Customer Reviews

From other worlds

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I had delved a bit into current UFO lore before reading this book. I enjoyed this book because it touches upon most of the ideas that I had previously encountered. In that respect, it gives a very good overall picture of UFO ideology. I also liked the alien/spirit/ghost connection, although it does nothing to strengthen the UFO case.

The thing that I did not like about this book, however, was that the cases presented were not current. Most of the examples were from the 1950's and 1960's and even before that. With all of the UFO phenonmenon currently being reported, one would think he could get more current information! I also felt that the author dwells too long on the "Martian hysteria" which has its roots in science fiction, while glossing over events such as Roswell, which may be science fact.

Although the author's conclusions are anti-UFO, I would still recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a general overview of the current thoughts surrounding UFO's. We are all capable of creating our own opinions without being swayed by the author's views.

Hilary Evans clearly knows a lot about the UFO phenomenon, at least in terms of history, theories, etc. He has written other, similar works. This effort, however, is puzzling to me. Although not referenced in the title or subtitle, much of the material deals with such phenomena as ghosts, angels, demons and the like; the apparent connection with UFOs and aliens is the "otherworldly" aspect. Also, even when focusing on UFOs and related issues, the reader is left scratching the head. Some of the more well-documented cases are dismissed (Roswell was a mogul balloon [no mention of the crash test dummies as aliens, although already published]);the Belgium triangular craft sightings, witnessed by hundreds, shown on radar and chased by military pilots was most likely U.S. "stealth" planes; abduction claims are looked at very skeptically (typical of the European view), especially the use of regressive hypnosis, popular with American researchers. Stangely, however, some of the more fringe ideas are considered as possibly true (i.e. Trevor Constable's biological UFOs, Nazi saucer bases in Antarctica, etc.). One could get the impression that this work was an effort to further discredit and confus; it did not elucidate. Add to this the excessive use of garish photos and graphics, and the fact that Reader's Digest was the publisher, and the reader is left even more befuddled than ever. All in all, a mixed bag, but is not really recommended for the serious student of the subject ( or for anyone, for that matter).

I had delved a bit into current UFO lore before reading this book. I enjoyed this book because it touches upon most of the ideas that I had previously encountered. In that respect, it gives a very good overall picture of UFO ideology. I also liked the alien/spirit/ghost connection, although it does nothing to strengthen the UFO case.

The thing that I did not like about this book, however, was that the cases presented were not current. Most of the examples were from the 1950's and 1960's and even before that. With all of the UFO phenonmenon currently being reported, one would think he could get more current information! I also felt that the author dwells too long on the "Martian hysteria" which has its roots in science fiction, while glossing over events such as Roswell, which may be science fact.

Although the author's conclusions are anti-UFO, I would still recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a general overview of the current thoughts surrounding UFO's. We are all capable of creating our own opinions without being swayed by the author's views.