(Part 2) Top products from r/UFOs

I would recommend http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eerie-Silence-Searching-Ourselves-Universe/dp/0141037784

Paul Davies - The Eerie Silence

He's head of the SETI post-detection task force, and examines in LOTS of detail such things as the Drake equation and Fermi paradox, but also wants to push SETI in a new direction.

Like Mr Friedman probably suggesting, the searching for radio signals is a one in a billion chance, even if aliens exist and are everywhere in the universe, radio detection is STILL a one in a billion chance.

A better route would be to look for evidence of megastructures, or usage of neutron stars, or gamma ray bursts or other such exploited natural occurences used as "beacons"

He also has the worrying opinion ( as a member of SETI ) that alien life "probably" doesn't exist, based on things like the great filter etc.

Hey, but it's still worth looking, right?

In situ testimonials like this are really interesting to hear - thanks for posting. I'm particularly intrigued with the astronauts comments. Given the amount of training, the dedication to the job, the high bar for getting the opportunity - suggests to me that these are very solid, very grounded people. Of course, they don't say much in these particular recordings so hard to draw conclusions from this - but as we know, other astronauts have discussed encounters and other aspects of the space experience. Edgar Mitchell, for example, and his Noetic Sciences work. I recently read this book, which has a lot of great discussions on this and other "fringe" topics. Excellent writing, too.

This is reddit, so start with Carl Sagan!

• UFOs: A Scientific Debate details a scientific panel at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1969. You get papers from the major scientific players: Donald Menzel, J. Allen Hynek, Carl Sagan, Thornton Page and James Mcdonald's furious, classic Science in Default. There are less famous commentators who discuss photographs and film, as well as the psychological aspect. You get differing viewpoints, and a variety of scientific perspectives. I personally feel James Mcdonald demonstrates that he was by far the most serious scientist looking at UFOs. When you compare the data content in Mcdonald's testimony to Sagan's, the difference is simply staggering. And yet the book contains Donald Menzel's completely contrary commentary, which in fact directly attacks Mcdonald. You rarely get this level of discourse or active critical analysis in UFO books. But you must read the Durant Report of the CIA's 1953 Robertson Panel and remember that Sagan's co-author Thornton Page sat on the Robertson Panel himself. Read the Educational Program section closely and coments about public debunking.
  
  
• Intelligent Life in the Universe has a great deal of information about basic astronomy, as well as a decent discussion of the possibility of ancient contact. Plus it's full of beautiful pictures. Sagan discusses at length the origin myths of ancient Summeria and how, when taken at face value, they could be evidence that civilzation was basically dropped off in mesopotamia by ET visitors or "gods". It's a truly fascinating book because I. S. Shklovskii wrote the original, which Sagan then translated into English. Sagan couldn't resist adding his own commentary, which appears in brackets and is frequently extensive. So you can see where they differ. Sagan dismisses UFOs via a very amusing though not scientifically persuasive anecdote about a trial for a "UFO contactee" con man that Sagan involved with. The book will ultimately teach you much more about astronomy and history than it will about UFOs, which is not at all a bad thing.
  
  If you do read both of these books, I imagine you'll have a pretty good idea what you want to read about next.
  
  You can also read my post at /r/UAP about Carl Sagan for more discussion and context.
  
  EDIT
  
  May as well throw out one more scientific source becuase it is more recent:
  
  
• Peter Sturrock's The UFO Enigma: a New Review of the Physical Evidence details the process and conclusions of a Laurance Rockefeller-funded 1997 scientific panel overviewing the state of UFO studies. It contains a brief history of UFOs and a discussion of then-current research with presentations about Project Hessdalen and GEIPAN. There are conclusions and recommendations, written in committee by a group of scientists. This does include a recommended reading section you may find valuable. Finally there are five case studies: detailed analysis of two photohraphs, a discussion of luminosity reports, an overview of physical traces, the Trans-en-Provence case, and the Mansfield Ohio case. This is a slightly less exciting book than UFOs: A Scientific Debate, but that is because it is less inclined toward rhetoric and more toward scientific analysis.

You speak as if you assume I don't believe in UFO phenomenon, well its been 60 years since Roswell and yet no exposure so either the coverup is very well executed or these kinds of sightings are basically filing the perpetual need for people to create a narrative thats alluring to them.

I read Leslie Keans book, to be honest I'm surprised she attached her name to this flimsy "evidence" I preferred Mirage Men in order to gain a fresh perspective

Passport to Magonia by Jacques Vallee is an entire book full of early reports of UFOs, many of which come from America. It's an absolutely fascinating read, and I highly recommend getting it.

One sticks out, details escape me, but in the space of a week about 150 years ago where an Airship, something a bit like a blimp is seen flying over various cities in the US with a crew that land or fly low near various towns and are visible, appearing to be period dressed white people, but with funny accents. Something like that.

Oh, just saw your wiki link. Maybe it's the same story, but with lots of details recounted.

