Suggested Reading

Recommended Reading for the General Reader

J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience (1972)
For twenty years Dr. J. Allen Hynek served as a consultant to Project Blue Book, and The UFO Experience is his response to the official Air Force debunking policies and a summation of what he had learned about the UFO phenomenon. Hynek presents an eloquent and accessible case for the continuing scientific study of UFOs and offers a classification system that inspired the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Moreover, his witness profiles shatter the officially fostered fallacy that those who see UFOs are ignorant or insane.

Lawrence Fawcett & Berry Greenwood, UFO Cover-Up (1992)
Using government documents released through FOIA, Fawcett and Greenwood build a convincing scenario that traces the history of official efforts to conceal UFO evidence.

Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia (3 vols.)
Modern (post-1970's) UFO books of excellent scholarship and broad coverage are difficult to come by. Clark's incredible tour-de-force of short historical-analytical essays fills that void. The whole panoply of serious UFOlogy to carnival UFOria is covered in fine fashion.

C. D. B. Bryan, Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind (1995)
Bryan, a respected mainstream journalist, details his reflections on the 1992 abduction conference at M.I.T. and concludes there is merit in researching these experiences.

Kevin Randle and Don Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell (1994)
This second book by the authors is the definitive account of the Roswell crash and retrieval.

Timothy Good, Above Top Secret (1989)
Timothy Good, British researcher, offers an exhaustive historical study of official, worldwide suppression of UFO evidence.

Travis Walton, Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (1996)
This is Walton's personal account of his controversial experience, an expanded version of his 1976 book, The Walton Experience.

Donald E. Keyhoe, Flying Saucers from Outer Space (1953)
Keyhoe essentially broke open the official log jam of government UFO cover-ups with his first book, The Flying Saucers are Real. This, his second book, continues in the same vein and argues for an end to saucer secrecy.

Budd Hopkins, Intruders (1987)
Intruders details Hopkins' investigation into the experiences of Kathie Davis, which leads him to conclude that ETs are collecting and experimenting with genetic material taken from abductees.

Richard Haines, UFO Phenomena and the Behavioral Scientist

David Jacobs, Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of UFO Abductions (1992)
A compelling collection of abduction cases drawn from the author’s personal investigations. Jacobs explores the typical abduction scenario in detail.

Walter Webb, Encounter at Buff Ledge: A UFO Case History (1994)
Webb, one of the leading UFO investigators of all time, presents the results of his extremely thorough investigation of a double abduction case. Most notably, the two witnesses, teenagers at the time, never discussed the event after it occurred. Ten years later, both consciously and under hypnosis, they recalled numerous matching details of the experience. The book makes a compelling case for the reality of this abduction event.

Paul Devereux, Earth Lights Revelation: UFOs and Mystery Lightform Phenomena (1990)

Hilary Evans & Dennis Stacy, ed., UFOs 1947-1997 From Arnold to Abductees: Fifty years of Flying Saucers (1997)

Carl Sagan & Thornton Page, Eds., UFO's A Scientific Debate (1972)
A book that was the outgrowth of a conference organized by the two editors. It includes a wide range of opinion on the UFO subject. Contributors include J. Allen Hynek, James McDonald, Donald Menzel and Carl Sagan.

John Fuller, The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours "Aboard a Flying Saucers" (1966)
The famous Hill abduction is detailed here with lengthy transcriptions of tape recorded hypnotic regression sessions. This is still one of the most convincing cases of an alleged abduction by aliens.

Raymond Fowler, The Allagash Abductions: Undeniable Evidence of Alien Interventions (1993)
Fowler, long-time UFO investigator, details one of the best multiple witness alien abduction cases on record.

Bob Pratt, UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil--Where Next? (1996)

J. Allen Hynek, The Hynek UFO Report (1977)
The following books may be out of print, but are worth searching for in used bookstores and libraries:

Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1956)
Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy (1987)
Edward Condon, ed., Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (1968)
Allen Hendry, The UFO Handbook (1979)
Jacques and Janine Vallee, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma (1966)
Jenny Randles, UFO Reality (1983)
Hilary Evans & John Spencer, ed., UFOs 1947-1987: The 40-Year Search for an Explanation (1987)
David M. Jacobs, The UFO Controversy in America (1975)

Recommended Reading for the Advanced Reader

Clark, Jerome. (1990-1994). The UFO Encyclopedia. (Vols. 1-3). Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics.
Modern (post-1970's) UFO books of excellent scholarship and broad coverage are difficult to come by. Clark's incredible tour-de-force of short historical-analytical essays fills that void. The whole panoply of serious UFOlogy to carnival UFOria is covered in fine fashion.

Greenwood, Barry & Fawcett, Lawrence. (1992). UFO Cover-Up. NY: Barnes & Noble Books. (Reprinted from Clear Intent by Barry Green and Lawrence Fawcett. 1984. NJ: Prentice Hall)
The best book on the once-controversial but now widely recognized extent of secret government interest in UFOs. Working from a large quantity of FOIA'd declassified documents, the authors give an interesting "just the facts" style of presentation of the revealed information.

