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The Ufo Encyclopedia
Compiled for the world-renowned British UFO Research Association by one of the most respected experts in the field, this extraordinary book is the complete A-to-Z authority on UFOlogy. Using the latest research and findings, the book covers alien abductions, extraterrestrial phenomenon, brilliant hoaxes, and more. 48 pages of photos, 8 in full color.
340 pages, Paperback
First published April 11, 1991
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April 19, 2025
AN EARLY UFO ENCYCLOPEDIA FROM A BRITISH WRITER
Editor John Spencer wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “When I first discussed the idea of compiling an encyclopedia with BUFORA, the British UFO Research Association… I had little idea of the difficult task that would be facing me. I knew that for reasons of space I would be forced to select from the available material; not everything could be included. That turned out to be probably the hardest part of the job. After 20 years of personal research in this subject---more than ten as a director of BUFORA---I thought I knew the scope of the material fairly well, but when I started compiling and classifying it the sheer weight of it surprised even me.” (Pg. vii)
He continues, “I chose as my overall criterion for compiling this encyclopedia the aim that the reader should receive a complete and representative overview of the subject… The criterion was BALANCE and if I have succeeded readers of this book should appreciate the sheer range of this subject over the years, the routine cases and the bizarre, the humor and the terror. Most importantly, they will appreciate its mystery.” (Pg. ix)
He says of George Adamski, “The most obvious problem is that science has overtaken many of his claims, in the way that we know Venus will not support humanoid life; so we now know that Adamski could not have stepped on the surface of the gas giant planets---if they have surfaces!”
Of the ‘great airship wave’ of the 1880s-1890s, he states, “From November 1896 to the middle of 1897 thousands of people across the United States reported seeing the lights of an airship in the sky. As this was some four years before the acknowledged first flight of an airship it has been speculated that the airship was of extraterrestrial origin. However, the likelihood of its being a prototype experimental Earth airship is very high and indeed, one E.J. Pennington is credited with being its owner. When asked, he admitted he had an airship undergoing repairs in Brown County, Indiana, which in fact correlated with a report by two witnesses from that area.” (Pg. 7)
Of the Bentwaters sighting, he comments, “On 13th August 1956 there was one of the most celebrated radar visual contacts with a UFO at RAF/USAF Bentwaters/Lakenheath in Suffolk. The objects were traced by three ground-based radars, were confirmed on aerial radar … and were seen---visually---from the ground and from the plane. Gun camera film … images were too obscure to make any positive identification possible. Radar contacts indicated that the objects were moving up to 4,000 miles per hour… Even the Condon Report concluded, ‘The apparently rational, intelligent behavior of the UFO suggests a mechanical device of unknown origin.” (Pg. 41)
He recounts, “One of the earliest, successful, self-confessed UFO hoaxers was Alex Birch who claimed to have photographed five UFOs over Sheffield in 1962. His photograph, actually images painted on glass, was accepted as genuine for ten years. He even appeared at the inaugural meeting of BUFORA. In defense of those who were fooled by the photographs, the analysis techniques available then were rudimentary; such photographs would be unlikely to be so easily accepted in the present time, where enhancement techniques often detect fakes.” (Pg. 43)
He explains, “there have been few reliable reports of UFO sightings in conjunction with the appearance of these circles… It is worth noting … that the one or two reliable sightings of UFOs seen in conjunction with flattened areas of fields, particularly from France in the 1950s and 1960s, describe circles quite UNLIKE the so-called cornfield circles in that the grass is randomly crushed rather than flattened into a spiral.” (Pg. 72-73)
Of the Betty and Barney Hill case, he suggests, “Any full analysis of the case must take into account the fact that Betty Hill, in particular, had shown great interest in UFO material in the years intervening between the event and regression hypnosis sessions, and that this material may have affected the recall. Dr. Benjamin Simon insisted that any analysis of the event should take account of the fact that under regression hypnosis the subject will tell a story which is the truth as it appears TO THE WITNESS but which may not necessarily be an objective truth.” (Pg. 146)
Elsewhere, he reports, “Betty recalled seeing a 3-dimensional ‘star map’ presented for her … by one of the aliens… school teacher Marjorie Fish used Betty’s drawing as the basis for her own 3-dimensional map in an attempt to pinpoint the home planet of the aliens… Jacques Vallee … questions whether or not different viewpoints in space would produce different correct matches for the apparent position of the stars recalled.” (Pg. 114)
Of the May 1950 McMinnwille photos, he asserts, “Even the Condon Committee was forced to list these photographs as the only ones they were unable to dismiss… In more modern times these photographs were subjected to complex computer analysis and these too confirm that the object appears to be large and distant. There was no evidence of supporting wires or other clues that the object may have been faked…” (Pg. 197)
He says, “Pease Air Force Base is most significant to Ufology in the case of Betty and Barny Hill. While there is much in that case to suggest that the abduction story drawn out by hypnosis may have resulted from fear and absorption of UFO book and magazine material… at the time of the sighting Pease Air Force Base tracked an object on radar, whose timing was later confirmed to correspond with the Hill UFO encounter.” (Pg. 241)
He points out that “[Whitley] Streiber sought to isolate himself from the UFO community for the most part: in his book ‘Transformation’ he states, ‘To approach any meaningful answers to such questions as why the visitor experiences are often so hard and what it ultimately means is going to take a substantial effort by better minds, quite frankly, that those that cluster in flying saucer study groups.” (Pg. 288)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying UFOs.
Editor John Spencer wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “When I first discussed the idea of compiling an encyclopedia with BUFORA, the British UFO Research Association… I had little idea of the difficult task that would be facing me. I knew that for reasons of space I would be forced to select from the available material; not everything could be included. That turned out to be probably the hardest part of the job. After 20 years of personal research in this subject---more than ten as a director of BUFORA---I thought I knew the scope of the material fairly well, but when I started compiling and classifying it the sheer weight of it surprised even me.” (Pg. vii)
He continues, “I chose as my overall criterion for compiling this encyclopedia the aim that the reader should receive a complete and representative overview of the subject… The criterion was BALANCE and if I have succeeded readers of this book should appreciate the sheer range of this subject over the years, the routine cases and the bizarre, the humor and the terror. Most importantly, they will appreciate its mystery.” (Pg. ix)
He says of George Adamski, “The most obvious problem is that science has overtaken many of his claims, in the way that we know Venus will not support humanoid life; so we now know that Adamski could not have stepped on the surface of the gas giant planets---if they have surfaces!”
Of the ‘great airship wave’ of the 1880s-1890s, he states, “From November 1896 to the middle of 1897 thousands of people across the United States reported seeing the lights of an airship in the sky. As this was some four years before the acknowledged first flight of an airship it has been speculated that the airship was of extraterrestrial origin. However, the likelihood of its being a prototype experimental Earth airship is very high and indeed, one E.J. Pennington is credited with being its owner. When asked, he admitted he had an airship undergoing repairs in Brown County, Indiana, which in fact correlated with a report by two witnesses from that area.” (Pg. 7)
Of the Bentwaters sighting, he comments, “On 13th August 1956 there was one of the most celebrated radar visual contacts with a UFO at RAF/USAF Bentwaters/Lakenheath in Suffolk. The objects were traced by three ground-based radars, were confirmed on aerial radar … and were seen---visually---from the ground and from the plane. Gun camera film … images were too obscure to make any positive identification possible. Radar contacts indicated that the objects were moving up to 4,000 miles per hour… Even the Condon Report concluded, ‘The apparently rational, intelligent behavior of the UFO suggests a mechanical device of unknown origin.” (Pg. 41)
He recounts, “One of the earliest, successful, self-confessed UFO hoaxers was Alex Birch who claimed to have photographed five UFOs over Sheffield in 1962. His photograph, actually images painted on glass, was accepted as genuine for ten years. He even appeared at the inaugural meeting of BUFORA. In defense of those who were fooled by the photographs, the analysis techniques available then were rudimentary; such photographs would be unlikely to be so easily accepted in the present time, where enhancement techniques often detect fakes.” (Pg. 43)
He explains, “there have been few reliable reports of UFO sightings in conjunction with the appearance of these circles… It is worth noting … that the one or two reliable sightings of UFOs seen in conjunction with flattened areas of fields, particularly from France in the 1950s and 1960s, describe circles quite UNLIKE the so-called cornfield circles in that the grass is randomly crushed rather than flattened into a spiral.” (Pg. 72-73)
Of the Betty and Barney Hill case, he suggests, “Any full analysis of the case must take into account the fact that Betty Hill, in particular, had shown great interest in UFO material in the years intervening between the event and regression hypnosis sessions, and that this material may have affected the recall. Dr. Benjamin Simon insisted that any analysis of the event should take account of the fact that under regression hypnosis the subject will tell a story which is the truth as it appears TO THE WITNESS but which may not necessarily be an objective truth.” (Pg. 146)
