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The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial
Are we alone? Have individuals among us been contacted by beings from other planets, solar systems, galaxies, universes? For believers, skeptics, abductees, clinical staff, and everyone who's ever thought they saw something curious in the night sky, this authoritative encyclopedia is unparalleled in its comprehensive and up-to-date coverage. Simply put, it's the best book on UFOs you can get on this planet. From probes to lost time, you won't want to board a strange hovering craft without it. The UFO Book delves into 200 intriguing topics, from claims of aerial phenomena in medieval times to the Heaven's Gate tragedy, examining the evidence in an open-minded manner. It states the facts with meticulous scholarship and permits readers to decide whether or not extraterrestrials exist. An abundant resource section describes UFO-related organizations, publications, and web sites. Author of several books on the paranormal and a three-volume masterwork on UFOs, Jerome Clark is an expert investigator of anomalous occurrences, the former editor of the UFO magazine Fate, and past vice president and current board member of the J. Allen Hyneck Center for UFO Studies. He's spent the last four decades in search of the truth about close encounters, researching, analyzing, and bringing to light anything remotely connected to what the world identifies as UFOs and extraterrestrial life.
750 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Jerome Clark
64 books26 followersJerome Clark is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note.
Clark is one of the most prominent UFO historians and researchers active today. Although Clark's works have sometimes generated spirited debate, he is widely regarded as one of the most reputable writers in the field, and he has earned the praise of many skeptics. Clark's works have been cited in multiple articles in the debunking-oriented Skeptical Inquirer. Despite the fact that most contributors to the British periodical Magonia disagree with Clark's endorsement of the extraterrestrial hypothesis, they have nonetheless consulted his books for their articles, and have described his works as "invaluable" and described him as one of "ufology's finest" and as "highly-respected." The skeptical RRGroup describes Clark as a rare "Bona fide UFO researcher." In his Saucer Smear, longtime ufologist James W. Moseley writes that Clark "is acknowledged ... as the UFO Field's leading historian."[
Clark is also a prominently featured talking head on made-for-television UFO documentaries, most notably the 2005 prime-time U.S. television special Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs — Seeing Is Believing, discussing the early history of the U.S. Military's UFO investigations (see also Project Sign and Project Grudge.) In addition to the Peter Jennings special, Clark has also appeared on episodes of NBC's Unsolved Mysteries television series and on the syndicated television series Sightings. In 1997 he was prominently featured on the A&E Network's documentary "Where Are All the UFOs?", which examined the history of the UFO phenomenon.
Clark is one of the most prominent UFO historians and researchers active today. Although Clark's works have sometimes generated spirited debate, he is widely regarded as one of the most reputable writers in the field, and he has earned the praise of many skeptics. Clark's works have been cited in multiple articles in the debunking-oriented Skeptical Inquirer. Despite the fact that most contributors to the British periodical Magonia disagree with Clark's endorsement of the extraterrestrial hypothesis, they have nonetheless consulted his books for their articles, and have described his works as "invaluable" and described him as one of "ufology's finest" and as "highly-respected." The skeptical RRGroup describes Clark as a rare "Bona fide UFO researcher." In his Saucer Smear, longtime ufologist James W. Moseley writes that Clark "is acknowledged ... as the UFO Field's leading historian."[
Clark is also a prominently featured talking head on made-for-television UFO documentaries, most notably the 2005 prime-time U.S. television special Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs — Seeing Is Believing, discussing the early history of the U.S. Military's UFO investigations (see also Project Sign and Project Grudge.) In addition to the Peter Jennings special, Clark has also appeared on episodes of NBC's Unsolved Mysteries television series and on the syndicated television series Sightings. In 1997 he was prominently featured on the A&E Network's documentary "Where Are All the UFOs?", which examined the history of the UFO phenomenon.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 30, 2016
As you guys know, I'm obsessed with topics about extraterrestrials.
April 18, 2025
AN ABRIDGEMENT OF HIS EARLIER ENCYCLOPEDIA
UFOlogist Jerome Clark wrote in the Introduction to this 1998 book, “[This book] is an abridgement of a much larger, two-volume work, ‘The UFO Encyclopedia,’ published in the fall of 1997… In the present book we have focused our attention on the crucial cases, phenomena, theories, beliefs, research projects, personalities, hoaxes, and more. In the process we touch on virtually every important aspect of the UFO story. I have written all but four of the entries that follow.”
