The UFO Invasion: Best of Skeptical Inquirer

By: Frazier, Kendrick

Book Overview

UFOs and space aliens are visiting Earth? Now it's time to get the facts Did a "flying saucer" really crash near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and have we been victims of a sinister government conspiracy to hide its alien occupants in a secret facility? Is there truth behind the swirled crops phenomenon? Have humans been abducted by aliens?In an effort to counter media misinformation The UFO Invasion offers definitive, behind-the-scenes accounts of each case of extraterrestrial visitations and paranormal claims. This fully documented look at sightings, encounters, the Roswell incident, "MJ-12" documents, crop circles, the "alien autopsy," and more will challenge, illuminate, anger and amuse. Included are revealing articles by Robert A. Baker, Robert E. Bartholomew, Joseph A. Bauer, William B. Blake, Robyn M. Dawes, C. Eugene Emery, Zen Faulkes, John F. Fischer, Kingston A. George, Jr., Philip J. Klass, Joe Nickell, James E. Oberg, Peter J. Reeven, Ian Ridpath, Robert Sheaffer, Armando Simon, Lloyd Stires, Trey Stokes, Dave Thomas, Richard L. Weaver (Col. USAF), Jeff Wells, and Robert P. Young. Also, SETI coordinator Thomas P. McDonough ponders searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573921319
• ISBN13: 9781573921312
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Prometheus Books, Publishers
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

An excellent, level-headed look at the UFO phenomenon

THE UFO INVASION is a terrific book for anyone seeking to get a good idea of what the real explanations behind everything from alien abductions to the Roswell Incident to crop circles could be. The book is laid out in cleanly divided sections--"The UFO Enigma," "The Crash at Roswell," "Roswell and the Alien Autopsy," Other UFO Cases," "Alien Abductions," "Crop Circles," and Extraterrestrial Intelligence," and within every section are a number of relevant articles from the pages of the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. The book never asks its readers to take its word on anything, or to make leaps of faith in reasoning; instead, it lays out its cases clearly and with evidence, citing sources as it goes. It's a smart book, but it's also very readable, very quirky, and engaging. I found the sections on Roswell and alien abductions to be particularly interesting, covering a wide range of the aspects of these fascinating stories. I read the alien abduction section right after reading Whitley Strieber's COMMUNION, and found it to be incredibly helpful in making psychological sense of Strieber's otherworldly tales. For a Holy Skeptical Trinity of UFOlogy, I recommend reading this book along with Karl Pflock's ROSWELL: INCONVENIENT FACTS AND THE WILL TO BELIEVE, and Curtis Peebles' WATCH THE SKIES: A CHRONICLE OF THE FLYING SAUCER MYTH. I can scarcely imagine someone reading all three of these books and then still believing that extraterrestrial aliens have been covertly visiting us. I kind of wish that were the case, but I just don't see the evidence for it all. Some of the evidence that they haven't been, on the other hand, is right here, in THE UFO INVASION.

Misleading Cover=Argument against UFO's.

With every subject, it is beneficial to read both sides of an issue. The 3 authors who wrote this book appear to have completed a lot of research, and fill the chapters with many references AGAINST the belief of UFO's. Included are questions of the Roswell crash, top-secret papers that some have said NSA won't release, evidence of crop circles, alien abductions and extraterrestrial intelligence. With each subject, the authors have first explained what current literature indicates, then spends time explaining why they believe these are all false beliefs. There are many illustrations, notes and references throughout the book, giving the reader an excellent resourse of reading "the other side" of the story of UFO's.This book could be an excellent resourse if writing a paper for college, or interested in studying why some do not believe the current literature. It does give one a lot to think about. I gave it a 4 not because I believe everything that is said; rather, I believe the authors did a fine job of research and citing hundreds of references.

Great scholarly text about UFO phenomena and beliefs.

This book is a series of articles written by various scholars who are experts in various scientific and social fields or who specialize in UFO investigations. Topics discussed include the impact of hypnotic questioning on the creation of false memories of alien abductions; misperceptions by eyewitnesses; IFO (identified flying object) cases; impact of the media and culture on creation of UFO beliefs and UFO stories; role of psychology in UFO story creation; the development of legends like the Roswell UFO crash legend; and so on. The authors are conservative in their approach and base their conclusions on modern logic theory. This is a great book for scholars or students of logic, psychology, and so on. Would be a good book for a college course on these topics.

One of the few, good UFO books in print

Why aren't Donald Menzel's books still in print today? What a shame...There are hundreds of books for believers, but very few with actual facts. "The UFO Invasion" has the facts.The only coverup is by the believers... who twist information to fit their preconcieved ideas. Trust me, you'll learn the truth by reading the works of Klass, Sheaffer, Korff, and Donald Menzel.

Outstanding Debunking of Nonsensical UFOlogist Claims

UFOlogists have flooded the public and the media (which have sucked it down, hook, line, and sinker) with outright lies and fabrications for the past 52 years (ever since the 1947 sighting by Kenneth Arnold of "nine flying discs"). On the other side of the story, Kendrick Frazier, Barry Karr, and Joe Nickell (but, most specifically in regards to UFOs, Philip J. Klass) have dedicated their lives to uncovering the truth about wacky pseudoscientific and paranormal claims. In contrast to the previous reader, I believe that this book was very well written (and concur on the point that it contains "good science," which is redundant). Anyhow, read it! See the light, all you UFO wackos!