The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence [Paperback]

Peter A. Sturrock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

Most reports of UFOs are cases of error or merely hoaxes. However a certain percentage defy all rational explanation. This study examines a number of cases that have been well documented and corroborated, yet remain unexplained.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If the truth is out there, why haven't we found it? A 1997 conference at the Pocantico center in Tarrytown, N.Y., assembled UFO researchers and distinguished air and space scientists to review theories and evidence concerning inexplicable lights, big disks and other odd, exciting stuff in the sky. If they produced no new conclusions, their work certainly makes informative reading. A professor emeritus of Space Science and Astrophysics at Stanford, Sturrock synthesizes the conference reports and deliberations into 120 carefully considered pages. One presentation (in Sturrock's summary) shows why some UFOs can be explained as weather-related phenomena. Another shows why UFO investigators and SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) radio astronomers don't get along. Sturrock calls for more, and more widely available, research into UFOs; he notes that physical scientists, while not trained to evaluate witness reports, can analyze material evidence. Most of the rest of the book is comprised of essays ("Post-Pocantico Reflections") and "Case Material" (about specific UFO reports) by a variety of hands. Richard Haines considers a Frisbee-shaped aerial object in a vacationer's photo; Jennie Zeidman reports on "A Helicopter-UFO Encounter Over Ohio." The ongoing French study called GEPAN or SEPRA emerges as a leader in recent studies of UFOs, decidedly on the back burner in the United States. All the contributors write in the impersonal, precise, deliberately colorless language proper to scientific journal articles. If the results are less than thrilling, they represent a hoard of raw information, and some admirably cautious reasoning, from which any reader who already cares about UFOs might be glad to learn. Photos, charts and diagrams not seen by PW. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

A comprehensive investigation of encounters with unidentified flying objects, all the more riveting because it is both skeptical and scrupulously objective. What facts do we have regarding UFOs? asks an international team of scientists headed by Sturrock (Physics/Stanford Univ.). What is the physical evidence, and what is it trying to tell us? Taking pains to avoid sounding frivolous, the team reviews the records of UFO encounters. Many can be explained as misinterpretations of such man-made objects as satellites, or as natural phenomena like marsh gas, manifestations of lightning, or wave ducting, which causes radar mirages. Other experiences are characterized here as ``suggestive but far from sufficient'' in terms of data. Even more intriguing are the ``anomalies,'' a full 30% of the notable contacts, often sighted by multiple observers without discernible ulterior motives, some with photographic evidence, some with material remains, some tracked on radar screens, all left unexplained after a battery of tests that include such jawbreakers as micro-densitometry scans of photographic film crystals, and the probings of spark mass spectrometry. The scope and detail of these analyses make them tough going for the lay reader, but the narrative sections and interviews are captivating. Its particularly gratifying to read the investigators exquisite debunkings of the bureaucratic obfuscation and mumbo jumbo with which government officials have smugly dismissed UFO sightings. This cavalier attitude wont do, the study argues; we need more systematic data collection and procedures. Given the randomness of UFO events, however, that may be asking for the impossible. The ultimate conclusion here is a rousing Who knows? Nonetheless, a signal emerges from the noise and that signal is not readily comprehensible in terms of phenomena now well known to science.'' In other words, something is out there; its just unidentified. (Photos, charts, diagrams) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446677094
• ISBN-13: 978-0446677097
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dard Data on UFOs, December 16, 1999

By 

John B. Alexander "apollinaire" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence (Hardcover)

Professor Peter Sturrock has done an excellent job in detailing hard scientific evidence that supports the existence of UFOs. Most of the material is derived from a meeting of scientists, both UFO supporters and skeptics, in which the evidence was presented in an even-handed manner. Sturrock's approach is equally even-handed and thoughtful, something sorely missing from most UFO diatribes.

This book is a welcome addition to the field and should be read by anyone interested in facts instead of hyperbolie so common to the field. The case studies in the last segment will make any open-minded person take note. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the serious study of aerial phenomena.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, February 21, 2000

By 

reader in NM (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence (Hardcover)

Finally something intensive to read about the scientific evidence of UFO's. I have always wondered why no one seemed to explain the whos, whats, hows and whys of an investigation, just reports of what events took place. It was refreshing to see the extent of the case reviews. The only problem was the terrible low resolution black and white pictures. Surely some color for these type of reproductions would have left me more impressed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books about UFO, February 11, 2007

By 

SIS (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence (Paperback)

This is one of the best books about UFO from a scientific point of view. I recomend it for scientific research of this subject.