Abduction In My Life

By Bruce S. Maccabee, Ph.D.

Reviewed by Katharina Wilson for The MUFON Journal 

Abduction In My Life is a novel based on generally accepted facts derived from years of abduction research from various researchers. It is also a ‘book within a book’ and the book within is definitely not fiction. Abduction In My Life seems to cry out for its own category and perhaps Nonfiction / Fiction or ‘Faction’ might best describe it.  

This novel is about a science fiction writer who is happily married with one son. He is the person telling the story and from here on, I will refer to him as the author. He is a ‘virgin’ to the UFO phenomenon and all that it encompasses. He is completely oblivious to the fact that anything remotely associated with the subject could ever be real. As far as he is concerned, it is a subject for crackpots and the delusional.   

All of that slowly begins to change when a friend tells the author about a sighting of a red light he had. It occurred some 30 years prior on a cold Vermont night while he was working in a sugar maple orchard with another man. After their sighting, the men noticed that one of them was missing some clothing and, well, there were other odd things that just did not seem right.  

The author tells his friend he will try to help him figure out what happened. He decides that in order to help his friend, he needs to understand what it is he is getting involved with so he checks out a book at his local library. The book he checks out is actually the nonfiction book you will read while reading the novel - and - it is an extremely informative book!  

He brings the book home, begins to read it and hides it from his family while trying to finish it. While he reads the book you get a clear picture of what this man thinks about the UFO phenomenon. He has to force himself to read it and slams it closed on occasion while cursing the author of the book, a man named Mac Sargent, Ph.D. [Those of us ‘in the know’ think we know who this man really is…] 

This nonfiction book introduces the author (and the reader) to the history of the UFO phenomenon. It covers BMI’s (Battelle Memorial Institute’s) Special Report #14 and the proceeding Status Reports of Project Stork. He learns about Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book, Kenneth Arnold’s sighting, the Condon Report and much more. He learns about scientific skeptics like J. Allen Hynek and debunkers like Dr. Donald Menzel. In short, the nonfiction book he reads begins to slowly change his attitude about people who say they have seen a UFO, and it helps him to better help his friend who had the sighting nearly 30 years ago. It will be easy for a lot people who have studied the UFO subject to look back and see themselves in this same position some 10, 20 or even 30 years ago.  

The author eventually finds contacts to help his friend and the man who was with him when he saw the red light. He becomes more and more involved, but still tries to reject some of the information he feels forced to consider: The government and the (Army) Air Force hid the truth from the American public. He tries to rationalize this while he attempts to understand the implications of the many detailed reports he has read. Just when he thinks his mind has absorbed about all it can take; his wife drops a bombshell on him:  

Because she discovers the book her husband has been hiding from her, she feels it is now permissible to mention a few things about her past. Doing so leads the author’s family on a journey of self-discovery and forever changes their lives.  

From the book: 

"Whoa, baby," I said. "Things aren’t that bad." And then I told a big lie. "It’s not like the world is coming to an end." I knew it was a lie because the world - our world was coming - had come to an end. The future would not be like the past. I just sat there holding her to me. I couldn’t think of anything else to do or anything profound to say so I just reassured her."  

If the readers of this book choose it because they enjoy fiction, they are in for a really big surprise, because even the fictional portion of the book is based in fact. Speaking as someone who has experienced this phenomenon firsthand, Maccabee has definitely done his homework on the abduction aspects of the phenomenon. 

I’m not sure which book I actually enjoyed the most. Because I have never reviewed fiction before and do not normally read fiction, I found myself leaning towards enjoying the nonfiction book more at times. When the nonfiction book ended however, the fictional book really took off and I found myself getting more into that part of the book. 

The last two chapters of Abduction In My Life are terrific! In Question Everything Maccabee forces the reader to consider some interesting concepts relating to spirituality, religious beliefs, evolution and philosophy. There is also a discussion about ‘societal infrastructure’ and how the ET presence could affect human life one day. The Epilogue is a wrapping up of the novel. 

Maccabee weaves the abduction novel based in fact in very well with the nonfiction history of the UFO phenomenon. I learned a great deal from the nonfiction book within this novel. It is a great review for people interested in ufology and I came across a lot of information I normally would not have read had it been presented in another book that was only about UFO sightings.  

Probably what is most important about Abduction In My Life is, if marketed properly, it will introduce people to certain aspects of the UFO phenomenon who would not normally read a book about abductions or UFO sightings alone. The average reader will learn a great deal about how our government, the (Army) Air Force and the media kept the public from learning the truth about UFOs for over fifty years.  

My only criticisms about the book rest with the publisher and editors. In my opinion, they did not do justice to Dr. Maccabee by leaving out his biography. For a scientist who has done so much for ufology, not to have his biography published in his book is something I do not understand.

My second criticism is that there are more editing mistakes than I would like to have seen. A few editing oversights are always going to occur in the publishing of a book, but there were more than a ‘few’ in this book.  

My third criticism is the book cover. The copy I received had two different titles. Abduction In My Life was printed on the front cover and Abducted In My Life was printed on the spine of the book. If this was the publisher’s or editor’s fault, they should have paid extra to have new book covers printed. If this was the printer’s fault - which I doubt because speaking from experience, printers only print what you give them to print - then the publishers should have refused the covers and waited for them to reprint the correct covers. 

Regardless of the publisher’s omission of Dr. Maccabee’s incredible biography and the above-mentioned publishing mistakes, I highly recommend Abduction In My Life. You will learn a great deal by reading this book and you will learn about a scientist who has been a friend to ufology for many years.  

Abduction In My Life has an index, a great Bibliography and Footnotes section and a great price at $12.00. It is a book you will enjoy even if you think you know it all, and it is a book that will make a great gift for friends and family members who just aren’t convinced that any of this is real. Boy - are they in for a surprise!

By Bruce S. Maccabee, Ph.D. © 2001

To read Bruce Maccabee’s Biography click on: http://brumac.8k.com/bio.html 

Bruce S. Maccabee, Ph.D. Official Research Web site: http://www.cohenufo.org/Maccabee/maccabio.htm 

Abduction In My Life can be ordered directly from Dr. Bruce Maccabee for $12.00 U.S. by contacting him at brumac@compuserve.com