BOOK SAMPLE REVIEW: THE FOURTH MIND

Another fascinating and insightful exploration of alien-human contact from Whitley Strieber.

Whitley Strieber has chronicled his dealings with alien entities in a long string of books since his first one was published in 1987. That first book was Communion, which was re-released as an audiobook (read by Mr. Strieber) in 2022. You can find my review of it in the Goodreads website.

Mr. Strieber’s books tell the tale of his evolving interactions with these beings (NHI, or Non-Human Intelligence in current government parlance) from absolute terror to a working relationship (communion). It is a story best addressed with an open mind, slowly, and from the beginning. In doing so, I believe you’ll find much insight from Mr. Strieber’s writings. This latest book is no exception.

That latest book is The Fourth Mind. It is Mr. Strieber’s insights from his alien contact applied to the current (2025) climate of government whistle-blower revelations and intense UFO (UAP/ “drone”) activity around the world (especially, at this time, over New Jersey). He does address this activity in the book and notes it is a big prompt for his writing. The potential for UFO disclosure (the truth of the alien presence) is another major motivation for him. His desire is that disclosure be handled in such a way as to bring benefit to human and alien alike.

I had read some commentary from Mr. Strieber on the New Jersey drone events and the government whistle-blowers. When I was aware The Fourth Mind was about to be published, I thought it might have something to do with these current situations, but the title wasn’t an obvious clue. I really didn’t get a clue as to where he was going with the book until I saw him interviewed on Jimmy Church’s Fade To Black podcast (episode 2102). Then I understood and was intrigued. So I downloaded the Amazon sample.

The sample provides the first pages of the Kindle ebook to a point well into chapter 2 (“Far From Home”). This is enough to get a solid gist of what’s in the book and Mr. Strieber’s purpose for writing it. The book’s format begins with an Introduction (“Danger and Promise”) that lays out the situation of the alien presence and our relation to it. This is followed with a section (“Bodies and Powers”) of detailed description of the aliens’ (the grays) physical bodies, their powers (spiritual and mental capabilities), and how it all compares to humans. Then the last section (“Finding Our Liberty”) describes a posited time when humans had abilities comparable to the aliens, how and why we lost those abilities, and how we can get them back.

There are also two appendixes that are excluded from the book’s copyright, meaning they are given to the public domain for everyone’s use. That’s unusual. The sample doesn’t reveal what is in those appendixes.

Here, as in his previous books, Mr. Strieber talks about the nuance of alien contact. It is not as simple a matter as depicted in say, Star Trek. The complexity of that nuance requires some study to understand, as much as we can understand it. That is why the term, communion, is so appropriate for describing this human-alien connection and its potential.

I especially liked the idea of psychic abilities (telepathy especially) being dormant in humans. They are a natural part of the aliens, who seem able to prompt their expression in people. Mr. Strieber avers they can be recovered and learned again by anyone. In this sense, the aliens are a picture of what we can be. (In truth, I don’t think this is a pleasant picture in any sense except psychic ability).

Mr. Strieber also provides a sense of how the aliens deal with people. They do act as teachers, but their instruction tends to be hard object lessons (like in dog training) rather than lectures. You get a sense of this from reading Mr. Stieber’s UFO books in order.

Though the aliens are here, in part, to teach us and save us from ourselves, they are also here to exploit us. That is, as posited by Mr. Strieber, they have needs we can help them with in their own dealings with the universe. Our help isn’t required to be voluntary, however, and that’s the challenge. Dealing with it, is the major thrust of this book.

I always find Mr. Strieber’s commentary informed and intelligent. Even so, there are a few points I take some issue with. For instance, I do agree that over-population is a problem for humanity. He avers that it is a primary cause for our ills, such as the twentieth century’s two world wars. This sounds nearly Malthusian to me, but I don’t disagree. I think the earth is overpopulated with people, but it is more a “kinetic” overpopulation than physical. That is, people have enough physical space in which to live and grow food, but there are enough of us to get in each others’ way. Basically, we have to make room for psychopaths.

The Fourth Mind is about how we should deal with disclosure of the alien presence and how we can thrive in our lives without being overwhelmed by that knowledge. As Mr. Strieber says:

The book is called The Fourth Mind because it concerns how to move from where we are now, locked in a three-dimensional mind, to learning—or more accurately, re-learning—the secrets of the fourth-dimensional mind that sleeps within us….

So I see the book as a good follow-up to Mr. Strieber’s two previous books: A New World, and Jesus: A New Vision. At least, in the sample, I detected a continuation of ideas from these two books. It all comes to a coherent vision of what humans truly are and our place in the real universe. This will be knowledge helpful for facing the new world rapidly descending upon us.

Title: The Fourth Mind

Author: Whitley Strieber

Publisher: Walker & Collier, Inc.; 1st edition

Publication date: 01/15/2025

Pages: 261

ASIN: B0DR3WKB3M

Type: NonFiction, UFOs

Ray's rating (based on sample): 5 stars

RAY’S RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THE SAMPLE: BUY THE BOOK!