Customer Reviews

Area 51: The Dreamland Chronicles

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

David Darlington has written what is my favorite book on the most secretive place on earth. He mixes fact with fiction, in the form of what the self-proclaimed Area 51 "experts" believe to be fact.

His research into this book is meticulous. He recounts a pretty good history of the base up through the first flights of the F-117. Many people whose names have become synonymous with Area 51 appear in this tale. Glenn Campbell, Tom Mahood, and Mark Farmer are portrayed as being more rational, while others,such as Bob Lazar, are shown as the charlatans that they are.

Fact is often stranger than fiction, or so they say. If that is true, it also means that fact is funnier than fiction. Darlington captures the colorful personalities of the people who call Dreamland their home. I was particularly amused by Glenn Campbell's affinity for Las Vegas buffets (and Bob Lazar's affinity for Las Vegas brothels...)

If the book can be faulted, it can be said that Darlington writes it from a somewhat skeptical point of view. But he really lets the characters write the story for him. Everyone has their own theory abut the mysterious base. The entertainment comes from these stories.

Don't let the title fool you. This book's really about the Area 51 fanatics, not the base. But, based on our limited knowledge of what really happens at Area 51, the Area 51 sub-culture has taken the base's place in our hearts and minds.

The book was useful and interesting in it's explanations of the Groom Lake test site in the 50's, and in discussing the development of the U-2 and SR-71. Aside from that, the book offers very little in the way of useful information regarding the current activities and status of "Area 51" as it is called.

The books doesn't seem to reach a solid conclusion as to whether Area 51 is still basically a flight test center for secret (and admittedly, exotic) aircraft, or a haven for UFO's and every type of unsavory government conspiracy. Instead the book seems to leave this up to the reader, and so doesn't really accomplish very much.

Furthermore, the book later focuses on the activities of Area 51 watchers, rather than on the Groom Lake test site itself.

I am frequently disappointed by the gullibility of the American people, and the tendency to want to believe that an all-powerful government is "covering up" crashed alien spaceships, and back-engineering alien technology. Few people ever stop to consider that if the government wanted to cover something up, the most logical thing to cover it up with would be something even more interesting, hence the UFO craze. This begs the question; what is the U.S. Government REALLY hiding? For example, consider this point: Why would anyone need a 3 mile long runway to land alien saucers?

As alternate reading material I suggest the following: For anyone interested in secret and "black" aircraft projects, read "Dark Eagles". For those interested in the UFO phenomenon, read "The Real Roswell Crashed-Saucer Coverup". True, it approaches the topic from a skeptics point of view, but anyone who considers themselves to be objective should be willing to listen to a critic. For those who want to understand exotic engineering development, instead of parroting silly things like "aliens gave us velcro", try to obtain a copy of the book Electrogravitics Systems : Reports on a New Propulsion Methodology by Thomas Valone.

All of these can be obtained through amazon.com.

This book I would warmly recommend to anyone interested in the patchwork quilt of subcultures which make up the United States. A well-written and humorous book, I was very glad that Darlington did not spend much time speculating about Area 51, but rather wrote this book as a recounting of the folklore and a cross-section of the many kinds of people which inhabit the area and in their own ways contibute to "Ufology."

I picked up this book as I am interested in the folklore of the area, plus in anything related to X-FIles and conspiracy. The theme of my own website is Area 51 inspired. I found this book to be entertaining and informative, a real page turner. It was written with wit and sanity, and not one of those off the wall UFO's everywhere new agey type books. It offers an indepth study of the history, key people involved, the area itself and the general folklore of Dreamland, a military research base that the gummint claims does not exist. Anyone who is interested in learning more about Area 51 should definitely read this book.

If you absolutely need a printed and bound version of Area 51 info to set on your shelf, this is the book. The info is dated though, and for the serious Area 51 researcher, there isn't anything new here.

This book is not really about Area 51, it's about the people obsessed with the place, and their battles with the US government. Sure there's background detail but Darlington obviously finds the conspiracy phenomenon and the way it alters lives more interesting than trying to find 'the truth'.

Very funny but also quite depressing, one gets the sense that Darlington is trying to show how these individual obsessions with Area 51 are ultimately futile, like flies swatted by a mad horse.

This book is remarkable for maintaining a foot in wonderland and a foot outside in the mundane and boring world -- and Darlington, our observer, seems ready to go whichever way the evidence finally points -- but it keeps pointing back and forth across that strange boundary.

At first I thought that Darlington's style was inching toward self-display, but now I would praise his prose as brilliant and evocative. He paints a fascinating portrait of the culture surrounding Area 51, a portrait that is aesthetically vivid, intellectually stimulating, respectful of the wildlife and tongue-in-cheek, all at the same time -- perhaps his characterization of Glenn Campbell is a bit of a projection: "even as he wallowed in the tackiness . . .he somehow managed to remain detached, . . .recognizing and embracing his own alienation."

If you want to think some new thoughts, read this book.

This book gave me a good look at Area 51 from a strictly researched point of view. Darlington did what he could to imform us about this secretive sight and fill us in on what supposed insiders know about the place. The book lured me to take my family to Rachel this summer, climb Tikaboo Peak and witness a terriffic black plane air show complete with black military helicopters. We had a great time, bought the T-shirts and some UFO books at the Area 51 research center and met some of the people mentioned in the book.

Everyone has heard the stories about UFO's and top secret spy planes being tested at Area 51, but what makes this book so great is it looks beyond that and focuses on the unusual band of characters that have come to be associated with the not-so-secret base in nevada. This book covers everything from the creation of the base to the dedication of the E.T. Highway, and everything inbetween, right down to the politics and petty bickering in the tiny town of Rachel just outside of area 51. This is not a book where you will find a whole lot of UFO stories, but just about everything else is covered here.

The subtitle of this book is appropriate, as David Darlington literally "chronicles" the history of Area 51 and the people involved, and offers explanation after explanation for its continued intrigue. The book is filled with one-on-one interviews with the major players who have helped shape the history of the base, putting the author in some rather strange situations and places at times. The book lends the occasional "light touch," but never strays far from the seriousness of the subject matter, as the author reminds us by the end of each chapter. A unique blend of wit and earnestness, it truly depicts the base in a (pardon the expression) "down-to-earth" fashion. This book should not be used as a final guide for anyone contemplating a visit to the region, but instead as an unparalled source of historical and biographical information. It contains some interesting pictures, too.