the best and least-studied information we have on UFOs.... Thoroughly researched, thought-provoking and eminently readable, I could not put it down!
Tricia McCannon, founder UFO Forum, Atlanta, U.S.A.
Excellent research material for scholarly UFO students... for advanced students and beginners alike.
nics magazine
A Summa Ufologica of great importance.... Thompon has written perhaps the most honest UFO book extant in the English language.
Gnosis magazine
Parallels is brilliant. Thompsons work is both universal and detailed, yet put over in a very readable laymans way.... I highly recommend this book.
Ken Phillips, editor of BUFORA magazine, U.K.
A new and important book now joins the expanding literature on UFOs. But this book is refreshingly different in its approach. Richard L. Thompson has used a much larger canvas to present his logical and scholarly work.... The author has meticulously researched material from all over the world in writing this book. [ Parallels ] is a veritable encyclopaedia of information on this subject. It is likely to become a classic in the world of UFOlogy.
Joan Wilder, Flying Saucer Review, London, England
I enjoyed the book, and found the parallels Dr. Thompson points out in Vedic literature to modern UFO lore to be most interesting. His review of UFOlogy is also well done. He strikes a fine balance between the physical and psychic aspects of UFO encounters. The book stands well on its own, and should be an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in a transcultural and historical analysis of the UFO phenomenon.... I can (and will) recommend it highly to my colleagues, to experiencers, and to anyone interested in the UFO phenomena.
David Gotlib, M.D., Toronto, Canada, Editor of Bulletin of Anomalous Experience
PARALLELS
ANCIENT INSIGHTS INTO MODERN UFO PHENOMENA
PARALLELS
ANCIENT INSIGHTS INTO MODERN UFO PHENOMENA
RICHARD L. THOMPSON, PH.D.
Copyright 1993 by Richard L. Thompson.
Revised second and subsequent editions copyright 1995 by Richard L. Thompson.
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reprinted in any form or by any means whatsoever without permission in writing from the publisher.
First edition, first printing: 1993
First edition, second printing: 1994
Revised second edition, first printing: 1995
Third edition, first printing: 2017
Published by Institute for Vaishnava Studies (IVS)
Contact information:
Web: www.richardlthompson.com
Email:
Write to: Richard L. Thompson Archives, 12834 NW 151 Road, Alachua, FL 32615
Cover images:
UFO: mik38 | iStockphoto.com
Background: suratoho | iStockphoto.com
Cover and book design: Robert Wintermute
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thompson, Richard L.
Parallels: ancient insights into modern UFO phenomena / Richard L. Thompson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Preassigned LLCCN: 92-76167
ISBN 978-0-9981871-4-3
1. Unidentified flying objectsSightings and encounters. 2. Unidentified flying objectsSightings and encountersIndia. 3. CivilizationExtraterrestrial influences. 4. Civilization, HinduExtraterrestrial influences. 5. Unidentified flying object literature. I. Title.
| CB156.T46 1993 | 001.9420934 |
| QBI93-720 |
PUBLISHERS NOTE: This book was originally published as Alien Identities: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena, in two editions. This third edition is a reprint of the second edition of Alien Identities , minus the Foreword. The new title, Parallels , was the authors original choice.
Dedicated to
His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupda
