Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #702210 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 750 pages

Synopsis
Offers an alphabetical listing of accounts of UFO encounters through history, official explanations, folklore, and related subjects.

From the Author
seeking a middle course, an objective view
I've been pleased and gratified by the response to The UFO Book, an abridged and affordable version of The UFO Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition: The Phenomenon from the Beginning, a two-volume, 1178-page work. (If you're interested, you can probably find it in the reference section of your local library.) In trying to get to the truth about the phenomenon, The UFO Book takes a middle course between the extremes of belief and disbelief, which have rendered rational discussion of this contentious subject somewhere between difficult and impossible. It casts a critical eye on all aspects of the UFO controversy in its effort to separate the arguably authentic from the certifiably bogus (there's plenty of the latter, as you'll see). Nearly all reviews have used the adjective "balanced" or some synonym thereof to characterize the book's approach. Along the way I get to tell some great stories -- some apparently true, others undoubtedly, er, colorful -- and I try to show where, in my judgment, proponents and debunkers have been right and where they've been wrong. There are, in short, no axes ground here, just an attempt to treat objectively a subject more often embraced or dismissed emotionally. The UFO Book seeks the facts and, where facts can't be established with certainty, suggests arguably reasonable inferences, positive or negative. I hope you like this book. A lot of people tell me they have, and that sort of thing always makes an author feel as if his life has not been entirely misspent.

Customer Reviews

Not all it's cracked up to be
The fundamental problem with Jerome Clark's "UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial" is one of bias. First and foremost, Mr. Clark is a believer, and so everything in this book is put through a UFO enthusiast's filter. This bias is most clearly demonstrated in the consistent offhand dismissal of debunkers (the term "debunkers" being shorthand for anyone critical of the UFOlogist view), which only rarely rises to the level of quoting or addressing specific criticisms. I suppose this particular bias is impossible to avoid, however--after all, who else but a believer would even attempt to put a book like this together?

The second form of bias is Mr. Clark's own sense of priorities among the various UFO-related subjects he is forced to describe. Throughout the book, he cannot help but reveal his favorable opinion of strange CE2's and other simple sightings, or his unfavorable view of the more mystical wing of UFOlogy. His feelings toward the abduction phenomenon and "dark side" conspiracy theories are more difficult to discern, but while reading this book one never feels entirely free of Mr. Clark's filters. This is UFOlogy according to Jerome Clark.

Beyond the issue of bias, "The UFO Book" just doesn't seem to have enough entries to justify its subtitling as an "encyclopedia." When read cover to cover, it provides a fair overview of the history of UFOs, but it don't think it would serve as a true reference work. Mr. Clark writes that "The UFO Book" is an abridged version of a more comprehensive work; anyone planning on purchasing this book might bear this in mind. The writing is average, but my only major complaint would be that the choice of extended quotations often seems arbitrary; I rarely understand why Mr. Clark chooses to use someone else's exact words when he does.

Good Introduction To UFO Lore
This book works as a reference guide for anyone interested in reading details about sightings and personages in the field. I noticed that Glenn Campbell's AREA 51 site and MSN all recommended this book as a companion to COSMIC TEST TUBE, a book which details the evolution of theories about these phenomena. After reading both books I would agree--they're bookends for the entire subject area!

I say it's 5 stars because it really answers all my Q's.
The book is great. It answers everything you want to know about UFO's, abductions, and Aliens. I found there were more sightings in the state I live in (Michigan) than I thought possible. I personally research the existance of UFO's, and Extraterrestials, and this is the best UFO book out there.