Searching For the String: Selected Writings of John A. Keel by John A. Keel

by John A. Keel

Excellent Book

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Audiobook

Paperback

First published April 20, 2014

About the author

John Alva Keel (born Alva John Kiehle) was a Fortean author and professional journalist.

Keel wrote professionally from the age of 12, and was best known for his writings on unidentified flying objects, the "Mothman" of West Virginia, and other paranormal subjects. Keel was arguably one of the most widely read and influential ufologists since the early 1970s. Although his own thoughts about UFOs and associated anomalous phenomena gradually evolved since the mid 1960s, Keel remained one of ufology's most original and controversial researchers. It was Keel's second book, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (1970), that popularized the idea that many aspects of contemporary UFO reports, including humanoid encounters, often paralleled ancient folklore and religious encounters. Keel coined the term "men in black" to describe the mysterious figures alleged to harass UFO witnesses and he also argued that there is a direct relationship between UFOs and psychic phenomena. He did not call himself a ufologist and preferred the term Fortean, which encompasses a wide range of paranormal subjects.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of some of Keel's essays and correspondence. If you love the ETH, don't read this book. He can be pretty scathing about buffs. I enjoyed seeing early versions of ideas that eventually came out in Operation Trojan Horse and other books.

[Teressa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Really Enjoyable and Intriguing"

SEARCHING for the STRING was more greatness from JOHN KEEL. I love this subject therefore it never gets old. Keel was someone I would have enjoyed meeting. He was continuously searching for new angles and with every book I've listened to by him, there's always some type of new information or another piece to the puzzle of the UFO mystery.

I especially liked this audiobook in particular as it brought a new perspective to the subject. I think he was ahead of his time with his research and his undying love to find the truth. Well, he knew the truth and steadfastly attempted to bring it into the light. In this book, he broached a few other related topics to the UFO phenomena. This book delivers and for those interested in this subject, I don't think it will disappoint.

I liked the Cosmic Blog section as well where the book shared correspondences to and from Keel. This was very interesting and good.

MICHAEL HACKER does a FANTASTIC job narrating this book. I like his style. He adds voice inflections where Keel would if he were reading his own book. Hacker's voice is clear, pleasant and steady making him a bonus while listening to this audiobook. He's easy to understand and speaks at a perfect pace. This was an overall super listen!

Audiobook received in exchange for an honest review.

[Futuro Gato · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good book. The letters were interesting, but nothing that wowed me in comparison to the other books of his I read. So in comparison, here's how it fits in my list of books by JAK that I've read thus far:

1. Our Haunted Planet
2. The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings
3. Searching For the String
4. Strange Creatures From Time and Space

[Giorgio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, just dated as hell...