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Reality Denied: Firsthand Experiences with Things that Can’t Happen – But Did
REALITY DENIED confronts conventional wisdom with events that, although quite real, seem to challenge the revered “laws of science,” proving them to be wrong or incomplete. The thorny issues of life after death, mind over matter, UFOs, remote viewing, telepathic communications with animals, and more are all addressed from Col. John Alexander’s firsthand perspective. Here physical and spiritual domains collide, providing glimpses of worlds beyond everyday reality.
“Highly recommended!” — Dr. Eben Alexander, author of "Proof of Heaven"
“When Alexander speaks, I listen.” — Dr. Richard Bandler, co-developer of NLP
“Extraordinarily courageous book…” — Dr. Larry Dossey, author of "One Mind"
“Explicitly challenges traditional scientists…” — George Noory, Coast to Coast AM
“An insider’s take on enigmas…” — Dr. Raymond Moody, author of "Life after Life"
“A masterful storyteller…” — Annie Jacobsen, Pulitzer Prize finalist, "Area 51"
“The universe confronted, if not transformed...” Stanley Krippner, Saybrook University
“Prepare to have your world rocked!” William Bengston, Society for Scientific Exploration
JOHN B. ALEXANDER, Ph.D., is a retired senior Army officer with decades of experience with a wide range of phenomena. Traveling to all eight continents, he has encountered events that defy common explanation. He has met with shamans in the Amazon, the Himalayas, the Andes, East and West Africa, and Northern Mongolia. In Tonga, he dived in open ocean with humpback whales, and was involved with telepathic experiments with wild dolphins in the Bahamas. A psychic adventurer, he practiced psychokinetic metal bending, fire walking, and caused a white crow to fly for the National Academy of Sciences. A founding board member of IRVA, he is a past-president of IANDS, and former SSE councilor. Straddling two worlds, he is also retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory, and served on studies with the National Research Council, the Army Science Board, the Council on Foreign Relations, NATO, and was a senior fellow of a DoD university. Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross headed his doctoral committee. His website is at johnbalexander.com.
“Highly recommended!” — Dr. Eben Alexander, author of "Proof of Heaven"
“When Alexander speaks, I listen.” — Dr. Richard Bandler, co-developer of NLP
“Extraordinarily courageous book…” — Dr. Larry Dossey, author of "One Mind"
“Explicitly challenges traditional scientists…” — George Noory, Coast to Coast AM
“An insider’s take on enigmas…” — Dr. Raymond Moody, author of "Life after Life"
“A masterful storyteller…” — Annie Jacobsen, Pulitzer Prize finalist, "Area 51"
“The universe confronted, if not transformed...” Stanley Krippner, Saybrook University
“Prepare to have your world rocked!” William Bengston, Society for Scientific Exploration
JOHN B. ALEXANDER, Ph.D., is a retired senior Army officer with decades of experience with a wide range of phenomena. Traveling to all eight continents, he has encountered events that defy common explanation. He has met with shamans in the Amazon, the Himalayas, the Andes, East and West Africa, and Northern Mongolia. In Tonga, he dived in open ocean with humpback whales, and was involved with telepathic experiments with wild dolphins in the Bahamas. A psychic adventurer, he practiced psychokinetic metal bending, fire walking, and caused a white crow to fly for the National Academy of Sciences. A founding board member of IRVA, he is a past-president of IANDS, and former SSE councilor. Straddling two worlds, he is also retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory, and served on studies with the National Research Council, the Army Science Board, the Council on Foreign Relations, NATO, and was a senior fellow of a DoD university. Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross headed his doctoral committee. His website is at johnbalexander.com.
- GenresNonfictionMysteryEsp
351 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 19, 2017
71 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 20, 2019
The Hutchison Effect chapter was the prime reason I purchased this book and it ended up being the shortest chapter. This phenomenon is discussed at great length in Dr. Judy Wood - Where Did The Towers Go? as an effect suffered by the Twin Towers during their 9/11 disappearance act.
The first three parts of Reality Denied are an enjoyable, if somewhat tedious, read but the final part finds Alexander rolling his eyes at 9/11 researchers and specifically at Mossad’s involvement. Fulfilling his role as government disinformation agent, Alexander spends the final two chapters backing government-sanctioned information and demeaning anyone who questions official narratives not in the parapsychological realm.
