Customer Reviews

Dark Object: The World's Only Government-Documented UFO Crash

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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I remember seeing the Sightings segment about the Shag Harbor incident several years ago; it was an interesting story, much more interesting than this book. The first thing I noticed when I received this book was that it was short--really only 162 pages. Unfortunately, the authors' story could have been told in less than 100 pages. I don't mean to be too critical here; I accept the fact that something unusual went down in Shag Harbor in October 1967, but there just isn't enough here to justify a book. I don't even know what the authors believe really happened; they seem to jump around from one possibility to another. The end result is a confused, rambling tale based on notions and impressions and possibilities. This information belongs on a web site, but not in a book--not yet, at least. The statement that this is "the world's only government-documented UFO crash" is quite an overstatement. There are four photocopies of official documents in an appendix, and these basically just prove that some people called the Mountie police and they investigated the report. Not exactly a smoking gun. When describing their search for documentation, the authors twice state that most researchers would give up the whole search after being rebuffed by any single government agency--I just find that hilarious. So many UFO researchers have fought and clawed for every piece of possible documentation they can find, sometimes in the face of government "pressure" or outright threats; it is almost insulting for these authors to portray themselves as uncommonly vigilent searchers after the truth.

This subject deserves much more research and work in order to justify a book about it. There is just no evidence here. The story as it exists now is far too dependent on eyewitness statements (most of them made decades after the event itself). I appreciate the scientific work done exploring the waters of Shag Harbor, but that search turned up nothing. Admittedly, they were unable to check out a site they were very interested in, but that site remains meaningless until such time as the search can be undertaken. The final chapter sums up the book well--a new witness said so-and-so, another said that he could not tell them what he really knows, etc. All of this hearsay evidence is unsatisfying to the reader. I hope that someday a complete and factual book can be written on Shag Harbor--this offering is not that book.

UFO infotainment about an alleged crash at Shag Harbour. Like far too many books of this kind, it is chock full of witnesses with false names (i.e. "We will call him 'Harry'.") and second hand rumors that lead nowhere. Something landed, but nothing save strange foam was ever found. That is basically all the authors can offer in 168 pages of second hand rumors and conjecture disguised as fact. Reading this book, one can see why the Shag Harbour 'incident' never caught on the way that the one in Roswell, New Mexico did. Nothing compelling happened! There are two moments of irony in the book though. Much is made of a conservative paper's bold statement of a UFO crash, only the writers later reveal that this had little to do with factual reporting and more to do with a believer staff member 'jumping the gun'. The paper was correct in removing the man from the story, he clearly could not be objective about the material and let the readers decide for themselves. The funniest irony though is when the authors and a television film crew from the show SIGHTINGS are confronted by believers and accused of hiding facts after they go out at night for some atmosphere shots. They went out at NIGHT, clearly this meant they FOUND something they wanted no one to know about. Pretty silly, considering that the whole point of the segment is to PROVE a UFO crash, don't you think? While the authors clearly admit to feeling that the shoe is on the other foot (the simple truth is dismissed by some as an outright lie), neither realize that they just might be doing the exact same thing, dismissing simple fact as 'plausible denial'. The book is more interesting for those glimpses of reality bending to fit a world view more so than for any of the supposed 'hard evidence' the authors claim to offer. For paranormal completests only.

Alrighty, to begin with, we have the following facts:
something goes and crashes in Shag Harbor and is witnessed by several people along this process. It resembles an orange intensely lit ball and seems to be under intelligent control. Local fishing botas go to the area after the "crash" (if indeed it was a crash) and the military takes up special interest on the issue as it endulges on investigating the incident itself.

Now all this, is documented in the local press (albeit dismissed as "nothing much") as well as in certain official files and becomes local folklore among the people in the area.
Then comes this book. Which adds what to this story. Sadly, absolutely nothing.
For those interested in the phenomenon of UFOs, and especially those that have read some from the massive bulk of books out there about the matter this book here will come across as one pathetic effort to milk a mosquito, i.e., score some cash.
There's no need to try and tell you in detail what the book professes really. The author maintains that the object was indeed an alien craft and that there were possibly not one but two such objects that crashed, but, he offers zilch evidence to back up his claims.
Sceptics will say "as if other books offer more evidence". That's a sad argument too, because other books offer indeed evidence! This book doesnt.
Books like this do more harm than good because they discredit honest UFO research and authorship as they make it look like a cheap way to earn a buck based on a public that feeds on empty stories. It's not like that any anybody who takes this matter seriously knows this all too well.
Even though it comes at a very affordable price avoid this book. Spend your money on books of the genre like "You cant tell the people" or "Aliens" by Colin Wilson to name just a couple that will really offer you evidence and food for thought.
'Nuff, and probably too much, said...

Maybe I'm jaded by having read so many other far superior books documenting information about alleged UFO crashes, sightings, abductions, etc., but DARK OBJECT read more like an overlong pamphlet than it did a book. The authors attempt at research is basically reduced to a series of telephone conversations, eyewitness interviews, and newspaper clipping summaries that add up to nothing. In the final chapter, they make the allegation that not only was one saucer downed, but there were two! It read like bad fiction, more than a hard core examination of what evidence was available. The cover speaks of officials denying the events contained within, but the authors didn't discuss anyone who denied anything! They just didn't want to talk about it. Go reread ALIEN AGENDA.

Dark Object weaves a fascinating story, even for a UFO skeptic such as myself. The expectation of empirical evidence, which is forcefully projected by the book's subtitle, "The World's Only Government-Documented UFO Crash", was enticing enough for me. The saga begins with the bizzare, yet well-documented, events of early October 1967, and then proceeds to the exciting investigative odyssey of the 1990's. Here co-author Chris Styles discovered government documentation that presents irrefutable proof that the Canadian navy actively pursued the recovery of what it described as a disabled flying saucer. The intrigue was relentless, for intermingled with the big finds, were coverups which revealed more than they disguised. At the heart of this compelling narritive, is the personalities of the authors, who are raconteurs of the dramatic and humourous. Regardless of whether your interests are in science, history, or espionage-style intrigue, for the reader this book is money and time well spent.

having seen this event portrayed on numerous UFO shows, as well as "Sightings" and "Unsolved Mysteries", i was a bit disappointed by its tone. others have objected to the names of supposéd witnesses not being divulged, which is annoying, but we must realise the witnesses themselves may not have wanted their names broadcast. i felt that i was given more info during the numerous shows than from this little book. i was left feeling somewhat empty of info when i was done, although i was better informed at just what the authors had to go through to get the info they did get.

it's amazing the lengths some agencies will go to just to keep people from finding the facts, and this book is no different than others that bring this to the fore.

i laughed when they brought up the condon report. i used to think the proponents of UFOs were exaggerating just how biased that report was...until i actually read it. don't get me started.

it took me about 3 hours to read this book. large type; 1.5, maybe 1.25, spaced lines; and a small format make this not really a book, as others have mentioned.

my biggest peeve is that styles and ledger, two guys from nova scotia, allowed the names...proper names, mind you...of the harbours mentioned in this book to be misspelled. yes, "harbour" is the british spelling of the word "harbor", BUT, in the case of the proper names, such as Shag Harbour, et al, they should've made sure the "U" was left in the word where it belongs. the use of the word "harbor" in other nonproper noun instances is one thing, but to have all the names of these cities or harbours misspelled is just really wrong. it's like spelling canada "canaduh". did they do it to appeal to amerikan readers? having said that, this book is thankfully free of the numerous typos that i usually find in UFO books, so i thank the editors for that.

if you're really a UFO nut, add this one to your library. otherwise, kindle it or go to your library and check it out.

This book documents one of the better UFO crash cases in history. The case, if it had been taken seriously as such by those at the scene (they thought they were looking for a downed aircraft), could have been a much better case - for example, if we had a sample of the anomalous foam the witnesses reported. Anyway, for case quality, we have government documents and multiple, independent witnesses to SOMETHING anomalous on the night of 4 October 1967, and multiple witnesses to a faint light out in the hardbor before the boats went out and found the foam. Further, we have rumors, rumblings and anonymous sources telling us of curious Canadian naval activities in a nearby area for days right after the crash.

So, there might be a good story here if the evidence could be put together in a serious, coherent way, but instead we have infotainment. I suspect that this simply the only way this book could be published. No footnotes, no detailed timeline charts or evidence trees, no photocopies of documents - i.e. not a serious treatment. That said, I think Chris Styles and Don Ledger are sincere and serious researchers who put a lot more time and energy into this work than this slim volume suggests. It's unfortunate that this is the principal public document.

The book reveals that something extraordinary occurred at Shag Harbour, the night of October 4, 1967 now just over 40 years ago. This was witnessed by a number of people, who reported the "crash" to the RCMP detachment in Barrington, NS, and later, the alleged impact site was examined by a pair of commercial fishing boats at the request by the RCMP, accompanied by an RCMP officer. Well written and informative, but rather short on the whole story. The only documents included in the book were the RCMP reports and the Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) in Halifax contacting the Royal Canadian Air Force's "Air Desk" in Ottawa.

There were other government documents which unfortunately, did not make it into the book for whatever reasons, even though they were made available by Don Ledger and Chris Styles to the publisher. In fact, the case is archived in the Canadian Archives ([...]), which indicates that the Department of National Defence (DND) did conduct an underwater search of the area, but failed to locate any evidence of an object "in Shag Harbour" but does not mention the activities in Shelburne, NS. Interesting that the DND found the incident of enough significance to conduct the underwater search. There are many more files and docs which support this incident, not included in the public presentation of the archives.

Anyone interested in Canadian UFO phenomena should have this book in their reference library.

.....How do you resurrect a UFO crash that "slipped between the cracks"? Apparently, by persistence and obsession. The authors may not have found any extra-terrestrial wreckage but they establish that whatever the UFO was, it wasn't anything conventional. "Dark Object" is a modern day quest. No one finds "The Holy Grail" but then again there is no troublesome weather balloon. The Book is a "page turner". Its only shortcoming is its length. I wanted more.

"DARK OBJECT" was for me a good read. Authors Ledger and Styles present a story which has never been solved. Lots of personal interviews, government envolvement, and honest investigations. As with most of the UFO sightings and reports, often times very little or no physical evidence is ever found. Ufology is a sensitive subject for many people. This book doesn't ask you to believe, just sit back and read for yourself.