Sometimes we desperately want to believe in aliens, sometimes we think those who do believe in aliens are loonies, and sometimes we experience both at the same time. Chasing Aliens, the latest book from Orwell Prize-winning journalist Daniel Lavelle, explores our fascination with extraterrestrial beings, those who claim to have seen them, and those who desperately wish to see.
Inspired by erstwhile Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge’s commitment to proving we are not alone in the universe, Lavelle examines evidence, both for and against, and asks whether we can ever know if there are aliens among us. He also touches on the history of aliens in our collective consciousness, and the role of aliens in modern media.
Lavelle’s writing is engaging and easy to breeze through, without losing the depth of the ideas conveyed within. While eye-witness accounts are relayed and government documents are poured through, Lavelle doesn’t treat the search for alien life as a surface-level conspiracy theory. Instead, he asks why we’re so fascinated with life on other planets, what it says about us as a species, even going so far as to ask whether believe in alien life could replace religion in modern life. The book is a fascinating read, and offers fresh insight into an aspect of popular culture many of us know well.