UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies, and Realities

by John B. Alexander, Jacques F. Vallée (Foreword), Burt Rutan (introduction)

Foreword by Jacques F. Vallee

Introduction by Burt Rutan

Commentary by Tom Clancy

A never-before-heard firsthand account of a government insider’s experience on the cutting edge of UFO exploration; includes a new afterword

“Forget everything you think you know about UFOs - this insider's account exposes the reality... Packed with top grade information, insightful analysis and fascinating anecdotes, Alexander's interesting and controversial book sets the gold standard for titles on this subject.†–Nick Pope, author of Open Skies, Closed Minds

“Changes the playing field for both true believers and skeptics alike. Alexander strongly warns, be careful what you wish for when asking for presidential intervention.  Success could set the field of ufology back decades.†--George Noory, host of Coast to Coast AM

While still on active duty in the U.S. Army during the 1980s, Colonel John B. Alexander, Ph.D. created an interagency group to explore the controversial topic of UFOs. All members held Top Secret clearance. What they discovered was not at all what was expected. UFOs covers the numerous cases they saw, and answers questions like:

• What was really in Hanger 18?

• Did a UFO land at Holloman Air Force Base?

• What happened at Roswell?

• What is Majestic 12?

• What is the Aviary?

• What does the government know about UFOs?

• What has happened with disclosure in other countries?

• Has the U.S. reverse engineered a UFO?

• Why don’t presidents get access to UFO info?

UFOs is at once a complete account of Alexander’s findings, and a call to action. There are no conspiracy theories here—only hard facts—but they are merely the beginning.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Conspiracy Theories, Mystery

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2011

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. Alexander explains quite clearly and eloquently why the US government couldn't possibly be hiding a deep, "black," secret UFO program. Surprisingly, I found the explanation to be incredibly boring when I thought it was going to be astonishing. I nearly set this book aside after the first chapter, where he's discussing his attempts to locate such a program within the various branches of the gov't. He names meeting times, dates, locations, officer names, titles, paperwork... and it's mind numbing and dull. I suppose if one worked within the military complex (like he did) and you actually knew some of these people or worked with these various programs, it might be interesting. It is great that he has the documentation to back up his research, it just makes for a slog of a read.

Things picked up at Chapter 10 when he talks about actual UFO cases with impeccable and highly trained witnesses. Also, Chapter 14 entitled 'Considerations, Speculation, and Puzzles Addressed' was also a great read. I guess my main problem with this book was that I was either bored to tears by it or so blown away so that I read too quickly and then was back into the boring stuff.

I'd recommend this book to any conspiracy theorists out there. Dr. Alexander is a wonderful source of UFO information and knows the in's and out's of government programs. He also is encouraging everyone with UFO experiences to talk about it and make it more mainstream and acceptable. Certainly, an open forum would be helpful for us to understand what this phenomena is and for further study. Just don't expect this read to be very "interesting"... more like a scholarly paper, but I suppose some folks may enjoy that style more than I did.

[Dale Stonehouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to call this book a disappointment because it is significant, but in hoping to read something new, I was disappointed. There is nothing here that cannot be learned by a few decades of keeping up with UFO literature. Alexander spends the first half of the book explaining the mistakes UFO "believers" make, and he has the background to know. Then, in the last part of the book he details UFO cases that cannot be explained away by science, logic, or any other human standard, in effect validating UFO reality. The only question in my mind; does he have an agenda and if so, what is it? Intentionally or not, taking a negative view of a concept spreads awareness as well or better than supporting that concept. If only a percentage of naysayers investigate further, awareness of the possibilities is increased. His assertion that there is no THEY (authority controlling dissemination of UFO material) appears to be correct. His working group (likely the one written about by Howard Blum in his book Out There) on advanced theoretical physics (ATP) probably comes closest. If there is something significant about this book to veteran researchers, it is likely to be in noting which cases and possibilities he DOES NOT mention in the book, for those would likely be closer to reality than what is reviewed. I leave to the reader's curiosity finding those cases and discerning what that ignorance might indicate.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was eager to plow through this book from cover to cover. I had read favorable reviews lauding the author's insider perspective on the government and UFOs, his critical presentation of significant UFO cases, and his thoughts about the nature of the UFO phenomenon.

