Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience [Paperback]

Travis Walton (Author), Mike Rogers (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1569247102 | ISBN-13: 978-1569247105 | Publication Date: August 1997 | Edition: 3rd

The author recounts his abduction by a UFO in the mountains of Arizona in 1975, describing life aboard an alien spacecraft in an account that became the basis for the major motion picture of the same name. 25,000 first printing. IP.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

On November 5, 1975, after a long day of tree thinning, a group of loggers returning home to Snowflake, Arizona, noticed a strange glow in the sky. Curious, author Walton stepped out of the truck and walked toward the light. Suddenly a beam appeared, and Walton was forced to the ground as his panicked co-workers fled the scene. With Walton missing for five days, his co-workers were suspected of homicide, and a search was conducted for the body. Walton related his abduction by aliens in an earlier book (The Walton Experience, 1978), and Fire in the Sky, a movie based on that book, was released in 1993. Walton's new account of his story attempts to pull all the information together, place it in context, and provide a critical analysis. Included here are the initial experience, speculations, the making of the movie, and the writings of those who would debunk the incident. The result is a comprehensive presentation that X-File patrons will find of particular interest.?L. Kriz, West Des Moines Lib., Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Marlowe & Company; 3rd edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569247102
• ISBN-13: 978-1569247105
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't want to put this book down!, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (Paperback)

Walton captures your attention on the first page and never lets go. His skilled writing style is eclipsed only by the abduction experience itself. After a brief but delightful introduction, you are taken on a wild and terrifying journey through the unknown, as you bounce between the surreal world of alien abduction and the repercussions back on terra firma. Walton displays uncommon courage by delving into his own psyche, before, during and after his abduction. With impeccable logic, and verifiable facts, he successfully counters virtually every known criticism from his detractors. Walton should be lauded for avoiding personal interpretation in the telling of his experience. And yet, in a chapter dedicated to speculation, he satisfies our natural curiosity. Walton does such an expert job of answering our questions along the way, you may feel totally sated by the time you get to "The Making of Fire." Don't cheat yourself by skipping this chapter. Apart from explaining the reasons the movie departed from fact, it is a fascinating look into the world of movie making, with captivating portraits of the cast members. This book should be thoroughly enjoyable to UFO buffs and newcomers alike. Those less familiar with the UFO culture may be a little put off by Walton's defensive stance, the bulk of which is thoughtfully confined to an appendix, but hardcore enthusiasts will appreciate his candor and thoroughness.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The final, complete testimony of Travis Walton?, March 22, 2010

By 

Archer Books "Archer Books" (Dubai UAE) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (Paperback)

For readers not familiar with the story, Travis Walton was one of a team of seven forestry workers engaged in a tree-thinning contract near Snowflake Arizona on 5 November 1975. At the end of their working day all seven men experienced a close encounter with a UFO on the mountain road home. On sighting the craft over nearby trees the driver, Mike Rogers, stopped and whilst the other six loggers stayed in the pick-up truck, Travis approached the craft on foot and was then seen to be struck by a beam of light and knocked off his feet. His companions fled in terror but on returning to look for him 15 minutes later found no trace. Naturally they had to report this extraordinary event, as Travis was missing, and met with incredulity and suspicion. They were suspected of Travis's murder and of fabricating the UFO story to cover it up. An exhaustive search effort through the mountains by police and local volunteers yielded no result, but Travis unexpectdly turned up five days after his disappearance several miles away at the roadside dirty, dehydrated and traumatised. He wanted to return to his quiet private life and adjust to his strange experience, but due to the publicity surrounding the disappearance was reluctantly catapulted into the international media spotlight. The case was extensively investigated by the authorities, resulting eventually in a film of the incident and a controversy which raged for decades. All seven witnesses stuck to the story, incredible as it was, passed lie detector tests and went through a great deal of trouble as a consequence. It's a very famous case.

Travis's book is essentially an autobiography with the abduction event and its extended consequences at the centre of the story. I read the updated 1996 edition, to discover the author to be a thoughtful and literate writer with a deep philosophical outlook and a wide range of serious interests. Travis turns out to be much more interesting than you might expect if you were only slightly familiar with his abduction story or even if you saw the Tracy Torme film "Fire in the Sky."

