Discusses the study of UFOs and asks questions on issues such as funding for scientific study and why research in this area is considered "deviant"
What Others are sayingEmmons has arguably written one of the best treatments of UFOs from the perspective of the sociology of science. Ufology, he writes, has been labeled a "deviant science" and thus not taken seriously. This treatment originated with the air force's UFO project and continues in sensational media coverage. Emmons takes a look at the scientists who defy the taboo and study UFOs anyway, as well as the professional debunkers, whom he finds much less objective than their press releases let on. He then examines two reasons not to take debunking claims too seriously: mainstream science is now under attack from many quarters for being too ideological, and some conceptual developments in the new physics may make UFOs much easier to accept and explain, even within a scientific framework. The rest of the book is concerned with the nature of physical and eyewitness evidence and the debate between nuts-and-bolts ufologists and those with a New Age approach. A masterful job of clarifying the dynamics of a complex field of study. —George Eberhart Booklist Reading this is like watching a good TV documentary. --KS
This is a sociological look at 50 years of th eUFO movement, where it has been and where it is headed. Emmons presents a well-researched and logical look at the whole issue. The threshold he speaks of may be our own, referring to our evolution of understanding and acceptance. —NAPRA ReView
At the Threshold is by far the best book I’ve yet seen to acquaint university colleagues with the full sweep of the UFO phenomenon, written in a style they will be able to appreciate while at the same time not holding back on the UFO-related topics that scholasticism abhors, including New Age subjects. This is a book for the interested, thinking person who wishes to be brought up to date as quickly as possible." —Dr. James Deardorff Author of Celestial Teachings
"The "Threshold of Respectability," one supposes, is what is meant by the title, for this is a book by a PhD which is clearly aimed at a highly educated audience--an audience which *might* like to follow up on a natural curiosity about this UFO stuff, but which is intimidated by 'peer pressure' from fellow academics and scientists to the point where they dare not be seen at the office or lab with a UFO book. The author argues the case for lightening up; after all, it is the subject itself which cries out for serious study, and not the braying and bawling of the pro-UFO fanatics and the mentally constipated debunkers. Virtually every ufologist with a *mind* is quoted or paraphrased in here, and in short, this is probably the best defense of legitimate UFO study in print. If you've got a mind, but are weighing the professional risks involved in acknowledging that you are a....(snicker, snicker)....ufologist...take heart, and let ‘yerself’ go. —Bob Girard, Arcturus Books, Inc.
Anyone seeking a better understanding of the people involved in the flying saucer movement will find this book an invaluable resource. Whether you are an experiencer, skeptic, debunker or true believer, you will find yourself mirrored in these pages. As a research reference, the appendix giving brief biographies of 18 renowned Ufologists is worth the price of the book all by itself. —The Golden Age of Flying Saucers
It has been my deep pleasure to read this tightly-edited, com pre hen sive book. The logic is clean, and Prof. Emmons makes good use of transitional phrases/anticipatory questions.
To examine the complexity of the subject, Prof. Emmons covers the implications of New Physics (worm holes; 10-di mensional reality; holographic universe), the history of ufology (significant cases; gov ernmental and scien tific stud ies; current funding for UFO research), para normal aspects of UFO incidents (telepathy; ap par tions; out-of-body travel), related phenomena (crop circles; cattle mutilations; the Face on Mars), media cov erage (sensationalism; witness ridicule), and per sonality types (encounter-prone personality; hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations). As a pro fessor of so cio logy, he writes:
Prof. Emmons not only combines current and historical works, but conducts original research (inter views) for the book. Iíve recom mended At the Threshold book to a fellow author, as a kind of style guide, for ap proach ing this complex and con fusing subject. Prof. Emmons has really "done his home work"! — Book Review by S. Patricia Welsh editor of newsletter Life Is Flux (Evolution & Dross)