I was sorely disappointed and for the first time in my entire life, threw a book away, his book, which had cost about $17 at Barns and Noble.

Regarding his insider perspective, many pages are dedicated to frankly dreary narration of a governmental study group with top secret clearance he allegedly headed decades ago, which had occasion to inquire about UFO cases at the CIA and other agencies. Although he reports that every month NORAD observes one or two UFOs exhibiting extraordinary speed and maneuverability , he concludes that these are simply ignored and that the government is not hiding anything. This was based on the verbal denials he received from officers of diverse branches of government, and an implausible argument that it would not be feasible to keep UFO information a secret. This conclusion, to say the least, is at best naive, if not baldly disingenuous.

This purported insider scoop on UFOs occupies a significant chunk of the book.

Hope against hope, I read through the following section presenting well-attested UFO cases. I was sorely disappointed: very few cases were included, and with one exception (Eskimo Scouts), these are more amply discussed in many other sources than in Alexander's book. Curiously, he omits many cases which certainly could have been mentioned involving credible observers and radar. And his credibility suffers major damage by including here the Gulf Breeze affair, a notorious and thoroughly discredited hoax.

With flagging interest, I searched through the ensuing pages with the hope of learning what Alexander has concluded about the nature of UFOs. Alas, another disappointment. He limits himself to vague comments that some UFOs are a real phenomenon.

I strongly recommend that interested readers give their local library some business, so to speak, and there consult Alexander's book. I suspect that many will agree with my opinions, and will be thankful that no money was spent to learn nothing new.

[Jim Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of UFO books, though only a fraction of those that are out there, and this is one of the best and absolutely the most helpful if one wants to sort through the huge pile of conjecture, conspiracy theories and practical jokes that comprise the bulk of this genre.
John Alexander is a retired army colonel who has extensive experience in the army's exploration of the paranormal, and also a PhD who has worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is not an airhead, which fact alone puts him in the top ten percent of authors on this subject.
Where it really shines is in sorting through the mountain of drivel about what the "guvmint" has done with the UFO issue. As a consummate insider he cannot be said to know everything the government has done, but he makes a really good assessment of what the government could and would do. You may not agree with all his conclusions, but you will be much better equipped to evaluate and make your own, if not conclusions, assessment of probabilities.
As for the UFOs themselves he is pretty much in the same place as the rest of us, although with better data. There is something out there flying around in our airspace. It seems to be under intelligent control. It's not from here. It may be extra-terrestrial or extra-dimensional. Watch this space.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 2 out of 5]

“UFO’s, myths, conspiracies, and realities” by John B. Alexander, Ph.D.

Category – Aliens/Conspiracy Theories

In the fly leaf of his book Alexander asks some very intriguing questions:

What was really in Hanger 18?
Did a UFO land at Holloman Air Force Base?
What happened at Roswell?
What is Majestic 12?

and several others that will really get a reader excited about this book.

These and other cases concerning UFO’s do not become a part of the book until page 155. Up until page 155 the reader is subjected to a very boring, unless you are really into government agencies, dissertation on what agencies are or are not, are not, involved with UFO’s. What information has been gathered and released concerning UFO’s. Alexander does make a good point in how difficult it is to get anyone in government to “touch” the UFO question. It can be likened to being on the cover of “Sports Illustrated”, a virtual kiss of death.

The book does become very interesting when he gets into actual cases of UFO sightings. He does make the point that only about 5% of sighting are considered unexplainable and therefore worthy of investigation.

This book could very well be an exciting read for those who are deeply involved with this phenomenon. However, I was looking for something that involved case histories and why and why not they could be considered authentic.

I also feel that some pictures would have added a greater measure of meaning and reality to the book. It would have interesting to compare photographs of sightings that were considered altered and those that were considered legitimate.

[Neil Oregin · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is mostly about John B. Alexander, Ph.D., eulogizing his own military career. Very repetitive.

