UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry

by Michael Swords, Robert Powell

Governments around the world have had to deal with the UFO phenomenon for a good part of a century. How and why they did so is the subject of UFOs and Government , a history that for the first time tells the story from the perspective of the governments themselves. It's a perspective that reveals a great deal about what we citizens have seen, and puzzled over, from the "outside" for so many years. The story, which is unmasked by the governments' own documents, explains much that is new, or at least not commonly known, about the seriousness with which the military and intelligence communities approached the UFO problem internally. Those approaches were not taken lightly. In fact, they were considered matters of national security. At the same time, the story reveals how a subject with such apparent depth of experience and interest became treated as if it were a triviality. And it explains why one government, the United States government, deemed it wise, and perhaps even necessary, to treat it so. Though the book focuses primarily on the U. S. government's response to the UFO phenomenon, also included is the treatment of the subject by the governments of Sweden, Australia, France, Spain, and other countries. This large-format, fully illustrated book is the result of a team effort that called itself "The UFO History Group," a collection of veteran UFO historians and researchers who spent more than four years researching, consulting, writing, and editing to present a work of historical scholarship on government response to the UFO phenomenon. Michael Swords was the primary author of the United States chapters. The work was coordinated and edited by Robert Powell. Clas Svahn, Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, Bill Chalker, and Robert Powell contributed country chapters. Jan Aldrich was the primary content consultant, with additional content consultation and writing coming from Barry Greenwood and Richard Thieme. Steve Purcell was the primary photo illustration editor.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Paranormal

594 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2012

Reviews

[Sam Lammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid Historical Account of UFO Investigations

There is much to like about this book. It conveys a relatively objective assessment of UFO investigations through the years. Many of us would like to see a definitive assessment - alas, layers of secrecy precludes this in the United States. Jansky’s work in the 30s scanning the heavens for radio signals surely uncovered structured noise (not discussed here), but for reasons unknown at the time were not pursued. Purely speculative, but guarded military capabilities for remote sensing remain secretive that might hint at military, private industry, and NASA capabilities little known. The War of the Worlds was a remarkable broadcast and more than likely because of public panic at that time set the stage for UFO responses thereafter. But, a recommended read and assessment.

[lyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

These authors have written a fascinating and well documented history of UFOs. It informs the reader of the evidentiary basis for many of the important sightings and the cultural context that prevailed during critical eras. It examines the political and psychological factors that influenced the way UFO's are regarded and the way this has shaped government policy. One of the great misfortunes is that a science of UFO's has never developed. The authors document how we might have had such a science if slightly different outcomes had occurred at selected historical tipping points. Instead we have no evidence-based science, government policies that insist that UFO's are not a national security problem despite evidence consistent with aerial surveillance functions, and a public that is treated like children and intentionally deprived of information to arrive at informed conclusions. It's all documented here.

[Daniel Z. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels mean to give this just 3 stars, given the obvious amount of work that went into this survey. But the writing is just so consistently clunky I just couldn't give it 4 stars, despite the wealth of detailed and new information. I'd say this is a good book to own and to skim for a UFOlogist, but it's a dismal and often annoying read. I'd recommend Timothy Dolan's UFO's and the National Security State in its place.

[Jim Huinink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishingly detailed history of various sightings, flaps, incidents and abductions from the past 80 years or so. Some of them I've never heard of before. This would easily get five stars (even if I haven't read all of it yet) but for the turgid writing style combined with poor usability in content design that makes it extra difficult to plod through what is very dry material.