Aliens Like Us?

Anthony Aveni is the Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy, Anthropology, and Native American Studies Emeritus at Colgate University. He has written or edited more than forty books, including Conversing with the Planets: How Science and Myth Invented the Cosmos and The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012.

Introduction PART I. ARE THEY OUT THERE? Chapter One. ET Fever Chapter Two. Optimists vs. Pessimists PART II. DO THEY EVOLVE LIKE US? Chapter Three. Life Like Ours? Chapter Four. Does Evolution Converge? Chapter Five. Does Culture Evolve Too? PART III. DO THEY THINK LIKE US? Chapter Six. Do Aliens Believe in High-Tech Progress? Lessons from History Chapter Seven. Doesn't Everybody Do Things the Way We Do? Lessons from Anthropology Chapter Eight. Contacting the Ultimate Other: More Lessons from Anthropology Chapter Nine. Do Aliens Believe in God? PART IV. ARE THEY HERE? Chapter Ten. The Story of Ufology Chapter Eleven. Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Selected Bibliography Credits Index

This fascinating and thought-provoking volume applies insights from the social sciences and humanities to the search for life beyond Earth, from exoplanets to aliens and UFOs. Aveni brings his unique expertise in the cultures of the Earth to illuminate possible cultures in the heavens. The result is an important, readable, and unusual contribution to the literature of astrobiology, illuminating not only possible extraterrestrials, but also the humans who search for and believe in them." - Steven J. Dick, former NASA chief historian and author of Astrobiology, Discovery, and Societal Impact "One of today's most exciting research efforts is focused on detecting the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence. But are we, in fact, looking for ourselves?" - Seth Shostak, senior astronomer and director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute and author of Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence "Aliens Like Us? is an important contribution to the emerging dialogue between astrobiology and social science communities. It shows some of the deep and powerful assumptions and biases that have shaped SETI to date." - John Traphagan, author of Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Human Imagination: SETI at the Intersection of Science, Religion, and Culture