Elsewhere, he reports, “Betty recalled seeing a 3-dimensional ‘star map’ presented for her … by one of the aliens… school teacher Marjorie Fish used Betty’s drawing as the basis for her own 3-dimensional map in an attempt to pinpoint the home planet of the aliens… Jacques Vallee … questions whether or not different viewpoints in space would produce different correct matches for the apparent position of the stars recalled.” (Pg. 114)
Of the May 1950 McMinnwille photos, he asserts, “Even the Condon Committee was forced to list these photographs as the only ones they were unable to dismiss… In more modern times these photographs were subjected to complex computer analysis and these too confirm that the object appears to be large and distant. There was no evidence of supporting wires or other clues that the object may have been faked…” (Pg. 197)
He says, “Pease Air Force Base is most significant to Ufology in the case of Betty and Barny Hill. While there is much in that case to suggest that the abduction story drawn out by hypnosis may have resulted from fear and absorption of UFO book and magazine material… at the time of the sighting Pease Air Force Base tracked an object on radar, whose timing was later confirmed to correspond with the Hill UFO encounter.” (Pg. 241)
He points out that “[Whitley] Streiber sought to isolate himself from the UFO community for the most part: in his book ‘Transformation’ he states, ‘To approach any meaningful answers to such questions as why the visitor experiences are often so hard and what it ultimately means is going to take a substantial effort by better minds, quite frankly, that those that cluster in flying saucer study groups.” (Pg. 288)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying UFOs.
April 16, 2018
If you have a true interest in UFO I recommend you purchase this book.
On page 129 Authur Godfrey on the night of his UFO close encounter, I watched the alien ship from my grandparents living room on the second floor, it descended to hovering at 22&Faimount Ave in Philadelphia PA. I was 11 years old but never forget it. If flew across the street from me moving slowly going up and down rooftops, as if spying inside the apartments. The vessel had whirling patterns of moving lights. It was beautiful beyond belief. It's light was stupendous, but hard to look directly at. The craft had no wings or engines and no markings. It was wrapped in a deep field of plasma. Displaying multiple swirling colors changing as they rouse to the surface and descended again. In essence it was as if a piece of the sun was alive. I assume it was fusion powered. As a retired Air Force Intelligence Office I can say it was not from Earth. The ship was the length of a city bus. It was about 30 feet in diameter. I watched it for several minutes and fel it viewed me too. I spoke about this encounter on several radio programs. If you want my story contact me. I'll email it to you.
On page 129 Authur Godfrey on the night of his UFO close encounter, I watched the alien ship from my grandparents living room on the second floor, it descended to hovering at 22&Faimount Ave in Philadelphia PA. I was 11 years old but never forget it. If flew across the street from me moving slowly going up and down rooftops, as if spying inside the apartments. The vessel had whirling patterns of moving lights. It was beautiful beyond belief. It's light was stupendous, but hard to look directly at. The craft had no wings or engines and no markings. It was wrapped in a deep field of plasma. Displaying multiple swirling colors changing as they rouse to the surface and descended again. In essence it was as if a piece of the sun was alive. I assume it was fusion powered. As a retired Air Force Intelligence Office I can say it was not from Earth. The ship was the length of a city bus. It was about 30 feet in diameter. I watched it for several minutes and fel it viewed me too. I spoke about this encounter on several radio programs. If you want my story contact me. I'll email it to you.
March 9, 2020
It's nice to read this on my holiday. Lucky me to find a resort that has a bookshelf with some books in their room. So, I picked this up out of curiosity but didn't get to finish reading the book as I need to return it back in the shelf. Don't want to be rude by stealing. But, all I can say is I don't trust much in Alien and Space. However, it doesn't mean I would make a laugh for this book. So far, quite good but cannot give to many stars since I didn't complete it yet.
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