[Clara Babbage · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dry and stale writing style added to a boring narrative made this a turn off.

Too much of this book was spent telling us what wasn't happening, rather than what was.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story both of John B Alexanders professional career, as well as his opinion on many conspiracy theories. The book begins very slowly, and with a bit of a rambling narrative, describing John’s career within the Department of Defence and how he miraculously continued to move up despite his eccentric hobbies (e.g. UFO’s). This continued on after his government career and into his private sector work as well. One thing he tries to make clear in this section is no one wants to study UFO’s within the government and no department wants to be the one to allocate funds to the study of UFOs. John makes it clear, if your department finds the money to study UFOs then your department will be on the chopping block to cut costs as you clearly have too much money. John further adds that there is a culture present that does not know what to do with these things so on the one hand you get the Condon report which says UFOs pose no military threat, and on the other you get people sworn to secrecy sometimes when they see anomalous things.

John then goes on to tackle many of the conspiracies of disclosure, or more specifically that the government knows more than they are letting on. John flat out states that if there was more to the story he would know due to his connections and that the “black budget” is not as covert as it is believed. He describes how some statements are false when he knows direct people who cannot corroborate said statements. As an example, the boss of Bob Lazar states he had never hired Bob and does not know who he was. He then goes on to state that politicians cannot touch UFOs due to the attached loss of popularity and that should disclosure occur, all we would really get is Condon 2.

Not all is rubbish in the paranormal world however. The later portions of the book describe cases JOhn believe to be truly real and unexplained, they include Rendlesham forest, Cash-Landrum, Torres in the UK, Skinwalker ranch, and the Malmar Missile debacle. Due to these cases, John believes there is something to be researched and discussed within the scientific public. He does add that “Skeptics”, as they call themselves, are more so debunkers that will attach to any explanation that will solve at least one of the oddities despite leaving may other unanswered parts. That’s what this book is at the end of it a call from the middle of the topic to rein in both extremes to say this is what needs to be studied.

Although I do not agree with everything he says, particularly his “This is false because I didn’t know about it” claims, but he is a proponent of a level headed and neutral review of cases and for further study by a wide array of scientific fields, this is a hard position to disagree with.

The Best: Receiving a firsthand account of the UFO phenomena from a government higher up’s point of view.

The Worst: He begins the book writing like an old man who can’t keep to the story, he references for several paragraphs how he knows someone and the story behind it before finally coming back to the story. He also uses “this can’t be true because I have not heard of it” as defence too many times, maybe you don’t know it all?

[Julian Munds · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my inaugural foray into the enigmatic realm of UFO discourse, I must concede that Alexander's literary offering might not have been the ideal maiden voyage. It appears tailored to those with a cursory acquaintance with the subject matter at hand, a circumstance that I found rather conspicuous. The author seems to contort himself strenuously to vouchsafe his own credibility and to extend a benedictory nod to those whose testimony populates the narrative. This strenuous exertion, I must admit, did leave me somewhat agog, bordering on the pitiable. Yet, when one considers the backdrop of this field, where the very premise of inquiry is unceremoniously jettisoned into the hinterlands of incredulity, one might perhaps temper one's critique.

Overall, it behooves me to acknowledge the assiduousness of Alexander's research endeavors, for he has unfurled a narrative that, albeit a tad parched in style, remains perspicuous. However, I implore you to consume this critique with a judicious measure of skepticism, as it marks my virgin voyage into this abstruse terrain. Lurking amidst the prose is a conspicuous dearth of sensationalism. The character sketch of Carl Sagan proffered herein strikes me as a unique and intriguing rendition, one that has indeed sown the seeds of contemplation regarding the pronouncements of this revered sage of science, prompting a reevaluation of the undercurrents of scientific elitism.

My chief bone of contention with Alexander, though, is his relentless invocation of the elusive chimera known as "Common Sense." Its definition, or lack thereof, left me grappling in the murk of obfuscation. In the grand tapestry of the inexplicable, 'Common Sense' appears a spectral wisp, its shape ever-elusive.