The first three parts of Reality Denied are an enjoyable, if somewhat tedious, read but the final part finds Alexander rolling his eyes at 9/11 researchers and specifically at Mossad’s involvement. Fulfilling his role as government disinformation agent, Alexander spends the final two chapters backing government-sanctioned information and demeaning anyone who questions official narratives not in the parapsychological realm.
September 7, 2022
This is a strange book to discuss. It's basically a series of anecdotes about inexplicable/paranormal phenomenon that the author has either investigated or experienced (which is the kind of Scooby Doo-ass life I'd love to have.)
The author comes off as credulous & naive - while warning that fraud is real and common, and even giving advice on how to avoid scams, he seems to buy into pretty much everything that he runs into first hand, and even a lot of the iffy second hand stuff. Combined with the fact that he doesn't go too deep on any of the subjects (except the time his step-daughter was possessed), and you could dismiss this as an inconsequential cash-in.
Except John Alexander was one of the Pentagon's military intelligence officers who was closely involved with their psychic spy program, among other efforts. If anyone could be considered a hard-nosed expert paranormal investigator, he's one of them.
That leaves us with 3 possible conclusions :
1) This stuff is all nonsense, and Alexander is exactly what he seems - an overly credulous man who will believe whatever you put in front of him, and who was lucky to build a career based on that stuff during an era when the Pentagon was willing to give it a try.
2) At least some of this stuff is real.
3) Alexander is still on the government payroll, and he's supporting a bunch of nonsense because they want to foster non-scientific thinking, or distract from other stuff.
I hate to say it, but I definitely lean very strongly towards 1. It would be nice if some of this stuff was real, but I just ain't buying it.
The author comes off as credulous & naive - while warning that fraud is real and common, and even giving advice on how to avoid scams, he seems to buy into pretty much everything that he runs into first hand, and even a lot of the iffy second hand stuff. Combined with the fact that he doesn't go too deep on any of the subjects (except the time his step-daughter was possessed), and you could dismiss this as an inconsequential cash-in.
Except John Alexander was one of the Pentagon's military intelligence officers who was closely involved with their psychic spy program, among other efforts. If anyone could be considered a hard-nosed expert paranormal investigator, he's one of them.
That leaves us with 3 possible conclusions :
1) This stuff is all nonsense, and Alexander is exactly what he seems - an overly credulous man who will believe whatever you put in front of him, and who was lucky to build a career based on that stuff during an era when the Pentagon was willing to give it a try.
2) At least some of this stuff is real.
3) Alexander is still on the government payroll, and he's supporting a bunch of nonsense because they want to foster non-scientific thinking, or distract from other stuff.
I hate to say it, but I definitely lean very strongly towards 1. It would be nice if some of this stuff was real, but I just ain't buying it.
July 11, 2018
Uneven
I’m a fan of Alexander’s work and was very excited about this book. It is worth reading but uneven, I think. I’m more than ok with a more casual book, and I like the idea that this was more of his personal stories. I’m a little sad that one of the tentpole moments was that a coin fell out of his tent. Yes, an errant coin dropped out and we’re supposed to be amazed and puzzled and, he suggests, think that it “apported” there. It might have, of course, but I worry: if this is the best we’ve got, we’re doomed. The skeptics can and will eat us alive. That said, the truth is that so much of the paranormal is liminal: just barely over the edge...
I’m a fan of Alexander’s work and was very excited about this book. It is worth reading but uneven, I think. I’m more than ok with a more casual book, and I like the idea that this was more of his personal stories. I’m a little sad that one of the tentpole moments was that a coin fell out of his tent. Yes, an errant coin dropped out and we’re supposed to be amazed and puzzled and, he suggests, think that it “apported” there. It might have, of course, but I worry: if this is the best we’ve got, we’re doomed. The skeptics can and will eat us alive. That said, the truth is that so much of the paranormal is liminal: just barely over the edge...
May 17, 2020
This is a terrific book by a scientist with a PhD who is also a retired Army colonel with a Special Forces Background. It's about the scientific tendency to deny anything that does not fit the current science paradigm, telepathy, remote viewing, shamanism. It's based on his own experiences with such phenomena, which is quite extensive. He was deeply involved in Project Star Gate (remote viewing) and other military explorations of stuff that is, but isn't supposed to be. Two quotes encapsulate the argument, "If something does exist, then it can exist," which seems like a no-brainer until you realize how many turf-conscious scientists insist that it isn't true, and another by Richard Feynman, "I'd rather have a question that cannot be answered than an answer that cannot be questioned."