The book is divided into four parts:

1. The Incident: in which the events of 5 November 1975 and its aftermath are described in full, including the problems faced by Mike Rogers (the gang boss and Travis's life-long friend) and his team following Travis's abduction; the involvement of the police and out-of-state law officers in investigating the disappearance and the suspicion which fell on the other members of the crew. What Travis remembers of the abduction is also described in full - to many, the most interesting part of the story

2. Analysis: wherein Travis tackles head-on the questions of belief and of speculation about the abduction, its implications for the existence of intelligent non-human life, what he later learned about the involvement of government agencies in covering-up the UFO subject and an exploration of the ET hypothesis

3. Latter Days: in the 1996 edition of the book the narrative is brought up-to-date and includes details of the harassment Travis and the crew endured from debunkers, the international media attention and the eventual making of Tracy Torme's film with which, overall, Travis was very pleased. He explains the reasoning behind the decision to dramatise the abduction event in the film such that it deviates in detail from what he remembers and why the resulting dramatic effect on the audience is appropriate to the story, and why one of the loggers in the crew had to be left out of the film for legal reasons. It's a good insight into the workings of Hollywood and the film industry in general

4. Appendices: a long section with a major expose of the late Philip Klass and his nefarious methods, always out to attack any evidence about the UFO subject and suspected of working for the CIA. Travis has quite a lot to say about this, as well he might

At 370 pages the book is quite long but a good, rewarding read. It covers the entire history of the case including the involvement of law enforcement agencies in Arizona and the polygraph testing, gives a good rounded portrait of Mike Rogers and the other loggers and what subsequently happened to them. It's well written and edited. A collection of colour plates reconstructing the abduction and the entities encountered by Travis is included, painted from memory (don't judge until you read the account and see the images). This edition also contains 16 pages of monochrome photographs of all the main characters in the narrative and drawings of the craft made by Travis and the other witnesses.

People who know Travis personally hold him in the highest regard. He is a private family man who likes to live a quiet life and reported to be principled, honest and consistent. No-one ever has a bad word to say about him. He still speaks about the incident 35 years later if asked to do so and his talks are always enjoyed as engaging, informative and relevant. He's a bright guy who did not welcome all the publicity surrounding the abduction and although he knows it happened to him, is open-minded enough to not try to fit the events into any particular belief paradigm. He is older and wiser than when the original event happened in 1975, more mature and reflective. This maturity and depth in the writer makes the book more interesting than it might have been if written by a younger Travis.

I was surprised to discover any good hardback copy of "Fire in the Sky" has become a collectors' item, and so you're unlikely to find a good copy cheap. If you can find (and afford) a good one, it's definitely worth buying and is an essential part of any collection of UFO/abduction literature. I give the book five stars because of its unique story, logical structure, informative and interesting writing, literary style and soul-baring honesty.


Postscript June 2010: I personally met the author in Snowflake in May 2010, and now have a copy of the new 2010 edition of "Fire in the Sky". This new edition contains 36 additional pages to bring the story up-to-date, a few revisions and corrections from the earlier edition, plus a new organization of the illustrations. The new edition is paperback but otherwise identical to the previous hardcover, and should cure the shortage and the high prices the book has commanded for several years - so now's the time to buy your copy new.

Travis in person I found to be as intelligent, principled, straightforward and 100% genuine as everyone else who ever meets him testifies him to be. He told me that, had he known what trouble the abduction was going to create for him over the years, he would have stayed in the truck instead of getting out to walk underneath the thing. He continues to live a quiet family life in Snowflake, never speaks about the event unless asked and wishes it had never happened.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, must read, December 23, 2001

By 

Vencislav Bujic (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (Paperback)

This is excellent book, must read if you are interested
in studing of UFO and our Big brothers from Cosmos.

On opposite, the movie "Fire in the sky" is real disappointment,
since it does not reflect what really happened,
but rather shows those extraterrestrials as bad and evil.

Have they really been so cruel and bad as shown in movie
they would not let Travis go back, or even worst...
After all, it was him who approached the craft, nobody
pulled him out of the truck on that day.

The book is based on real event, and I highly recommend
reading the book, written by Travis Walton.