He notes that “In 1949 [George] Adamski published a science-fiction novel, ‘Pioneers of Space: A Trip to the Moon, Mars and Venus,’ under his own byline (the book was actually written by his secretary Lucy McGinnis; all of Adamski’s books would be ghostwritten). It would come back to haunt him in later years, when critics pointed out that portions of it bore a striking resemblance to subsequent claims he would make of interplanetary contacts and travels.” (Pg. 18) He continues, “Mainstream ufologists were almost uniformly hostile to Adamski. James W. Moseley… found that the ‘witnesses’ to the first contact were close associates and that… at least one, Al Bailey, had retracted his testimony. Jerrold Baker … claimed to have seen what looked like the model Adamski used in his pictures.” (Pg. 22)
He observes, “The Roswell debate continues. On June 24, 1997, the Air Force released ‘The Roswell Report: Case Closed,’ which contended that the bodies were in fact ‘anthropomorphic test dummies that were carried aloft by U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons for scientific research’---an assertion that met with considerable skepticism, in part because these experiments did not begin until 1953. The Air Force could only speculate that the witnesses were wrong about the dates to their alleged sightings.” (Pg. 120)
He suggests, “the argument that UFOs are vehicles built and flown by intelligent beings begins with the daylight discs…DDs are, as all reports attest virtually by definition, structured and craftlike; they give every appearance of being machines, an impression buttressed by not-infrequent observations of windows … and even occupants… Even so iconoclastic an investigator as Allan Hendry found that in relation to other kinds of reports, those involving daylight discs ‘are not as susceptible to the concern that the information is being partially or completely generated by fantasy.’” (Pg. 167)
He explains, “The paranoid notions of later ‘Dark Side’ chroniclers such as John Lear and Milton William [‘Bill’] Cooper, who borrowed conspiracy theories from the extreme right, spoke of an unholy alliance of evil aliens and a sinister secret government [intending] the enslavement of the world’s population. These claims cannot be called ‘theories’ because Lear, Cooper, and others represented them as factual revelations. Much of the Dark Side can be traced to a mock documentary, ‘Alternative Three,' broadcast on British television [in] 1977, and subsequently turned into a paperback book.” (Pg. 213-214)
He says of Betty and Barney Hill’s later years, “Barney died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage on February 25, 1969, at age 46. A friendly, outgoing woman, Betty in time settled comfortably into her new life as a near-household name. She became intensely interested in UFOs, spoke at gatherings of all kinds about her and Barney’s experience, and---most controversially---started reporting numerous sightings of what she called a ‘landing area.’” (Pg. 286)
He reports, “[J. Allen] Hynek became a regular speaker at conferences and conventions, where he was hailed by most as a hero of ufology. With the passage of time, he began speaking openly of his longtime interest in occultism. Such talk made the more conservative ufologists, including many of his associates in CUFOS, uncomfortable and brought ridicule from debunkers… A fourth book bearing his name, ‘Night Siege’ [1987], was written by the other listed authors; by the time the contract was signed, Hynek was far too ill to contribute more than a byline.” (Pg. 307-308)
He explains, “Jacques Vallee, a French-American trained in astronomy and computer science (with a Ph.D. in the latter), was a graduate student under J. Allen Hynek at Northwestern University in the early 1980s. Interested in UFOs since the 1950s, he exerted considerable influence on Hynek’s later thinking about the phenomenon. Like Hynek, Vallee had long been interested in the occult, though that would not be apparent immediately. His first two books, ‘Anatomy of a Phenomenon’ and ‘Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma’ … argued the case for the ETH in an articulate and cautious manner.” (Pg. 434-435)
He continues, “In the 1970s Vallee’s influence on ufology and Forteanism was inescapable. To many anomalists it seemed as if Vallee had established beyond reasonable doubt that (1) UFOs cannot possibly be extraterrestrial spacecraft, and that (2) they are simply one manifestation of many emanating from a single paranormal source… Even Hynek had begun to sound a bit like Vallee. In time Hynek become more and more outspoken about his interest in paranormal approaches. He had rejected the ETH for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he believed the distances in space were too great for would-be travelers to bridge. In a 1978 lecture to the [MUFON] conference, he speculated that perhaps a supercivilization somewhere in the universe might be able to incorporate ‘ESP, psychokinesis, teleportation, mental telepathy, as part of their everyday technology… UFOs could well be the product of such a technology.’” (Pg. 437)