In sum, my acquaintance with this volume has not left me rueful, for it has spurred a nascent hunger for deeper delving into this perplexing theme, especially in the wake of the recent congressional hearings that have unfurled upon us a renewed mantle of curiosity and trepidation.

[Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it when a book makes me want to tear my hair out one minute and then kiss the author in the next. Books like that get high marks from me when they both challenge my assumptions and align with them. Such is the case with "UFOs" by John B. Alexander, Ph.D.

Dr. Alexander is a retired Army Colonel who claims to be in the know about our government's UFO activities. And if he doesn't know something, he knows someone who does.

He assures the reader that the U.S. government is not involved in any kind of a UFO cover-up for the simple reasons that 1) UFOs are not seen as a threat by the government, 2) a UFO secret is too big and would leak with all the people knowing the secret, and 3) there is no funding to support organizations to study UFOs because funding in the government requires "robbing Peter to pay Paul."

While reading this book, I often felt that Alexander's explanations for things were too pat. He seemed to have a simple answer for a lot of things. I found myself thinking, "Hey! Wait a minute...." And this is where my review veers off into my arguments versus his.

1) He says that UFOs are not seen as a threat by the government, but then recounts several "credible" accounts of UFOs monitoring nuclear testing sites both in the U.S. and in Russia. In both cases, the UFOs apparently deactivate the missiles. In the Russian story, however, not only does the UFO deactivate the missiles, but then it also activates them as though to launch them. These stories make me highly skeptical that the U.S. government and foreign governments are not taking notice. If UFOs can control nuclear missiles, that's a threat!

2) The UFO secret is one that is too big with too many people involved not to leak. But haven't these stories been leaking for years? Roswell is a perfect example. There have been accounts of witnesses being intimidated by government authorities to stay silent. His explanation for Roswell is that it was indeed a (then) high-tech balloon used to monitor nuclear testing in Russia in 1947. The news story that ensued was merely a cover-up to prevent the Russians from knowing about our technology. He conveniently ignores the story of bodies being found at the site, which were written off as crash test dummies, however, the dummies were supposedly not manufactured until 2 years after the crash. He also says that the famous hieroglyphs supposedly found on pieces of wreckage were merely codes that only our guys would be able to interpret. But, then, this theory flies in the face of the story he recounts of the sighting in Bentwater, England, where the UFO (seen and touched my military men) also had strange hieroglyphs on it.

As far as secrets go, I don't think they would be too hard to keep if only a small group of people were on a "need-to-know" basis. As an example, only 3 people in the world are said to know the secret formula for Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper has been in production for decades with thousands of people producing it in some fashion. Why hasn't that secret ever leaked? And don't get me started on the secret recipe for KFC. I've tried many online versions (with vegetarian chik'n) and none of the crust tasted ANYTHING like KFC. Secret well kept!

3) There is no funding to support the study of UFOs because that would require canceling other projects to get the money. Again, I found this a little hard to believe, especially where our government is so good at "creative accounting." Haven't we heard year after year about billions of dollars going missing? What about funding for Sarah Palin's "bridge to nowhere"? For some reason, I have trouble believing that the government couldn't squirrel away money for shadow organizations and their projects if it wanted to. There's a reason toilet seats bought by the Pentagon cost $640.

Although Dr. Alexander claims the government doesn't have UFOs on its radar, he does believe there is something to the numerous sightings through the years. Of the thousands of sightings reported, many can be explained, however, Alexander does concede that there are many sightings that can not be explained. He devotes a chapter to many of these famous sightings, including the Phoenix Lights of 1997 and the Bentwater, England, U.S. Air Force Base sighting in 1980.

Just when you think he's going to write off UFOs completely, he goes in a different direction and takes a look at some of the mysteries that can't be explained. And that's what I liked so much about this book. He also takes several swipes at self-styled skeptics (many famous) who conveniently ignore the facts and write off sightings as "just Venus" or some other pat answer.

My impression of Dr. Alexander's belief about UFOs is that they are inter-dimensional beings. He seems to be more willing to accept this theory as when he spends time talking about the odd events at Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, a place he has personally investigated. Skinwalker Ranch is supposedly the site of many unexplained lights, cattle mutilations, and bizarre vortexes where strange creatures such as bigfoots and giant wolves have appeared.

Of note is that Dr. Alexander has been accused of being in the know about UFOs and governmental involvement but using his book and his status to cover up all of it. I'm not sure I believe this theory. But I'm not sure I believe he's as much in the know as he would have the reader believe.

Fans of UFOs will get some good information from this book. Dr. Alexander doesn't say one way or the other whether or not UFOs exist, but he is willing to look at the argument from both sides. Although I disagreed with a lot of the things he said, I was pleased that he was willing to concede that there are still many things we don't know about this phenomenon. At times, he seems to rely on "experts" he has "known for years" who are "highly credible", which I found hard to believe in the beginning of the book. Just because he knows someone and gives us his word that the person is reputable, doesn't make it so.

Definitely check out this book whether you believe in UFOs or not. There's something for everyone in these pages, no matter which side of the argument you may be on.

[Dr. James Ashman CEng MIMechE CPhys MInstP · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually quite liked this. It's not one for the dogmatic Ufologists; rather, Alexander takes a pragmatic view of his experiences with the Military-Industrial-Intelligence complex. He makes some valid points as he sees them, some of which will go completely against the grain of those who have already made their minds up. I suppose I fall into this category myself, although I did like reading and hearing a different opinion on a subject that I have my opinions about. I recommend reading this work if you're a staunch believer, or indeed a staunch sceptic.

Both parties involved in the UAP debate, regardless of colour, shouldn't be shouting into an echo chamber exclusively. We should both be more humble and learn to understand, with respect and dignity, the opinions diametrically opposed to our own. Well worth a read.

[John Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"He [John Alexander] does not claim to answer the question of the origin and nature of the UFO phenomenon but he cuts through the ambiguity that surrounds it, highlighting the real issues among a blizzard of theories and false claims."

I think this line taken from the foreword by Jacques Vallee sums the book up perfectly.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly this is one of the most convincing and well written books I’ve read on the topic of UFOs. I’ve read a lot of books on the subject because I find it fascinating, but too many books put on full display their confirmation bias. This does not. Anderson very clearly lays out what he knows, what he doesn’t, what he suspects, and so forth.

[Mary ivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent, COMMON SENSE approach to the subject of UFOS!

This book makes sense! Very well written, well articulated including excellent discussions that lead readers through the arguments to logical conclusions.

[Shaun McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book by someone who should be in the know. Whether he is telling the truth, or more pertinently, the whole truth, you will have to decide...

[Dan Zarfati · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many claims made by John Alexander that turned up to be totally wrong. It is even fun to read. But then again he got right in a few situations.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I actually enjoyed this a fair bit, but it was undeniably dry & brushed over some of the most interesting topics. Still, a fun quick read & interesting tidbits on US govm't policy.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have used more careful editing but definitely worthwhile. Retired US Army Col. John Alexander tells us about his interest in UFOs and his attempt, while still on active duty with top secret security clearances, to find out, decades after the US Air Force shut down its Project Blue Book, whether somewhere in the US government, some entity still had an official interest in this subject. Alexander, who wrote two prior books on his special area of expertise, non-lethal weapons (to include remote viewing, an area the US government did fund) was able to find officials (some very high-ranking indeed) who had their own personal UFO sightings to describe but nobody, no panel, no secret or semi-secret or bureaucratic repository which was collecting or analyzing such experiences. The consensus was UFOs were a real phenomenon but too ephemeral to reward extensive study, and not a threat to national security.

Alexander, like Jacques Vallee, who provides a foreword, thinks UFOs have a physical component (micro bursts of energy in a very confined space) which manipulates space and time. So UFOs may represent a control mechanism effecting social change (e.g., encouraging a wide-spread belief in extraterrestrial life or creating a Jungian archetype warning us of special extinction) and/or may represent an extension of our consciousness or...fill in the blank. Alexander did his PhD dissertation on Near Death Experiences under the tutelage of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (the psychiatrist who pioneered near-death studies, originating the theory of the five stages of grief). I hope he has another book in him because I think he has more interesting stories to tell (for instance, his work for Robert Bigelow of Bigelow Aerospace).

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting read from a career US military/ government executive with great insight into how the US government and armed forces are run.

The author acknowledges early on that his experiences and research confirm to him that UFOs present a tangible, real-world phenomenon and provides outlines of some of the most compelling US Govt/ Military cases that he has been involved with. He criticises skeptics for challenging these cases from an established and biased perspective of 'UFOs cannot be real therefore there is always a more prosaic explanation' and then bending the facts or dismissing inconvenient witness testimony to meet a desired alternative solution.

However my frustration with John Alexander is that he is guilty of precisely the same errors when responding to the idea that the US Government or Military/ Industrial complex has any secret agenda, program or history regarding the phenomenon.

The parts of the book where he tackles the idea of a secret government program of any description lack the dispassionate and intelligent review of the subject present elsewhere in the book. The reader gets a sense that John is fiercely proud of his connections to the Military/ Intelligemce elite in the US to the point that he is unable to be objective in his examination of the possibility that there exist a group within the US with an insight into this phenomenon that is secret and not shared with the rest of the world.

His argument seems to be 'I know all the key players in the US Armed Forces, Intelligence and Government; they have told me there is no secret program that they know of; therefore there isn't. He even descends to tongue in cheek mockery of those that have a view otherwise, seeing them collectively as conspiracy nuts hell bent on believing in an all powerful, all knowing 'THEY' (as he repeated refers to the imagined, no-name agency).

I'm not suggesting a case either way for the existence of such a secret program, merely pointing out the author's apparent agenda on this subject, which is a shame as this skewed perspective mars an otherwise excellent book.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not generally interested in UFOs at all and only picked this up at the library out of curiousity. The book is written by a retired US Army colonel. The writing style is deliberate and very detailed though not terribly engaging. For me, it seemed rather long-winded though perhaps someone with a more devoted interest in the subject would feel otherwise. He goes to great lengths to provide background and evidence to support his positions and the strength of witness statements. For me, this book could have been quickly summarized in an Executive Summary of a couple of pages. Then, if the reader wanted more details they can dig into the details in the rest of the book. Thankfully, the author provides a summary section at the end of each chapter. So, if you're not interested in all the details supporting his arguments, just read the summaries and you'll get all you need to know. In fact, you could just read the Epilogue. Or even simpler, just read this SPOILER: UFOs are real (lots of hard evidence), the UFO issue is obscured by a great number of hoaxes and misinterpreted evidence, there is no government cover-up (because most governments, military organizations and the general public don't consider the UFO issue important), UFOs come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and manifestations and despite a huge number of verified sightings still remain utterly unexplained.

[Tee Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good preface in how to properly start a UFO investigation "2.0" for the 21st century. Essentially, don't count on the military or other defence mechanisms to investigate, at least not in the U.S. As long as UFOs are not considered a "threat," than most organizations want nothing to do with them.

Thus, it will be up to the private, professional, and skeptical-minded scientists, researchers and investigators who will need to heed the investigative call.
Unfortunately, the biggest challenge to proper investigation are the kooks, crazies and pranksters out there who continually disrupt investigation. That, and also the closed-minded skeptics who, ironically, have a lot more in common with "true-believers" than they'd like to realize. They unthinkingly and unflinchingly believe nothing is out there just like those who religiously believe that aliens exist.

There has to be some middle ground.

