Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51 [Paperback]

Phil Patton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 1999

A journey into the most secret place in America
A story of secrecy, suspicion, and conspiracy
A history of a place that does not legally exist


Dreamland zooms in on Area 51--the nearly four million acres of Nevada airspace that has been a base for experimental military aircraft, the fount of UFO rumors, and the alleged site of alien insurrection.
        How this real-life legend came to exist is Phil Patton's tale. He explores the mystery and fantasy surrounding the place, peeks over the edge of paranoia, and tracks strange objects in the air above this country of the mind. He visits spies and counterspies, test pilots and secret agents, and tunnels into the subcultures of true believers and conspiracy buffs.
        Reviewers have applauded Dreamland as "brilliant," "fascinating," "weird, wonderful, sometimes spooky," "curiously epic, frequently humorous, and always entertaining." Dreamland is a novelistic tour de force that makes us all rethink our convictions about American know-how--and alien inventiveness.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dreamland is journalist Phil Patton's chronicle of his road trip into the low deserts and dry lakes of southern Nevada in search of the truth (which, presumably, is Out There). It's a cultural history of the cold war, a psychoanalysis of the military, and an unswerving look at our fascination for UFOs. What happened at Roswell in the 1940s? What is the Air Force doing out at Area 51? Whether you join the "youfers," and decide that genuine aliens are here, doing their inexplicable thing, or the "Interceptors," who desperately seek sightings of stealth planes, or "black aircraft," you'll need to camp at the perimeters of the vast desert wildernesses set aside for secrecy to do your research. Patton explores the edges (and sometimes the insides) of these strange, lonely places in the same way he examines the psyches and motives of the people who inhabit them--with bemused semiobjectivity. Patton seems to be saying that human weirdness is roomy enough to encompass everything, from UFOs to top-secret military planes to global atomic destruction. He writes of Dreamland: "I came to believe that its legend and lore, its language and paradoxes, provided a strange and yet appropriate time capsule of a half century of cold war and black secrecy. Here, the cultures of nuclear power and airpower merged with the folklores of extraterrestrials and earthly conspiracies; their interference patterns formed a moiré of the weird. It was a place from which to see our own planet with the eyes of an outsider." --Therese Littleton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"Dreamland," "Area 51" and "Groom Lake" refer to a military base in Nevada about which the government has maintained a stony silence. Built in the early 1950s, this testing site marked the first flights of U2, SR-71 Blackbird and F-111 Stealth aircraft, and is the subject of wide speculation among ufologists. Patton's (Made in the USA; Voyager) detailed work follows last year's Area 51 by David Darlington. With a mixture of solid research and first-person ruminations, Patton explores a loosely knit community of tech-obsessed sky watchers dubbed "the Interceptors," who are dedicated to unlocking the secrets of Area 51. As opposed to Darlington's earnest but unsophisticated work, Patton makes sure there's enough erudition to make the subject safe for readers of Esquire, where he is a contributing editor. (He compares, for example, military artifacts left in the desert to "an Anthony Caro sculpture.") As he seeks out the often trailer park-based Interceptors (and sub-groups such as the "Stealthers," and "Youfers"), his invocations of Freud, Jung and even "the dreamings of the aboriginal people of Australia" turn the Interceptors' passion into a pat vision of millennial malaise. On the other hand, Patton often succeeds in illuminating military aviation and issues of secrecy, though he cannot offer any substantial revelations on what is or isn't at the base, be it planes that fly at Mach 15 or hidden spacecraft wreckage. Security remains uncompromised. Sixteen pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Villard (May 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375753850
• ISBN-13: 978-0375753855
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A History of Area 51, July 28, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51 (Paperback)

The section of the Nellis Air Force base in Nevada labeled "Area 51" continues to fascinate everyone from lovers of military aircraft to UFO buffs, from Cold War military historians to surveyors of the delightfully weird. The American government's dedication to intense secrecy regarding this "Dreamland" further stokes the curiosity of the public. What goes on at this secret research facility out in the middle of the desert? Why are there signs on the borders of the base stating that a person caught trespassing faces a stiff prison sentence and fine? Are there really strange, unexplained lights in the sky over the base or are these supposed sightings of UFOs just test flights for the next generation of high tech aircraft, like the stealth planes of the last two decades? Author Phil Patton decided to examine the aura of mystery surrounding a base that the American government actually denied existed for so many years. What Patton finds is an amazing blend of Cold War philosophy, pop culture, and UFO lore. The only thing stranger than what possibly goes on in the hangers of this base is what goes on outside the fences amongst a quirky collection of conspiracy theorists, UFO buffs, and aircraft enthusiasts.

