Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Books: UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies and Realities by John B. Alexander


How do you feel about UFOs? Personally, I am a skeptic about them being spacecraft from alien worlds, but I love researching them and hearing the wild stories told about the most unusual “incidents.” UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies and Realities by John B. Alexander, Ph.D. is a no-nonsense look at unidentified flying objects by a scientist who claims to have no ax to grind either way. 

Alexander, a former military man, researches U.S. government UFO programs and presents an excellent case that: 

- There are unidentified objects flying in earth airspace. 
- These objects complete maneuvers, accelerate, and reach speeds that are not possible with current world technology. 
- The United States has no authority in charge of studying, recovering or combating these objects. 
- There (and this is the big one) is no evidence that the United States has captured or obtained an alien spacecraft or alien body, nor have they reverse-engineered such a craft from alien technology. 
- There is no general cover up of UFO information by the U.S. government. In fact, most government UFO files are available online due to the FIA (Freedom of Information Act).  

Alexander presents his case factually and logically. In fact, not only is there no cover up, but funding any group to study UFOs would be a political hot potato that no Congressman wants to touch. People in your district can’t get a job, but you’re the Senator who wants to appropriate millions to study LGMs (Little Green Men)? Not likely, according to Alexander. 

I’d love to think there is a crashed alien spacecraft in Hangar 18 somewhere, with frozen alien bodies offering up their secrets of life on another planet. Or perhaps they are living among us, eating too many moon pies and fighting their secret interstellar wars. Such speculation suffers from a distinct lack of evidence. 

Alexander concludes from many credible sources that there are strange, unidentified objects in our atmosphere.  But these “objects” are simply unidentified, not necessarily from outer space or other worlds. Are they alien? From another dimension? Angels? Something unthought-of? I’ve gone from a flat skeptic to the belief that something is up there. But the authorities are as confused as we are. The book is chock full of thought-provoking questions and makes its case well. 

Rating: ****½ out of 5 stars

5 comments:

  1. I tend to lean toward there being others out there (Sagan's whole "otherwise an awful waste of space" idea), but lean skeptical on specific claims of aliens having visited us.

    His argument against funding for a government program seems rather weak. Not necessarily that there is a program, but I have no problem believing that there are plenty of government programs that are off the books.

    Love to speculate on the question though, either way! Sounds like an interesting read.

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  2. Thoughtful comments, Michael. Alexander did go into why "off the books" projects would probably not be used for UFO research (unless an actual UFO or alien body was found of course), but it was too complicated for a short review. Despite his very logical explanation, I do agree that it is possible. I just wish there was more evidence of results.

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  3. By the way, have you ever read Sagan's "Candle in the Dark?" IMO, it's the best book about science and skepticism I've ever read. In it, he says simply "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Not PROOF, just real evidence. Those words instantly changed my entire view on all supernatural claims.

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  4. I will have to read the book proper for his full argument someday (in a fictional land of having time). I've not read that Sagan book, but read "The Demon Haunted World" which had a similar thrust (fantastic read). Of course, I also love "Contact." I thought they did well on the movie, but the book is where it's at.

    I do subscribe to his extraordinary evidence standard. I like to keep an open mind, but believe the leap of faith should be taken from the top of the ladder of reason. Too many people are content to dive into blind faith without the rigor of that climb.Yet science and reason have their limits, so faith must take a further step at some point.

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  5. Wow, that was well said. Are you a writer or something? :)

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