He notes that Hynek “would complain [about Project Blue Book] in his later years, ‘No real attempt was made to gather all the data that were available. The air force investigators had not bothered to gather what was there. In many instances… I have been able to reconstruct, with the patient aid of the observers, a coherent account of reported events… Blue Book files are replete with cases labeled ‘Insufficient Information,’ whereas in many cases the proper label should have been ‘Insufficient Follow-up.’” (Pg. 470)
He acknowledges, “a growing body of evidence has called into question many ‘memories’ of childhood sexual abuse. Some of these may themselves be fantasies of ‘false memories’… Yet the alternative hypothesis, that certain human beings have engaged in sexual activity in the course of encounters with extraterrestrials, is so extraordinary---and so devoid of compelling supporting evidence---that a skeptical response is unavoidable. Research in these areas is in its infancy. For now, as we consider extreme experiential claims that do not readily yield themselves to ANY sort of explanation, mundane or mindboggling, we would do well simply to acknowledge the limits of current knowledge and await further developments.” (Pg. 543)
This book will be of great interest to those studying UFOs (particularly in its information about Hynek, since Clark was the editor for ‘International UFO Reporter,’ the magazine for the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies).
UFOlogist Jerome Clark wrote in the Introduction to this 1998 book, “[This book] is an abridgement of a much larger, two-volume work, ‘The UFO Encyclopedia,’ published in the fall of 1997… In the present book we have focused our attention on the crucial cases, phenomena, theories, beliefs, research projects, personalities, hoaxes, and more. In the process we touch on virtually every important aspect of the UFO story. I have written all but four of the entries that follow.”
He notes that “In 1949 [George] Adamski published a science-fiction novel, ‘Pioneers of Space: A Trip to the Moon, Mars and Venus,’ under his own byline (the book was actually written by his secretary Lucy McGinnis; all of Adamski’s books would be ghostwritten). It would come back to haunt him in later years, when critics pointed out that portions of it bore a striking resemblance to subsequent claims he would make of interplanetary contacts and travels.” (Pg. 18) He continues, “Mainstream ufologists were almost uniformly hostile to Adamski. James W. Moseley… found that the ‘witnesses’ to the first contact were close associates and that… at least one, Al Bailey, had retracted his testimony. Jerrold Baker … claimed to have seen what looked like the model Adamski used in his pictures.” (Pg. 22)
He observes, “The Roswell debate continues. On June 24, 1997, the Air Force released ‘The Roswell Report: Case Closed,’ which contended that the bodies were in fact ‘anthropomorphic test dummies that were carried aloft by U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons for scientific research’---an assertion that met with considerable skepticism, in part because these experiments did not begin until 1953. The Air Force could only speculate that the witnesses were wrong about the dates to their alleged sightings.” (Pg. 120)
He suggests, “the argument that UFOs are vehicles built and flown by intelligent beings begins with the daylight discs…DDs are, as all reports attest virtually by definition, structured and craftlike; they give every appearance of being machines, an impression buttressed by not-infrequent observations of windows … and even occupants… Even so iconoclastic an investigator as Allan Hendry found that in relation to other kinds of reports, those involving daylight discs ‘are not as susceptible to the concern that the information is being partially or completely generated by fantasy.’” (Pg. 167)
He explains, “The paranoid notions of later ‘Dark Side’ chroniclers such as John Lear and Milton William [‘Bill’] Cooper, who borrowed conspiracy theories from the extreme right, spoke of an unholy alliance of evil aliens and a sinister secret government [intending] the enslavement of the world’s population. These claims cannot be called ‘theories’ because Lear, Cooper, and others represented them as factual revelations. Much of the Dark Side can be traced to a mock documentary, ‘Alternative Three,' broadcast on British television [in] 1977, and subsequently turned into a paperback book.” (Pg. 213-214)
He says of Betty and Barney Hill’s later years, “Barney died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage on February 25, 1969, at age 46. A friendly, outgoing woman, Betty in time settled comfortably into her new life as a near-household name. She became intensely interested in UFOs, spoke at gatherings of all kinds about her and Barney’s experience, and---most controversially---started reporting numerous sightings of what she called a ‘landing area.’” (Pg. 286)