"Dreamland" is first a history about the American military during the Cold War. Patton discusses in detail the atomic bomb tests in the Nevada desert and their effects on the residents in the area, the colossus of secrecy that emerged in these years surrounding military programs, and the developments of various secret aircraft that led to the construction of this air base in the Nevada wastelands. Several chapters intimately describe the Lockheed Skunk Works and its projects in the desert. The reader learns about the SR-71 spy planes, the U2 project and Gary Powers, and the stealth aircraft (which came about because of a footnote in an article written by a Soviet physicist). Patton introduces us to the test pilots who flew the planes over the desert, tough as nails aviators who often died or suffered serious injuries during the course of their work. We meet Kelly Johnson, the penny-pinching head of Skunk Works and the driving force behind several of America's greatest military aircraft. For readers who find a history of military aircraft as boring as I do, Patton spices up his accounts with amusing and intriguing anecdotes about the engineers and pilots who made American air supremacy a reality. The author's visits to various testing grounds, bases, and local towns lend the book an authenticity sorely lacking from many of the accounts concerning America's military secrets.

"Dreamland" doesn't skimp on the kooks, either. Patton knows Area 51 is more than a testing ground for military aircraft in the minds of many Americans, recognizing that for many in the business of UFOs, Dreamland is the Holy Grail of all alien encounters. The author discusses the background of the UFO phenomena, writing in depth analyses on George Adamski, Roswell, MJ-12, and Bob Lazar. In what I found to be one of the best parts of the books, Patton discusses how descriptions of extraterrestrial encounters often changed to reflect broader concerns in American society. For example, during the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, some saw UFOs and their alien pilots as harbingers of peace set to deliver America from the threat of nuclear annihilation. In the 1980s, an obsession with sex and the cult of the individual within the larger society brought stories of alien abductions to the fore. An abduction was special because it showed that the aliens chose one person over millions of others, an idea Patton sees as part of the pop psychological influence of talk shows. Overall, the author takes a strong neutral stance about some of the crazy stories floating around Area 51, only sinking to incredulity when the account is so over the top that it begs for ridicule. This makes perfect sense when one thinks about it, for anyone who believes in George Adamski's contactee nonsense has serious problems. Ultimately, "Dreamland" is less concerned about the existence of UFOs than with how these stories fit in with the larger themes of secrecy and the Cold War.

Patton does a clever thing with his book; he convincingly argues that Area 51 with all of its mysteries serves as a nexus for America's love of the unknown, its love of technology, and its suspicion of the federal government. Moreover, the author makes a case that the government's mania for classification and secrecy, all in the name of "black programs" and "national security," is out of hand. The idea of "need to know" or "plausible deniability" are certainly not terms one would associate with an open, for the people by the people government we all want. Secrecy too often leads to an "us versus them" mentality incompatible with American ideals about government. I think this critique of the bureaucratization of the national security state is the best argument for reading this book. On a secondary level, the book also works for those interested in how our government constructed advanced aircraft in order to defeat the grim specter of world communism.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Aerial Anthropology, June 14, 2000

By 

Scott Snyder (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51 (Paperback)

If you feel that the Cold War years were some sort of bad dream, and you catch yourself wondering what it was all about, this is a great book for waking up. Patton uses Area 51 as an entry into the psychology of the era. The skunk works, strange lights in the sky, the secrecy and paranoia all come together in a sane and down to earth commentary on those times.

I especially enjoyed the history of Area 51, the workings of the Lockhead SkunkWorks, and the story of the U2 and other spy planes. I was distrubed by the book's portrait of Curtis Lemay (of Dr. Strangelove fame)and his nightly bombing raids on American cities. Strange things indeed were happening in the skies. They may still be going on.

Patton's style is on the level and humorous at times, a delight to read. Highly recommended.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting but still not what'd you expect., October 27, 2003

By 

Takis Tz. (InYourHead) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51 (Paperback)

Ok, for those interested in the subject: if you expect to read all about aliens, conspiracies about strange beings governing from below, strange otherwordly craft being tested, or any such info, well, choose another book if this is what you seek.

If you happen to be a planespotter this book should be precisely right for your money. Furthermore, if you're looking for the purely conventional history of "area 51" then you've hit the bull's eye as well.
But this calls for some specification here. It all comes down to what you're ready to assume, believe, expect. Area 51 may have an unconventional side to it and it may not. This is all extremely open to discussion and anyone who has delved deep into all this phenomenon will know very well that this subject could span to lenghts and depths unimaginable. If it comes down to purely concrete evidence then area 51 remains a blurry subject, more so that other sides of the bigger scheme for which way more evidence exists.

Now, summing it all up, i find the cover of this book ridiculously misleading. Why put an alien on the cover if this precisely what you are NOT talking about inside this book??? This alone, leads me to thoughts it shouldnt lead me, it puts me in suspicion about the motives of the author. If you're going to go on for 400 some pages explaining that all that area 51 is is a secret giant facility for testing secret (but earthling made!) aircraft than what's with the alien hint on the cover mr.Patton?

I found myself reading an extremely interesting book about the history of fighting aircraft, stealth aircraft, cold war intrigues, test pilots of dangerous aircraft etc. For this i rate this book highly. But i still think that it doesnt address the ever-underlying question about "other" functions of the so called area 51. "Dreamland" does touch this underlying question but in a vrey superficial and selfunderstood dismissing way as if it was never an issue to begin with. Problem is, it IS an issue, and there are enough reasons for that (wrong or right, they aren't adequately dealt with in the book, to put it mildly).