Customer Reviews

Flying Saucers 101

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a "must own" book for anyone interested in flying saucers and their occupants and other related information. Mr Burt gives you a new way of looking at all the sense and non-sense we know about these subjects that so little is said about, but so much is secretly known about. Guaranteed to contain new information on almost every page..Wants you start to read it, you'll hate to lay it down..Its a keeper as a reference book. If you can only own a few book about this subject be sure this is one of them...

This book serves as a "fair" high level reference to the UFO phenomenon, but due to some basic flaws and errors, it falls far short of what it could have been.

The purpose of this book is to introduce a complete novice to the evidence of the UFO phenomenon, specifically flying saucers, but the author seems to underestimate the intelligence level of the average reader and writes this book using an over-simplified vocabulary and sentence structure. Another basic flaw is that Burt understands the history of the UFO phenomenon (with the exception of the Roswell incident), but understands none of the science.

There is a vast amount of jumping-point information presented in this book - Burt attempts to at least touch every major topic within the UFO phenomenon, and does a great job of giving the novice enough information to move forward in their independent research. And because of the book's structure and goal, Burt doesn't allow himself to get bogged down in too many details of the presentation - after all, this is a 101 book.

Burt gets himself in trouble on a number of fronts, though. First, he does a terrible job presenting the Roswell Incident. He states that he's going to present the issue in a timeline like fashion, but then does just the opposite and discusses the incident in such a haphazard manner that even those familiar with the topic could be confused by his presentation. By the end of that particular chapter, I began to wonder if Burt actually understood the timeline or was just compiling various sources into one chapter to appear as though he did. This is unfortunate, because as I stated above, Burt does a wonderful job of presenting a high-level overview of the rest of the history of the UFO phenomenon.

The second area Burt gets into trouble, is when he tries to discuss science. He presents numerous glaring errors, for example, on page 146 he states that "the moon does not spin" - an observably wrong statement. He also discusses wind on the moon, and gets Hubble's capabilities completely wrong. The rest of Burt's science seems to be lifted - without further research - straight from inaccurate sources. The author would have maintained a better respectability if he had either more astutely researched his science facts, or left them out altogether.

Also unfortunately, Burt includes some cases in this book that are known hoaxes, specifically the Zavodsk Square Landing in the former Soviet Union.

Burt's insistence of the use of the phrase "Flying Saucer" also strips away a bit of his credibility. According to Burt's logic, use of the term "flying saucer" takes the mystery out of this topic and places the phenomenon firmly in the column of reality. The problem with that is that even by his own admission, not every sighting is of a saucer-shaped craft, in fact, many sightings are of either cigar-shaped or triangle-shaped craft. The phrase "flying saucer" as a generic descriptive term is a remnant of the 1950s and 60s, and should only be used now when referring to an actual saucer-shaped craft.

Burt's final chapters present wonderful information for those who wish to further their study, including a FAQ, an Action check-list, and a chapter on what to do and who to contact if you do see a UFO.

Looking for a good introduction to the UFO Phenomenon - this is your book. For anything else, look somewhere else.

A great book for adults and kids alike.

A one of a kind book about the flying saucers that covers all the bases. The stories and incidents go far back into history and the book also thoroughly details important events like Roswell and numereous reported alien sightings and abductions.

I read this book before learning about the disclosure project, and thought that some of it was just plain bull. Now, I know that it wasn't. 5 stars!

this book is the ultimate book on ufos/aliens/science fiction/science/bizzare, etc, etc, etc, etc. this book has it all, literally..harold e burt is one of the best authors out there, hes really outdone himself this time, great book!! a must have for ALL ufo fans!