There are a lot of books by respected scientists who take the same tack, by Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake among others, but this is one of the best, and it's backed by solid data and personal observation.
There are a lot of books by respected scientists who take the same tack, by Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake among others, but this is one of the best, and it's backed by solid data and personal observation.
November 24, 2017
Unexplained Mysteries
This was a fascinating look at inexplicable phenomena that the author and his wife have experienced, or witnessed over the course of many decades. The author does not attempt to rationalize what he saw, but he keeps an open-minded approach which is refreshing when there are so many scientists would try and debunk anything bordering on the “spiritual” instead of trying to understand it. Perhaps science just hasn’t the right tools yet.
The book is entertaining and matter-of-fact and makes no attempt to prove anything, he does not venture into trying to validate anything, he is as mystified by the strange events as anyone who has experienced similar adventures that defy logic.
This was a fascinating look at inexplicable phenomena that the author and his wife have experienced, or witnessed over the course of many decades. The author does not attempt to rationalize what he saw, but he keeps an open-minded approach which is refreshing when there are so many scientists would try and debunk anything bordering on the “spiritual” instead of trying to understand it. Perhaps science just hasn’t the right tools yet.
The book is entertaining and matter-of-fact and makes no attempt to prove anything, he does not venture into trying to validate anything, he is as mystified by the strange events as anyone who has experienced similar adventures that defy logic.
August 18, 2019
John Alexander has pursued numerous fascinating inquiries into events that our modern science would deny as impossible because they defy our theoretical models. In fact, it is the pursuit of such anomalies that leads to true progress in our scientific understanding of the universe. Reality Denied offers a treasure trove of his personal experiences and analysis of them to offer a far broader view of the nature of reality — and, along the way, offers the reader an astonishing journey towards very broad opening of the mind. Highly recommended!
August 27, 2023
Thought provoking
Don’t expect an answer.
Alexander wanders through his life describing the events experienced by himself and his wife as well as those involving friends and others. He doesn’t try to overdramatise the events. They all come under the heading and of That’s a Bit Weird.
The events don’t result in a feeling of Well it’s Obvious What’s Going on Here. The conclusion is rather that it is obvious that we are missing something about the big picture … but no-one has a satisfactory hypothesis that would cover the whole area of phenomena.
Don’t expect an answer.
Alexander wanders through his life describing the events experienced by himself and his wife as well as those involving friends and others. He doesn’t try to overdramatise the events. They all come under the heading and of That’s a Bit Weird.
The events don’t result in a feeling of Well it’s Obvious What’s Going on Here. The conclusion is rather that it is obvious that we are missing something about the big picture … but no-one has a satisfactory hypothesis that would cover the whole area of phenomena.
May 12, 2024
Finally, undeniable proof we live in an unlimited universe
Dare I explain what I have discovered or experienced all throughout life? we are given life experiences of limitations because a minute small percentage say that's the case! But is it no, I think it's goes beyond what they tried to sell us. You can not control the things people encounter. Reality is always dominant. Expanding humanity understanding of our reality is always going to establish a foundation for exploration into what is real.
Dare I explain what I have discovered or experienced all throughout life? we are given life experiences of limitations because a minute small percentage say that's the case! But is it no, I think it's goes beyond what they tried to sell us. You can not control the things people encounter. Reality is always dominant. Expanding humanity understanding of our reality is always going to establish a foundation for exploration into what is real.
April 17, 2020
I enjoyed this trawl through various government experiments etc in the so called paranormal realm. As with most books of its ilk, it promises slightly more than it ultimately delivers, but, overall a good read that gives us a look into what has been going on behind closed doors, at the taxpayers expense.
December 15, 2023
I liked this book a lot. But...it's a little like fumbling around in the dark, looking for a light switch, when in actual fact, that light switch is far out of reach. It's a fool's errand to guess or make assumptions. Still, there was so much to think about and wonder of and I honestly think that's all we can ever do regarding these subjects.
January 10, 2021
Super-rad book full of interesting things to follow up on.
October 5, 2025
Meanders through some cool cases, but also some dubious claims.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews