Customer Reviews

The Hynek UFO report

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If there's one book that you want to read on the UFO phenomena, then I'd suggest getting a copy of this one. J. Allan Hynek originally worked on Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force's attempt to "study" and ultimately debunk, the numerous UFO sightings that were occuring after 1947. A trained scientist, he was a skeptic at first, but soon came to the conclusion that in a very small number of cases, something truly unexplained had occured. In a field where much has been published that is simply outrageous and fabricated, The Hynek UFO Report is rational, logical and realistic. I myself am somewhat of a skeptic, and I appreciate the manner in which Hynek addresses the issue; while still not totally convinced that UFOs are alien spacecraft, I have to concede that something unexplained has been happening in the skies over many nations on this planet.

One of the true pioneers in the field of Ufology (UFO research) was Dr. J. Allen Hynek (1910-1986), an astronomer at Northwestern University in Chicago. From 1948 to 1969 he served as the top scientific consultant to "Project Blue Book", the US Air Force's official group which investigated UFO sightings and incidents. What makes Hynek especially credible is that he started out as a debunker - he thought UFOs were "nonsense" and helped the Air Force to debunk most sightings. However, as the years passed he gradually became convinced that some UFO sightings were not hoaxes or misidentified "normal" phenomena such as stars, balloons, meteors, etc. He also became increasingly unhappy with Project Blue Book's highly negative attitude towards UFOs, and in the late sixties he became openly critical of how Blue Book's staff "investigated" UFO reports (in many cases they didn't bother to make even a brief investigation of a UFO sighting - they simply made up an explanation and filed it away). When the Air Force shut down Project Blue Book in 1969, Dr. Hynek founded his own organization to study UFO reports (called the Center for UFO Studies, or CUFOS, it still exists today). He also worked tirelessly - albeit with limited success - to encourage his fellow scientists to take the UFO phenomenon more seriously. In the 1970's Dr. Hynek wrote two "serious" studies of the UFO phenomenon, and both books are today considered to be "classics" in the study of UFOs. The "Hynek UFO Report", originally published in 1977, offers UFO cases taken directly from the once-secret files of Project Blue Book. Dr. Hynek describes dozens of impressive, hard-to-explain UFO cases that cannot be easily dismissed as hoaxes or mundane phenomena such as birds, balloons, ball lightning, etc. The book is also well-written and Hynek displays a dry wit throughout the text. If you're a serious reader of the UFO phenomenon, then the "Hynek UFO Report" is a "must" for your library, but even if you're a general reader looking to read a good book about UFOs, then the "Hynek UFO Report" presents credible sightings that will hold your attention - and grip your imagination - for hours on end. Highly recommended.

Basically the government started Project Blue Book as a way to stifle public interest/awareness in UFO's - for whatever reasons they might have had. Whether they were trying to reduce public hysteria (especially after the 1947 Kenneth Arnold sighting), or they were trying to debunk the whole phenomenon altogether, no one really knows. All that mattered was that no one talked about UFO's. But despite Blue Book's attempt to label everything a hoax, many cases still went unsolved.

I am a UFO skeptic and was given this book as a bit of a joke. Being curious I read it. This book did not change my mind, although, it had some interesting unexplained incidents. I would have liked more facts to overcome my skepticism, but then if there were more facts they would not be called "Unidentified". Overall this was an interesting book and well written. It just did not sell me on the topic, but in place of one landing in my front yard, I do not think there is a book that would.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek is one of the true "legends" in the history of Ufology. Indeed, he is regarded by many as the "founding father" of UFO research. "The Hynek UFO Report" presents dozens of credible UFO cases that Dr. Hynek investigated during his years with Project Blue Book, the Air Force's top-secret investigation of UFOs from 1948-1969. This is a true "must" for any UFO buff. Highly recommended!

The sheer volume of UFO reports mentioned in this book made me a believer. Need evidence? Get this book then.

I think the following on Dr Hynek from a recent report of my UFO Research site may form a good review of the man's contribution.

The UFO Hunters team in the States have contacted NWUR Founder, Pat Regan, expressing interest in the local Orange Ball phenomena.

Dave Pavoni producer stated that the team call the latest sightings "ORBLs" - known as Orange Balls of Light - "Hynek investigated them and they are a known UFO term" added Mr Pavoni. Who was Hynek?

Dr J. Allen Hynek, was a Astronomy professor at Ohio State University, who went on to become Associate Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in 1956), and chairman of the Astronomy Department at Northwestern University during 1960). Hynek is best remembered, though, for his contribution to research into unidentified flying objects. This commenced in 1949 when he was invited by the US Air Force to become the astronomical consultant to Project Grudge, based at nearby Wright Field (later Wright-Patterson AFB), in Dayton. He continued in this position with the successive and much longer Project Blue Book, gradually shifting over the years from a position of extreme scepticism to one in which he believed that UFOs represent "an aspect or domain of the natural world not yet explored by science."

In 1973, four years after the termination of Project Blue Book, Dr Hynek founded the Centre for UFO Studies (CUFOS), based in Chicago. He also served as technical advisor to the producers of the motion picture Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Dr Hynek is - 'The Man'!


You need more on the UFO axis; then get Hynek's book...

A rather dated but interesting piece of UFO history, and have things changed so much? This seems to be the point of birth of realisation that the authors' scepticism was inadequate and that true belief was correct. As a UFOlogist read it

Being a believer in UFOs, USOs, and extraterrestials, I thought this book would be fascinating to read about much of the reported sightings throughout the world. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

The book is divided into several sections: daylight sightings, night sightings, UFO photographs, close encounters of the first, second, and third kinds, to name a few. But that is where the problems lies.

Hynek describes lots of sightings in each of these categories. However, without any kinds of photos, it becomes rather difficult trying to imagine what the person saw. Almost all his stories feature text such as "...I saw these lights...they went here...they did that...they changed colors...it disappeared." After reading 150 pages of this, the book quickly becomes boring and repetitive. Almost all of the related stories read the same.

For that matter, I learned nothing knew. These were stories that came from Project Blue Book that Hynek was re-iterating. We've all read these stories countless time. Photos would have helped.

As a result, the book was a bore. I would not recommend reading it.