Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact by Jacques F. Vallée

Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact Reviews

• 
  Mark Tallen

  Highly recommended for anyone interested in Ufology. This book explores the possibility that UFOS whilst a reality, are not extraterrestrial in nature but are related to another dimension. A dimension that has had impact on and influenced the human consciousness for thousands of years through its pyshical and psychological nature. Vallee followed this book with Confrontations and then Revelations.
• 
  Aja Miller-arrow

  Jacques F Vallee was at the frontier of ufology from its inception in the 1950's and is one of the most credible and well-respected researchers in the field. Passport to Magonia and this book, Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact, share his changed opinion that the UFO phenomena is not caused by extraterrestrials. Vallee urges scientists to seriously study the phenomena without jumping too quickly to the wrong hypothesis that aliens are behind it. Vallee distances himself from the Chariots of Fire, Ancient Aliens sect of believers and cautions against the Harmonic Convergence that has resulted from New Age thought. I would highly recommend anyone interested in UFOs to read Dimensions and the two books that follow it.
• 
  Brent

  I was reading Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men and this book was referenced several times so I decided to take a look at it. Part of my curiosity was that Hugh Ross was writing from a Christian perspective and I was sure that Jacques Vallee would not be approaching the subject from that angle.
  
  It is interesting to not the they come to similar conclusions. Of interest:
  
  1. Vallee argues that we cannot view the UFO phenomena as an isolated modern event. He links UFO accounts with folklore, mythology, religion. I think he does a good job showing that there are many similarities between UFO abductions and fariey abductions, etc.
  
  The only spot that seemed weak in this section was his handling of archaeology.
  
  2. On his own he comes to some sort of 'gods of the nations' theory.
  
  3. The information given by the creatures people see is often deceptive or full of half truths.
  
  4. Much of it appears to be a system of control, designed to isolate people, make people look absurd/foolish, change their worldview.
  
  I don't think he ever used the term 'politics' but it would be fitting.
  
  6. If you have read any scholary books about the fairyfaith you will know the key to seeing the fairy is that it is a 'meeting,' even if it looks like you took them by suprise you only saw them because it was their purpose.
  
  Vallee thinks that a lot of UFO sightings are staged in the same way.
  
  7. He rejects the extraterrestrial theory and has several good points. Of interest is that most 'aliens' seen have more to do with the Earth's biosphere than one would expect of a truely alien lifeform.
  
  And so on.
• 
  Hank

  It seems like every UFO researcher has their own opinion of the true origin and nature of the phenomenon. Weirdly, the ones who are the least biased, take the most information into account, and have the most impressive scientific or achademic credentials, always seem to form the most surreal and mind blowing opinions. In the case of Jacques Vallee, he meticulously lays out a compelling case that whatever UFO's are, they seem to be the same phenomena that were taking the shape of fairy folk & gnomes in officially documented European cases hundreds of years ago, angels, demons, and gods from millenia before, and they share uncanny traits and patterns with other myths and folklore from cultures around the world throughout the history of record and legend. These constant patterns and identical narratives, he proposes, suggests that they likely are not only a real phenomenon, but are not likely to be strictly physical extraterestrial entities from a distant star, but that this interpretation of them is yet another misdirection by them about their true nature, meant, perhaps to generate new folklore and religions that are more compatible with our current level of scientific knowledge. He then theorizes that perhaps what they actually are is some kind of multidimensional phenomena that has a vested interest in exerting long term influence on human culture for unknown reasons. He doesn't claim to have any strong opinions about whether the phenomena is automatic like a very sophisticated machine, an actual species with its own civilization coexisting with our own in another phase of reality, or even if it's some kind of psychokinetic effect of the human unconscious that we unknowingly generate ourselves, and cause to materialize collectively as an evolved survival mechanism that helps to prevent our whole civilization from destroying itself through war or hopelessness. But he definitely does not believe that they are mechanical spacecraft. His decades of analysis of thousands of cases has convinced him that the extraterrestrial explanation is not weird enough to explain the evidence. Much like Charles Fort and John Keel, Vallee is unable examine the data objectively without concluding that what ever is causing it is so beyond our understanding of physics that the methods necessary to understand it fully likely haven't even been invented yet.
• 
  Jonathan Hockey

  A worthwhile read full of interesting contact stories and well considered intelligent explanations for them. The craft may not merely be the presumed "nuts and bolts" technology of an alien civilisation from a distant planet. In fact they may not be this at all. They may be a merely mythical guide to our future spiritual evolution, a sign of yearning for a lost contact with a more deeper purposeful sense of reality, or they may be interdimensional informational contacts that transcend our typical physical block world of space and time in ways we find hard to express being stuck within the conceptual prison of this structure of thought.
  
  The metaphor I find most resonant in this work is this idea of the contact and alien phenomenon as like a thermostatic valve controlling and balancing the spiritual and consciousness level of humanity, between fear and trust, love and hate, ensuring that we continue on a healthy path, connected to, and respecting, a surrounding reality always slightly beyond our full rational grip, instead of being disconnected from it in some of the ways modern science has unfortunately prescribed for us.
• 
  Dollie

  I have been fascinated by UFOs since I was six years old, a very long time. After watching The UFO Incident in 1975 and then learning whatever I could about Betty and Barney Hill’s encounter, I’ve always believed their story was true. Then I started reading about other encounters and believed some of them, as well. I didn’t know I still had any UFO books, but when I recently found this one in a box of books, even though it’s dated, I knew it would be good reading and it was. Dr. Vallee is one of the world’s UFO experts (he was portrayed in Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Francois Truffaut). This entire book is about UFO encounters, some I’d never heard of and some of which happened hundreds, even thousands of years ago. Dr. Vallee suspects that “aliens” have always been here and that they don’t come from outer space, but from a different dimension right here on Earth. A dimension which humans haven’t had the knowledge to figure out yet. Perhaps he’s right. I may never know, but reading this made me want to find more recent books on the topic.
• 
  Stephanie Sanders-Jacob

  I can’t believe I’m giving Jacques Vallée three stars but here we are. Maybe if I hadn’t read Passport to Magonia I would have enjoyed this more. I felt like there was a lot of recycled content.
  
  The supposed main claim of this book is that UFOs are not extraterrestrial, but are instead extradimensional. It’s a cool theory and deserves just as much consideration as the outer space idea, but the topic is mostly relegated to the last third of the book, with the first two sections trying to convince the reader that UFOs are real and have been seen across the centuries. In my mind, if someone is reading this book, they’ve already come to that conclusion. I guess I just wanted to see more of the theories behind alternate dimensions than rudimentary proof of UFOs. Especially when a lot of that is already covered in his earlier books.
• 
  Greg Williams

  The author of this book, Jacques Vallee, has been involved in investigation of UFO encounters since the 1960’s. In this book, he provides a sampling of human encounters with “alien beings” throughout history. He provides examples from the Bible and other ancient history, medieval history, and modern times. And he argues against the idea that UFOs are spacecraft from outer space.
  
  He writes:
  

  
  I have carefully kept my distance from the very vocal groups of researchers who claim that UFOs are interplanetary visitors; such a conclusion is not only premature but is contradicted by several basic facts that become apparent only when one takes a historical perspective of the field rather than studying a single case at a time and trying to generalize from isolated events.
  

  
  
  In this case, he lays out his case that the alien encounters throughout history (e.g. angels, fairies, elves, UFO pilots) are all manifestations of the same thing, expressed in different ways based on the culture at the time.
  

  
  Let us start with a simple fact: man has always been aware that he is not alone. All the traditions of mankind carefully preserve accounts of contact with other forms of life and intelligence beyond the animal realm. Even more significantly, they claim that we are surrounded with spiritual entities that can manifest physically in ways that we don’t understand.
  

  
  Based on that starting point:
  

  
  The UFO occupants, like the elves of old, are not extraterrestrials. They are the denizens of another reality.
  

  
  
  His understanding of what these encounters might represent is based on "the psychic effects it produces (or the psychic awareness it makes possible) in its observers." He views UFO encounters as psychic or spiritual encounters. At one point, he calls them a “spiritual control system” from a part of reality that we don’t understand. He even speculates that their purpose may be “long-term social manipulation.”
  

  
  What we see here is not an alien invasion. It is a spiritual system that acts on humans and uses humans.
  

  
  
  I found this to be a fun read. It was interesting to read eyewitness accounts of alien encounters across a broad range of history. I like the fact that he doesn’t assume that the witnesses of alien encounters are crazy but instead treats them with dignity by accepting their testimony as a real experience that we just don’t understand. And I found his view of UFOs to be interesting and worthy of consideration.
  
  All in all, I liked this book and would recommend to anyone with an interest in UFOs or other paranormal phenomena.
• 
  X

  Similar to his other works, Jacque Vallée espouses his theory that UFOs, spirits, fairies, dwarves, etc are all the same phenomena. His clear and logical format is free from the sensationalism found in other books on the subject. The modern iteration of whatever the underlying thing is, masquerades as extraterrestrial visitors to earth. He comes to the conclusion that this can’t be true as the supposed ET encounters are too frequent and too weird to actually be ETs. Coverups are due to people not wanting to be ridiculed and governments not wanting to admit their ignorance. To him, the only explanation can be that these are physical objects/creatures from another dimension that have been here as long as humanity. Their visits must have some sort of meta-logic, influencing society and culture through its absurd encounters. The destination and purpose are unknown. Reading this 33 years after it was written, his description of the state of study of UFOs hasn’t developed much. The dominant theory is still either they are the result of hoaxes/misidentifications/mental illness or aliens from another planet.
• 
  Marick

  This is by far my favourite theory seeking to explain the "UFO/alien phenomenon". Jacques Vallee's writing style isn't always the nicest to read, but his arguments are succinct and well-researched and they really do make a lot of sense when put all together. It is so refreshing to read a serious work that attempts to explain this phenomenon as something OTHER THAN extraterrestrial WITHOUT dismissing it. I thought it was fantastic.
  
  The alien/UFO mystery has always intrigued me, but it's kind of boring reading the same old theories rehashed again and again. I also am extremely skeptical when reading such books (even though I do enjoy the topic greatly). Jacques Vallee does a great job of tearing down the extraterrestrial hypothesis while ALSO providing a comprehensible explanation for what might really be going on. God, this was refreshing!
  
  ...but what I loved most about this work was his deep exploration into centuries-old folklore, unravelling stories about "fairies" and other strange "beings" that humans have constantly encountered throughout history. It was so fascinating. I will definitely read this book again. Really excellent work!
• 
  Kevin W. Carr Carr

  A new perspective
  
  I read a bit about Mr. Vallee's writing recently and decided to check out his well researched theories on the UFO phenomenon. I'm very impressed. I won't divulge the pertinent information, however I say this is a serious alternate perspective. This has provided a new avenue to re-see all the massive amounts of data trickled out over the years. If you wish to be given fresh concepts to a issue that seems to be being revised and revisited recently, this will be healthy food for thought.
• 
  Sarah Huntington

  I read this book many years ago, and probably around ten times since.
  This book started off a whole new rabbit hole of history, interactions and other dimensions. Theories, I love them. They get you wondering and using your imagination and mind. Facts are a little dull in comparison, although there are plenty in here. There is nothing I can add that hasn't already been said, only that Jacques Vallee is an absolute genius and a man far ahead of his time. The world is finally catching up to this idea though, and that can only be a good thing?
• 
  MR GUY R EDMONDSON

  A good overview and analysis of the historical information
  
  Easy to read and a cautious threading of an alternative view which fits the current state of play regarding what we can make of our apparent recent moves towards ‘disclosure’ - Vallee provides a useful platform of sceptical openness and invites the interested reader to question received suggestions that aliens are extraterrestrial- 5 star stuff!
• 
  MrFuckTheSystem

  A part of me gets a negative vibe from Jacques Vallee. But I did enjoy all the very true and impressive comparisons between religious experiences, fairy faith, and modern day ufo reports. All of which he makes a strong argument as being the same phenomena just interpreted differently based on the time in which it was witnessed !
• 
  Christine Best

  An early rebuttal of the idea that UFOs are extraterrestrial and along with John Keel’s ‘Operation Trojan Horse’ absolutely essential reading for anyone wanting to place the phenomenon in a larger context. These books seem to be gaining in popularity again recently especially now UFOS are being increasingly connected with other paranormal and psychic events.
• 
  Darren

  In my opinion, of all the books that have been written addressing UFOs and the Phenomenon in general, it is Vallee's outside-the-box thinking that hits closest to the mark. And of Vallee's many excellent contributions, this one is one of my favorites.
• 
  Jose Sanz

  10/10
  
  El libro que regalaría a cualquier persona a la que quisiese introducir en la fenomenología ovni y paranormal para asegurarme precisamente eso, que el regalo actuará como motor atrayente y no a modo de texto disuasorio.
• 
  Bryan

  I found this to be a wonderful book and I very much like the author, his opinion, his deduction, and conclusion, as well as his presentation of the case studies which he has covered over the last 50 years of his life. Thank you sir!
• 
  Wesley

  Brilliant and challenging!
  
  This extremely well written work serves as an eye opener into the myriad of possibilities beyond the typical “alien” concepts.
• 
  Declan L

  My head hurts from this but it was great
• 
  Tipper

  4.5
• 
  Melissa Haworth

  A fresh perspective on the phenomenon. I think he’s onto something!
• 
  Jude

  :/
• 
  Phil

  In DIMENSIONS, the first volume of a trilogy, Dr. Jacques Vallee reexamines the historical record that led to the modern UFO phenomenon and to the belief in alien contact. He then tackles the enigma of abduction reports, which come from various times and various countries, as well as the psychic and spiritual components of the contact experience. In the last portion of the book, he notes the factors that inhibit research into the phenomenon--the triple coverup and political motivations--and concludes that the extraterrestrial theory is simply not strange enough to explain the facts.