Cosmic Test Tube: Extraterrestrial Contact, Theories & Evidence [Paperback]

Randall Fitzgerald (Author), Paul Mendoza (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

*from the back cover...
Are we specimens in a cosmic test tube?
Is there a government cover-up?
Are we being prepared for Alien contact?
It's all here: The only book that brings together the major viewpoints, theories, and evidence - pro and con - on the controversial subject of alien visitation.
All the seminal works in this field are included, giving you the broadest range of perspectives ever compiled on ancient astronaut theories, UFO sightings, contacts and abductions, challenges posed by debunkers, and the scientific search for other life (SETI). So you can make up your own mind.
As you explore the ideas of Carl Sagan, Zecharia Sitchin, Carl Jung, Whitley Strieber, Budd Hopkins, and dozens more, you'll get the most objective approach anywhere to what happened at Roswell in 1947, the mystery behind crop circles, artifacts left by ancient astronauts, cattle mutilations, the possibility of alien structures on Mars, and accounts of human abductions.
COSMIC TEST TUBE is a must read book for anyone wanting a complete guide to the strange universe of extraterrestrial contact, theories and evidence.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a greatly expanded edition of the author's Complete Book of Extraterrestrial Encounters (LJ 11/15/79). Fitzgerald, a journalist, provides descriptive summaries of over 150 books on ancient astronauts, UFO contactees/abductees, debunkers and skeptics, and the search for radio signals from space. Publication dates range from 1919 to 1997. Fitzgerald provides introductory context for each of the five topic areas. Books were selected based on their impact on public debate, their contribution to scientific understanding, or their thought-provoking content. Well-known authors such as Charles Fort, Eric von Daniken, and Carl Sagan are found here, along with those only UFO buffs will recognize. Added features include a "Guide to Books" with one-sentence descriptions of the titles summarized, an eight-page bibliography, and a detailed index. This selective guide to books on UFOs and related phenomena will help interested readers sort out a very complex topic. Highly recommended for most libraries, especially those having the earlier edition.?Gary D. Barber, SUNY at Fredonia Lib.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

RANDALL FITZGERALD, contributing editor of READER'S DIGEST, has authored five books including THE COMPLETE BOOK OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ENCOUNTERS. He founded and co-edited SECOND LOOK, a magazine chronicling the search for other life in the universe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: Moon Lake Media; 1st Edition edition (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963916122
• ISBN-13: 978-0963916129
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,170,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars May be the best UFO book presently available!, September 28, 1998

By 

Dennis Hawley (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cosmic Test Tube: Extraterrestrial Contact, Theories & Evidence (Paperback)

This book is an essential addition to any serious ufologist's library, and is invaluable in providing a clear, up-to-date understanding of the evolution of research and theories on the subject. The author skillfully weaves together, through concise summaries (chronologically) the most significant works dealing with UFOs, contacts and abductions, to provide the reader with an excellent understanding of the various theories and perspectives (including appropriate focus on the skeptics' views, as well). He adds his own perspectives, steeped in solid logic and reason. The highest recommendation!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and comprehensive, July 22, 1999

By 

John Morley (La Canada, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cosmic Test Tube: Extraterrestrial Contact, Theories & Evidence (Paperback)

The Cosmic Test Tube is the best compilation and study of myths, facts, stories and arguments about UFOs I have ever read. The author, Randy Fitzgerald, takes a deliberate approach to presenting both sides and cites about every legitimate work in existence on the subject.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful (and often funny) compendium, May 27, 2000

By 

Michael Bulger (Rochester, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cosmic Test Tube: Extraterrestrial Contact, Theories & Evidence (Paperback)

By his own account, Randall Fitzgerald put "Cosmic Test Tube" together due to his frustration with what he sees as the extremes of irrationality represented by most UFO believers and UFO skeptics alike. To that end, he provides summaries of literally hundreds of published books concerned with all aspects of the UFO phenomenon--ancient astronauts, UFO sightings, contactees and abductees, crop circles, cattle mutilations, and even the works of skeptics like Philip Klass and Curtis Peebles. By and large, these summaries are presented with a straight face and with no editorial or other subjective comment, although in the case of some books that I have also read I believe his selection of what to emphasize may not completely dovetail with what is emphasized in the books themselves. Since nearly all of "Cosmic Test Tube" is made up of these entries, one can view this book as a sort of "Cliffs Notes" on UFOlogy.

The book is divided into several convenient sections (ancient astronauts, general UFO sightings, contactees and abductees, and skeptics), and each section is preceded by an article-length discussion of one or a few of the subjects covered by the entries within. So, for example, the section on ancient astronauts is preceded by a more substantive and editorialized discussion of the so-called "monuments" of Mars and of Robert Temple's "Sirius Mystery," in which it is claimed that the Dogon tribe in West Africa possesses astronomical knowledge that could only have been obtained by the use of a telescope; similarly, the section for skeptical works is preceded by a discussion of the evidence (or lack thereof) for an extraterrestrial connection to crop circles and cattle mutilations.

"Cosmic Test Tube" is genuinely entertaining in places--many of the summaries of UFO-related works are quite funny, especially when presented in such a deadpan manner. It isn't clear to me, however, exactly how "Cosmic Test Tube" points to some sort of "middle way" between believers and skeptics, especially when all it does is reproduce the basic arguments of each side with little in the way of real evaluation. And, of course, it should go without saying that in the modern age of the internet not all of the pertinent information is to be found solely in published books--for example, the paranoia and self-delusion evident in Richard Hoagland's "The Monuments of Mars" pales in comparison with the fantasies and conspiracy-mongering to be found on his web site for "The Enterprise Mission."

Regardless, those with more than a casual interest in UFOlogy will find in "Cosmic Test Tube" a useful reference work that will point them toward other, more detailed books on whatever subject they find most interesting.