Emmons, Charles. (1997). At the Threshold. Tigard, OR: Wildflower Press.
Excellent in the illumination of academic response or non-response, appropriate or inappropriate to the UFO anomaly.

Haines, Richard. (Ed.). (1979). UFO Phenomena and the Behavioral Scientist. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow.
A dozen intelligent essays by scholars in a variety of fields. Most of these authors are psychologists or sociologists. Topics emphasize a focus upon UFO reporters.

Hall, Richard. (Ed.). (1997). The UFO Evidence. NY: Barnes & Noble Books. (Reprinted from The UFO Evidence by Richard Hall, Ed., 1964, Washington DC: NICAP).
This compilation of case histories, grouped into categories of report type (e.g., radar, airpilots, electromagnetic effects), was once the only outstanding "research" publication available. Initially used to interest members of Congress and their staffs to push for hearings, this volume is still an impressive way to become aware of the amount and quality of reports.

Hall, Richard. (2000). The UFO Evidence, Volume II A Thirty-Year Report. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow.
A compilation of cases of all types from the mid-1960s until the end of the 1990s. The most complete reference available that provides a solid and comprehensive review of the all types of evidential and compelling UFO reports. Presents sightings from a wide variety of professionals, and also discusses in-depth the characteristics of the UFO phenomenon.

Hendry, Allan. (1979). The UFO Handbook: A Guide to Investigating, Evaluating and Reporting UFO Sightings. NY: Doubleday.
This is one of the three or four choices for "manuals", or "how-to" properly do UFO field research and case work. It is written very conservatively and points out the many errors made by witnesses and investigators.

Hynek, J. Allen. (1972). The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery.
Dr. Hynek was a fine educator and the Air Force's science consultant on UFOs from 1949-1969. His book is the "textbook" of the field, written by its acknowledged authority.

Jacobs, David. (1975). The UFO Controversy in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
This is the history of the topic and a scholarly work of the first rank, which has stood the test of time. If one could only read two things, this and Dr. Hynek's (above) would be the proper choices for a well-grounded overview.

Pritchard, A., Pritchard, D., Mack, J. E., Kasey. P, & Yapp, C. (Eds.). (1994). Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference held at M.I.T. Cambridge, MA: North Cambridge Press.
The controversial field of alleged UFO abductions is difficult to sort out for recommendation at this time. The safest thing to do is to immerse oneself in the dynamic roil which characterizes the field now. This is interestingly provided by these proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference held at MIT in 1992.

Ruppelt, Captain Edward. (1956). The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. NY: Doubleday.
Captain Ruppelt's inside look at the Air Force's Project Blue Book never ages. It offers the reader a rare chance to see behind the mirror of the UFO Project during a relatively uncontaminated time. Accurate and unemotional.

Sagan, Carl, & Page, Thornton. (Eds.). (1972). UFOs: A Scientific Debate. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
These are the papers of the 1969 AAAS Symposium's controversial UFO meeting. A wide spectrum of academic views are included both by proponents and rejectors, and showing a wide range of depth of knowledge about the subject discussed.

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics. Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects. Hearings, Ninetieth Congress, Second Session, July 29, 1968. Washington DC: Government Printing Office.
A mainly sympathetic set of presentations by academic experts (including James McDonald, Hynek, Sagan) to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics.

Vallee, Jacques. (1965). Anatomy of a Phenomenon: Unidentified Objects in Space A Scientific Appraisal. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery.
Possibly the first book written more-or-less in academic style, and which received favorable responses by the Air Force and conservative academics as a reasonable and interesting presentation of the phenomenon.

Vallee, Jacques. (1967). Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery.
Vallee's follow-up to Anatomy continuing in the same intellectual vein. Attempts to push the patterns in the first book forward and discuss research directions. Still valuable.

Recommended articles, a brief selection:

General articles by three scientists who "broke ground" in establishing a public presence of scientist interest in UFO phenomena:

Hynek, J. Allen. (1966, December 17). Are flying saucers real? Saturday Evening Post,17-21.
____________. (1969). The Condon report an UFOs. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, XXV(4), 39-42.
____________. (1975). What you should know about UFOs, Cincinnati Horizons, 5(1), 1-7. CUFOS reprint.
____________. (1981, July). The UFO phenomenon. Technology Review, 51-58.

McDonald, James E. (1967, April 22). UFOs: Greatest scientific problem of our times? American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1-28.
______________. (1970, November 17-20). Meteorological factors in unidentified radar returns. Paper presented at the meeting of the Fourteenth Radar Meteorology Conference, Tucson, Arizona.
Note to Readers: McDonald papers are difficult to locate for reading. However, they are significant and worth the effort. Some papers are obtainable through the Center for UFO Studies.
______________. (1971, July). UFO encounter 1. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 9, 66-70.

Salisbury, Frank. (1967, January). The scientists and the UFO. Bioscience, 15-24.
____________. (1975, August). Recent developments in the scientific study of UFOs, Bioscience, 505-512.

Articles concerned with case researches:

Baker, R.M.L. (1981). Observational evidence of anomalistic phenomena. Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, XV(1), 31-36.

Bounias, Michael. (1990). Biochemical traumatology...in correlation with a UFO landing. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4(1), 1-18.

Faruk, Erol. (1989). The Dephos case. Journal of UFO Studies, 1, 41-66.

Haines, Richard. (1987). Analysis of a UFO photograph. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1(2), 129-148.

Haines, Richard & Vallee, Jacques. (1989). Photo analysis of an aerial disc over Costa Rica. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 3(2), 113-132.

Haines, Richard & Vallee, Jacques. (1990). Photo analysis of an aerial disc over Costa Rica. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4(1), 71-74.

Johnson, Donald. (1988). Size, distance and duration parameters of the ignition-interference effect. In M. Hynek (Ed.), The Spectrum of UFO Research: The Proceedings of the Second CUFOS Conferences held September 25-27, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. (pp.123-152). Evanston, IL: J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies.

Maccabee, Bruce. (1988). The McMinnville photos. In M. Hynek (Ed.), The Spectrum of UFO Research: The Proceedings of the Second CUFOS Conference held September 25-27, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. (pp.13-57). Evanston, IL: J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies.

Maccabee, Bruce. (1987). Analysis and discussion of images. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1(2), 149-190.

McDonald, James. (1971, July). UFO encounter 1. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 9, 66-70.

Rodeghier, Mark. (1988). A summary of vehicle interference reports. In M. Hynek (Ed.), The Spectrum of UFO Research: The Proceedings of the Second CUFOS Conference held September 25-27, 1981 in Evanston, Illinois. (pp.153-165). Chicago, IL: J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies.

Rutkowski, Chris. (1994). The Falcon Lake case. Journal of UFO Studies, 4, 1-34.

Swords, Michael & Faruk, Erol. (1991). Delphos, Kansas soil analysis. Journal of UFO Studies, 3, 115-138.

Thayer, Gordon. (1971, September). UFO encounter 2. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 9, 60-64. [The Lakenheath (U.K.) radar-visual case.]

Velasco, Jean-Jacques.(1990). Report on the analysis of anomalous physical traces. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4(1), 27-48. [Trans-en-Provence case].

Walker, Walter & Johnson, Robert. (1992). Further studies on the Ubatuba UFO magnesium samples. Journal of UFO Studies, 4, 1-37.

Articles concerned with abduction researches:

Appelle, Stuart. (1995/1996). The abduction experience: A critical evaluation of theory and evidence. Journal of UFO Studies, 6, 29-78.

Bullard, Thomas. (1989). Hypnosis and UFO abductions: A troubled relationship. Journal of UFO Studies, 1, 3-40.

Ring, Kenneth., & Rosing, Christopher. (1990). The Omega Project. Journal of UFO Studies, 2, 59-98.

Rodeghier, Mark, Goodpaster, Jeff, & Blatterbauer, Sandy. (1991). Psychosocial characteristics of abductees. Journal of UFO Studies, 3, 59-90.

Wilson, John. (1990). Post-traumatic stress disorder and experienced anomalous trauma. Journal of UFO Studies, 2, 1-17.

Articles concerned with government and academic treatment of the UFO subject:

Blake, Joseph A. (1979). UFOlogy: The intellectual development and social context of the study of unidentified flying objects. In Roy Wallis (Ed.). On the Margins of Science. Social Review. Monograph No. 27. Keele, Staffs: University of Keele.

Sturrock, Peter. (1987). Analysis of the Condon report on the Colorado UFO project. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1(1), 75-100.

Sturrock, Peter. (1994). Report on a survey of the membership of the American Astronomical Society concerning the UFO problem. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 8(1), 1-46.

Sturrock, Peter. (1994). Report on a survey of the membership of the American Astronomical Society concerning the UFO problem. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 8(2), 153-196.

Sturrock, Peter. (1994). Report on a survey of the membership of the American Astronomical Society concerning the UFO problem. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 8(3), 309-346.

Swords, Michael. (1994). Literature review: SETI/ETI and UFOs. Journal of UFO Studies, 5, 141-156.

Swords, Michael. (1995/1996). The university of Colorado UFO project. Journal of UFO Studies, 6, 149-184.

Swords, Michael. (in press). Project SIGN and the estimate of the situation. Journal of UFO Studies, 7.

Westrum, Ronald. (1977). Social intelligence about anomalies: The case of UFOs. Social Studies of Science, 7, 271-302.

Articles of general interest:

Bullard, Thomas. (1991). The folkloric dimensions of the UFO phenomenon. Journal of UFO Studies, 3, 1-57.

Swords, Michael. (1989). Science and the extraterrestrial hypothesis in UFOlogy. Journal of UFO Studies, 1, 67-102.

Swords, Michael. (1993). A guide to UFO research. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 7(1), 65-87