He reports, “[J. Allen] Hynek became a regular speaker at conferences and conventions, where he was hailed by most as a hero of ufology. With the passage of time, he began speaking openly of his longtime interest in occultism. Such talk made the more conservative ufologists, including many of his associates in CUFOS, uncomfortable and brought ridicule from debunkers… A fourth book bearing his name, ‘Night Siege’ [1987], was written by the other listed authors; by the time the contract was signed, Hynek was far too ill to contribute more than a byline.” (Pg. 307-308)
He explains, “Jacques Vallee, a French-American trained in astronomy and computer science (with a Ph.D. in the latter), was a graduate student under J. Allen Hynek at Northwestern University in the early 1980s. Interested in UFOs since the 1950s, he exerted considerable influence on Hynek’s later thinking about the phenomenon. Like Hynek, Vallee had long been interested in the occult, though that would not be apparent immediately. His first two books, ‘Anatomy of a Phenomenon’ and ‘Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma’ … argued the case for the ETH in an articulate and cautious manner.” (Pg. 434-435)
He continues, “In the 1970s Vallee’s influence on ufology and Forteanism was inescapable. To many anomalists it seemed as if Vallee had established beyond reasonable doubt that (1) UFOs cannot possibly be extraterrestrial spacecraft, and that (2) they are simply one manifestation of many emanating from a single paranormal source… Even Hynek had begun to sound a bit like Vallee. In time Hynek become more and more outspoken about his interest in paranormal approaches. He had rejected the ETH for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he believed the distances in space were too great for would-be travelers to bridge. In a 1978 lecture to the [MUFON] conference, he speculated that perhaps a supercivilization somewhere in the universe might be able to incorporate ‘ESP, psychokinesis, teleportation, mental telepathy, as part of their everyday technology… UFOs could well be the product of such a technology.’” (Pg. 437)
He notes that Hynek “would complain [about Project Blue Book] in his later years, ‘No real attempt was made to gather all the data that were available. The air force investigators had not bothered to gather what was there. In many instances… I have been able to reconstruct, with the patient aid of the observers, a coherent account of reported events… Blue Book files are replete with cases labeled ‘Insufficient Information,’ whereas in many cases the proper label should have been ‘Insufficient Follow-up.’” (Pg. 470)
He acknowledges, “a growing body of evidence has called into question many ‘memories’ of childhood sexual abuse. Some of these may themselves be fantasies of ‘false memories’… Yet the alternative hypothesis, that certain human beings have engaged in sexual activity in the course of encounters with extraterrestrials, is so extraordinary---and so devoid of compelling supporting evidence---that a skeptical response is unavoidable. Research in these areas is in its infancy. For now, as we consider extreme experiential claims that do not readily yield themselves to ANY sort of explanation, mundane or mindboggling, we would do well simply to acknowledge the limits of current knowledge and await further developments.” (Pg. 543)
This book will be of great interest to those studying UFOs (particularly in its information about Hynek, since Clark was the editor for ‘International UFO Reporter,’ the magazine for the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies).
December 23, 2020
This is a well-balanced, authoritative resource of UFO and extraterrestrial information. It includes articles on the major UFO cases and contains some very interesting material.
That said, it does sometimes read like an encyclopedia. Still, I enjoyed it and recommend it as part of a UFO library.
That said, it does sometimes read like an encyclopedia. Still, I enjoyed it and recommend it as part of a UFO library.
October 15, 2023
This is an important book, but it is not THE BOOK, meaning, there is a lot to be desired there. Honestly, an encyclopedia of UFOs deserves at least 5000 pages and not 400 odd pages. It is what it is.
August 26, 2025
A great summary of famous UFO events, some ancient and some modern.
April 21, 2024
Haven't yet read this to the back cover but it's very fairly written. Inside the pages you'll find many fascinating stories and cases. You'll also get a good bird's eye-view of the phenom as it was in 1997. It's been throttled in the mainstream since, then rebounded mightily in the last few years to where we are now. It's the biggest game of Hide and Seek in history. We know you're out there! Come on, let's talk!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews