Customer Reviews

UFO's and Ufology: The First 50 Years

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It is, I suppose, not just a sign of our times but of the human condition that those proclaiming they have the Truth-with-a-capital-T gain a far larger following than folks like Messrs Devereaux and Brookesmith ever do, a pair of gentleman who favor a rigorous, genuimely investigative appraoch to a topic. And when the subject at hand is as both contentious and in some respects fuzzy, as 'UFOlogy', it's easy to see why this important book has garned exactly two reviews, one of which was apparently based entirely on disagreement with the title, rather than the content.

As to the book itself...while slightly dated at this point, almost a decade after publication (that being close the high-water mark of Alien Abduction books, Alien Autopsy TV specials, Aliens battling Mulder & Scully, etc.) it carefully traverses the history of the phenomena, not just since Kenneth Arnold's "flying saucers", but back into pre-history and up through the (then) current day.

While the authors certainly draw their own conclusions, they remain careful to let all sides be heard and thoroughly examine various theories and hypothoses that have been put forth (to a bewildering degree) to *explain* what UFOs are about and what they might mean. And do so in a way that is engaging, readable and respectful.

Those who come in with strongly preconcieved ideas ("it's all rubbish", "there's a government cover-up of the ETs", etc.) will either hate this book or have their worldview challenged. For those of us that think what the UFO phenomena might say about ourselves is important and worth trying to understand (whether that understanding is of a scientific, sociological, psychological, cultural, theological nature...) will find much of interest here and to them is highly recommended.

Well-written, well-argued, handsome and with some terrific illustrations, this unjustly neglected volume remains a vital contribution to the field, even ten years after its publication.

I found this book to be quite astonishing. While I used to be extremely skeptical of the so called "UFO's" this book introduces facts, accounts, and inferences that have lead me to question my own beleifs.
Excellent book! Although, I think that "a reader" was right when he said that UFO-ology is not a word, however I don't think he read the book.