Also, there are some very interesting and outright weird events that are discussed in this book that appear to be bullet proof. Note: they aren't your typical re-hashed stories you usually see on TV.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmm. This book basically takes on the question of what the government knows about UFOs and what it's done about them from an insider's perspective (former US colonel, etc). Of course, the answer is basically 'fuck all' and 'nothing'; the author's thesis seems to be that the inertia and incompetence of the American bureaucracy is such that there's no way anyone could have ever gotten anything done about the question and they're certainly not working on it now. The author seems to think UFOs are a serious topic of interest, and points out a lot of high strangeness/high credibility cases that he thinks lend credence to the phenomenon, and seems to think that it's something that SHOULD be tackled. But he's almost astonishingly pessimistic about it ever being possible, in the US, at least. Like, cheer up, Eeyore, and do something about it. I went in expecting to be sympathetic but right now I'm just wildly annoyed by the author.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked out this book because I want to know more about UFO'S, and what is myth, a conspiracy, or a reality. This author is a green beret veteran with the rank of colonel. He does not claim to answer the question the origin of the UFO phenonemon, but he highlights the real issues. One thing he talks about ( and I read in another book) is the claim that President Eisenhower met the grays at an Air Force Base when the evidence shows he was no where near there on the day they say. His daughter or daughter in-law says he did not ever see any aliens. If UFO's are real we do not know how they operate. Many presidents have expressed an interest yet none of them got a satisfactory answer. Based on credible witnesses and backed by physical evidence, this author thinks the UFO'S observations are manifestations of issues that are beyond current comprehension. I liked this book but it is long and very technical.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on the subject. Alexander argues UFO believers are way to quick to say "It's an alien" when the evidence doesn't point that way and that the skeptics are way to quick to dismiss genuinely odd/unexplained things, which, as someone firmly in the skeptic camp, I found kind of refreshing.

On the other hand, his idea that some unexplained phenomena are being directed by unknown intelligences that are deliberately playing with the observers in such a way they can't come to any consistent conclusions seems pretty untestable and just seems to add another level of woo.

Also, his over use of acronyms was maddening.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alexander sits a bit on his high horse and sounds pretentious throughout the majority. It seems like most of the reviews favor his chapter on the sightings/encounters in which he claims to be based in real evidence and hard fact. I would have to agree with those reviews. After studying the phenomena for over 15 years, I have to say that Alexander is right about somethings and I can appreciate his level headedness. However, there are instances where he contradicts himself and sounds a bit hypocritical. Of course, because I was using this book for research, I did not make notations regarding this and still find him to be credible.

[Florence Primrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book in which the author uses half the text to refute the ideas that UFOs are secret vehicles controlled by countries. He gives multiple explanations of why this is true. He also gives many examples of UFOs sighted. Extensive supporting evidence is given from several countries worldwide.

This book was recommended to me by a friend who says several years ago she and her husband observed a UFO which hovered, then moved one direction and then suddenly made a 90-degree turn and disappeared very quickly.

[Nicholas Guzzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart. Credible. Fascinating. Dr. John Alexander is better connected, more experienced and more enthusiastic than any other UFO writer I've come across. He's a skeptic of ill-founded UFO evidence and, equally, voices his logical ridicule for close-minded skeptics alike. There is a reason for every chapter in this book, even the dry chapters in the beginning. Don't expect a huge revelation or some conspiracy advocate's opinions. This book is based on international facts, credible & accepted evidence and most importantly - the freedom to discuss that which conventional science cannot explain.

[Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable and sensible discussion of the subject from a former military man. I agree with his assessment that if there was a cover-up involving as many people as would have been involved someone would have told all long before now. As a former government employee I understand why no one seems to be tracking UFO's in the US gov't. Everything is based on achieving set objectives, and no one at this point wants to touch the idea of UFO's. This was a goos read.

[Steve Ririe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many will not give this book the stars it deserves because they have swallowed the "hook". For those who still have their critical thinking skills intact, you'll enjoy this book. If you want to know where the line is between what may be real and what is pure fiction when it comes to UFOs this is the book for you. Of course, the cottage industry UFOs have created will feel threatened as will their disciples.

[Efehan Elbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable and grounded trip through current UFO stuff. Pretty much a zero bullshit ride, to the best of my ability to ascertain. Many things are examined in hard light, with in-depth examination on how the government probably isn't hiding anything. The more credible mutli-person sightings and events that are left standing are plenty mysterious enough.