Captured by Aliens: The Search for Life and Truth in a Very Large Universe

In energetic, engaging prose, Washington Post staff reporter Achenbach (Why Things Are) introduces readers to an eclectic mix of scientists, millennialists, channelers, UFOlogists, debunkers and true believers who have been captivated, if not captured, by the notion of extraterrestrial life. The central figures are Carl Sagan (""a visionary, a poet of science, a quote machine for reporters on deadline"") and Frank Drake, who promulgated a famous equation to predict N, the number of intelligent, communicating civilizations likely to exist in a galaxy like ours. In 1975, Drake estimated N to be 10,000; Sagan guessed a million. Urged on by Sagan and Drake, scientists have tried to eavesdrop on cosmic chat. Nearly 25 years later, the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence has continued to reveal nothing, in Achenbach's view, beyond static and the optimism of its advocates. In addition to respected scientists, Achenbach travels to a UFO convention, where he meets a man convinced that the aliens have the medical technology to cure his aching back and that President Clinton traveled by spaceship from Arkansas to New York (it took 15 minutes). ET is here, say many of those Achenbach interviewed, but we don't believe the evidence because of government deception and coverups. Achenbach's book can be appreciated for its assortment of characters and for its witty style. Whether N is one or one million, and whether intelligence is the result of deliberate creation or natural evolution, he concludes, we are privileged to be members of a species able to wonder about it. (Nov.)