|
Ingo Swann is one of the more important historical figures in the U.S. government-funded efforts to investigate the phenomenon known as "remote viewing." His participation in highly classified research is now public knowledge and not disputed. Mr. Swann is also somewhat elderly as of this writing, and I can find no reason for him to lie now about what happened to him during his most bizarre interactions with elements of the U.S. intelligence community. Penetration is Mr. Swann's most riveting book. The first 100 pages of the book is just about guaranteed to keep any reader flipping the pages as fast as the eye can read. In this book, Swann forever banishes the idea that a remote viewer's life need be dull. This is a story of how badly the government needed to know some information, and to what extent it was willing to go to get it. I suspect that most readers will be grateful that Mr. Swann finally decided to tell this most intimate history of his involvement with those in our government whose activities only rarely become visible to the common citizen. Minimally, this is a story about remote viewing and its use by Mr. Swann to explore the idea of extraterrestrial life. On the surface, this would be interesting enough for many readers to want to hear what he has to say. But Mr. Swann's tale is not of a coolly academic nature. Rather, he tells of how in the past he interacted with some of the most deeply buried U.S. government intelligence personnel to help them understand the "ET enigma." This is not a story of academic researchers wanting to know if extraterrestrial life is possible. This is a nonfiction drama involving elite elements within the U.S. intelligence community wanting to know more about extraterrestrials whom they knew were operating on and near Earth. This is the UFO hypothesis turned fully around into a confrontation with reality that destroys more passive "what-if" scientific speculation. From Swann's perspective, it is not a question of whether or not UFOs and extraterrestrials exist, or whether or not the U.S. government knows about them. Rather it is a question of how intensely the intelligence apparatus of the government is trying to learn more about the activities of the extraterrestrials without letting the public in on the story. Mr. Swann gets caught in the middle, a middle from which he eventually escapes with the publication of this book. This book is essentially two books in one. The first is about 100 pages long, and it details Mr. Swann's interactions with U.S. spies who study extraterrestrials. This is where the action and drama in this book resides. After this the book shifts gears to more general discussions (and speculations) about the subjects of telepathy, remote viewing, and extraterrestrial life. In all honesty, the latter parts of this book are not as interesting as the first 100 pages. Perhaps some readers will find the later pages helpful not so much because of what is said, but because of who is saying it. Nonetheless, I doubt many readers will criticize Mr. Swann for the later sections of the book given the visceral reward of the first part. This book will not convince anyone that extraterrestrials exist. Rather, this book is for those who simply want to hear more about Mr. Swann's past. The fact that his involvement with the U.S. intelligence community is already so well documented lends credibility to his discussion in these pages. But this is not the smoking gun that will force the government to reveal all. The story in this book is too wild for the masses to embrace, and it is unlikely that the government would ever confirm what Mr. Swann writes about here, especially if it is true. My suggestion is that readers take this book at face value, neither accepting it fully nor rejecting it as impossible. This is Mr. Swann's story, his own personal story. It may be true. On the other hand, some may conclude that it is either false or delusional. Since it is impossible for most readers to know for certain one way or the other, it makes more sense to simply accept this story as an honest statement that is as true as Mr. Swann can remember it. At least it does not hurt us to keep our minds open. Mr. Swann has contributed so much to our current understanding of the human psyche and the process of remote viewing, it seems only reasonable that people should give him the courtesy of allowing him to tell this most personal and intense story. As a society, we owe him that much at least. On the other hand, we owe him a lot more if what he writes about in Penetration is a true recollection from his past. One side note, this book is somewhat hard to obtain since it is self-published. Interested readers may want to go to Mr. Swann's web site to find out how to obtain this book.
|