Customer Reviews

CE-5 : Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind

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CE-5, the newest book by internationally acclaimed UFO expert Richard Haines, Ph.D. (with Steven Greer, M.D., and Mark Rodeghier, Ph.D.), is a professional, riveting, and in places, mind-boggling resource for serious UFO researchers.

For me, reading CE-5 was an absorbing and engrossing experience.

In 435 pages, in two major parts, CE-5 chronologically presents abstracts of 242 of the world's most fascinating UFO sighting reports. Part I discusses apparent communications between witnesses and UFOs; Part II discusses apparent communications between witnesses and alien beings.

But what exactly do you get when you read CE-5? A lot.

Case 14: A disk 1,000 feet in diameter and 12 feet thick was seen by multiple witnesses as it crossed 150 miles of Minnesota countryside over a period of five hours. The moment a witness switched his truck's headlights on, the object changed color from white to red.

Case 35: A witness ran to within about 20 feet of a landed UFO. Two days later he became very ill - reduced body temperature, black vomit, diarrhea with blood in the stool - and two weeks later he died, supposedly from gastroenteritis, although a nearby scientific organization said his symptoms were similar to those caused by a lethal dose of gamma radiation.

Case 39: Two witnesses shined their flashlights at a mysterious aerial object that had landed. The flashlight beams bent up 90 degrees about 18 inches in front of the object.

Case 49: The crew of a US Army tank in Germany, at night, saw a bright UFO flying beneath the overcast. When the object approached, the tank driver flashed the tank's searchlights, and the UFO echoed the flashes. At one point the UFO appeared extremely bright but even then it did not illuminate the clouds above it or the ground beneath it.

Case 75: A medical doctor flashed a 500,000 candlepower spotlight at a UFO, in sequences of three, two, and five flashes. The UFO echoed each sequence, and this apparent communication was witnessed by 39 bystanders.

Case 110: Russian jet fighters intercepted a UFO, fired their machine guns at it, but the UFO zig-zagged and out-maneuvered the interceptors.

Case 183: A police officer drove up to within 40 feet of a landed UFO and saw red lights inside the object. When the police car's headlights finally illuminated the object, the red lights began flashing. Then the police car's engine died and the officer's flashlight failed to work. The officer was unable to account for about 30 minutes of his shift around the time of the sighting.

Case 207: A priest and several dozen other witnesses waved to human-like "people" standing on a UFO that hovered near the mission. The "people" waved back. This apparent communication continued for about three hours.

(Another report in this Part of CE-5 describes a man who jabbed his knife at a "creature's hairy body," only to feel the knife glance off as if it had struck a rock. Still another UFO-related fight involved a young man and a being the witness said "felt like metal." And a South American truck driver fired his pistol at three 13 to 16 feet tall "beings in human form" that exited a landed UFO.)

Case 216: In Italy, a farmer saw a UFO land and then saw three "dwarfs" emerge from it. The farmer, who heard the "dwarfs" talking to each other in an unknown tongue, got his shotgun. It failed to fire when he attempted to pull the trigger, and the gun suddenly felt so heavy that he had to drop it. He felt paralyzed. The "dwarfs" took some of the farmer's rabbits, jumped back into the UFO, and as it flew away, the farmer fired his shotgun at it.

Case 218: (This event is too frightening to describe here, but it is one of the most well-documented UFO-alien-gunfire cases on record.)

Case 223: (This event is also too frightening to detail here. It culminated in the witness' death from leukemia two months later.)

In spite of its often terrifying content, CE-5 reads quickly and easily because its abstracts are short and concise. Abstracts are followed by citations, and often by rhetorical questions or comments. (Those comments helped me see a couple of technical subtleties I'd overlooked.) More references and citations are given at the end of chapters and major parts. The book is indexed and has tables of statistical data.

CE-5 is clearly the best review of the world's most intriguing communications-related UFO reports, all condensed to essentials and accompanied by photos, sketches, and diagrams. (Even though I've been an avid UFO researcher since 1947 and have read about 125 books on the subject, most of CE-5's reports were new to me.)

But while I think CE-5 is vital reading for most adults, I also think its reports are too frightening for elderly people susceptible to stroke or heart attack, and for children.

(To underscore my concern here, please understand that I'm a military veteran, a pilot, I'm well grounded in the physical sciences, and I'm a technical researcher and writer -- see http://www.principiapub.com -- but I confess that I found myself _quite_ disturbed by several CE-5 reports.)

In summary, CE-5 is more than a compelling and often stunning series of UFO reports. It is also more than an enormous feat of technical research by Drs. Haines, Greer, and Rodeghier.

My hope is that the public and the scientific community will soon recognize CE-5 for what it really is, the most professional contribution yet toward understanding and solving this century's greatest scientific mystery.

It took a lot of courage to put together a document of this nature, especially for someone working within the NASA culture, as Dr. Haines does. It's a reminder for all of us who are interested in the question of extraterrestrial intelligence to keep an open mind to the possibility that ETI has discovered us and can physically get here. I am always amused when pompous scientists arrogantly dismiss the UFO question without ever having looked into it themselves. It stands to reason that older technological civilizations may have developed the capacity to place our violent species under some form of long-term monitoring. Dr. Haines is a pioneer who has my utmost respect.

Bob

I found this book very thought-provoking. The book's tone and structure allows the reader to explore and focus their own thoughts about the cases presented. Dr. Haines has presented a maturer approach than countless other books that appear to press towards a premature conclusion to this mystery. Many authors/researchers treat this subject as if the mystery is solved, making bold statements about the nature and origin of UFO, and supporting their views with a few handpicked cases. Such an approach numbs any intelligent, critical discourse on the subject, and leaves the reader with a sense that the truth is being avoided. To me, this book is different. By imposing a consistent structure on the cases presented, it dissuades speculation, instead offering useful information to those thinking seriously about the nature of UFO/human contact. If any underlying truth is to be discovered about UFO, I believe that we need to move away from the rampant speculation that is currently fashionable, and adopt a more calculated, critical approach as Dr. Haines has taken.

Regardless of the outcome of purposely contacting UFO occupants, it is a good idea.
One needs to be brave, as well as brazen to undertake such a task. But we need to
know if it is a route which these beings find acceptable, otherwise their covert
activities will continue unabated. So contact is essential. It is sad that the entire subject is submerged in denial and ridicule. This book is the first book I have seen which attempts to collect case histories of the agenda of purposeful contact. It offers no solutions and is a little sketchy so I think it needs a follow up. If the author wishes to concentrate on CE-5s as this effort continues,
it would still be welcome. Since this is the only book I have read which researches the evidence for this area of ufology it is an excellent source.

I found this book contained a wealth of information.

Dr. Haines has done his homework and provided a wealth of documented case histories to do with the UFO phenomenon. He brings a credibility and analytical bent to the realm of UFO research that has been and continues to be sorely lacking.

Most of the cases described in this book were decades old and previously published elsewhere. The author's main contribution was to categorize synopses of numerous ufo encounters. I didn't find any new conclusions or insights. And, by the way, if Richard F. Haines, Ph.D. happens to read this: "I think therefore I am" is generally attributed to Descartes -- not Plato.

Anytime anyone "writes" a book containing nothing but mostly old, and some new, reports of UFO events that won't change one iota of your life since "it's a done deal", they are aiming for the reference shelf. I couldn't read the whole book and only glanced at the beginning of reports. UFOs and their effect on some humans are old history, even before they were called UFOs. It's sort of interesting to read these accounts but Vallee does a better job of keeping your interest. Also, Haines includes Travis Walton's hoaxed report; this is grounds for questioning other reports. In the end we are left with the question: "What now?" I suggest that if you find yourself having a close encounter, let common sense dictate and put your curiosity aside and get the heck out of there toot suite. Don't become a statistic! Being an ex-editor I found quite a few typos.

The case-studies were interesting! The rest was B O R I N G!

You want info on UFO's? Rent seasons 1-9 of "The X-Files" on DVD or the X-Files movie, "Fight The Future". At least you'll be able to stay awake, and it won't cost you nearly as much money.