Could be a hollowed out asteroid like Carl Sagan was saying with Phobos, when he claimed it was an artificial satellite. Thats before he got famous though. It was his first book.

http://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Life-Universe-I-Shklovskii/dp/189280302X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323133726&sr=8-1

Then he realized that he can't make those claims in public, and later on in life, essentially denigrated anything with UFOs/ET.

Personally, my theory is that UFOs aren't physical craft. They're intelligent entities unto itself. In essence, the UFO itself is alive, a living, intelligent entity.

UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry this book is recommended for inclusion in
university libraries because it stands out as an exception to other work in a field saturated by tabloids. Not sure if it's what you're looking for exactly but it seems relevant to your interests.
Edit: possibly free version at the Internet Archive

Interrupted Journey / Incident at Exeter. Betty and Barney Hill story - Incident at Exeter isn't abduction but it is a good story.

Abduction:

1. Betty Andreasson-Luca Case, Researched by Raymond Fowler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_E._Fowler
   
   
2. The Allagash four, Researched also by Raymond Fowler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allagash_Abductions
   
   
3. Contactee Cases
   
   

• Daniel Fry http://danielfry.com/
  
  
• Ed Dvorschak http://www.amazon.com/UFOs-Are-Us-Take-Word/dp/0805958681/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412372028&sr=8-2&keywords=take+my+word+for+it
  
  
• Other alleged contactees are Howard Menger, George Adamski and George van Tassel. Their stories are highly controversial. Not everything you will read is true, but not everyone of them is a hoaxer as some may want you to believe
  
  4)If you want to look at a Masscontact case which occured over 40 years you have to look into the Amiciza/Friendship Case. Multiple credible witnesses known by name with verified biography had contact to Aliens on earth over 4 decades:
  
  
• Masscontact by Brecchia http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Contacts-Stefano-Breccia/dp/1438906781/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412372241&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=masscontact
  
• Friendship Case documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZn3ewgAHFk

Physicists take the idea of additional unknown dimensions seriously. I think the implication is that some unusual phenomena share a common physical mechanism that isn't very well understood but that science is at least aware of. It's interesting to consider that some religious or spiritual phenomena might have an actual physical basis. I think we're culturally conditioned to believe that some supernatural phenomena are non-physical but increasing evidence points in the opposite direction.

http://www.amazon.com/Warped-Passages-Unraveling-Mysteries-Dimensions/dp/0060531096/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1375151231&sr=8-4&keywords=Lisa+Randall

For iPad, the best alternative for Stellarium is RedShift. Also, for tracking satellites in real time, the NASA's iPad app is free. Lastly, get flightradar24 for tracking air traffic in real time, which is also free, but there's a pro version for $2.99.

With all these apps you can check if what you are seeing / filming is a celestial body, a satellite or an aircraft.

And above all, as mentioned earlier, try to get and read the Harley Rutledge's book on a library near you (is no longer available from book shops.) He mentions in detail what equipment and techniques he used for going UFO hunting during the wave of Piedmont, MO in the early 70s.

Early history of the phenomenon (pre-manned flight) is listed as encyclopedic entries in Jacque Vallee’s book below. Unfortunately they are mostly very short descriptions without his analysis on each one. But the incredible span of history, how long people have been seeing wonders in the sky, is amazing:

Wonders in the Sky: Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HKOIJM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vS7-Ab3G38HZ7


Early sightings of unusual phenomena including folklore such as fairies and witches and trolls and the relationship of that fear of the unknown to today’s great unknown - the Universe and ET, is presented here, which makes a connection to the conscious observer:

Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers https://www.amazon.com/dp/0987422480/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZR7-Ab4TMXW2D

Here's a link to an interview with Stefano Breccia who participated in the friendship case and is the author of the book 'Mass Contacts' that describes their experiences with the W56. Breccia recently passed away in March of this year.

Ah yes, the 'ol "Space Elevator" lines.

Another person who alludes to these is Bill Burrows in his book This New Ocean, which puts it right on the cover.

Like the little sentient UFO character in the children's book 'Space Case' that was featured in an episode of Reading Rainbow. :D

Surprised no one has mentioned something like this.

My favorite book on alien abduction phenomenon is Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: Alien Abduction, UFOs and the Conference at M.I.T. by C. D. B. Bryan

 

Budd Hopkins books Missing Time and Intruders are also good.

I read Mirage Men by Mark Pilkington not long ago. Really interesting.

Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1845298578/

Dimensions book by Jacques Vallee LINK makes a strong argument that the phenomenon is terrestrial.

You and your mother are experiencers. Most people keep these details within the family as it is socially unacceptable to talk about. Many people approach this topic with the ontology that you saw a physical craft that is distinct in it's existence from you and if you had not been there, it would have still appeared - that you're being there was just a random probabalistic outcome.

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As you study UFO's you will realise this is not the case. You also realize that when experiencers tell you that he/she and their family members see UFOs, you are not being told the full story and that there is other "abnormal" experiences going on. I do not mean that you are crazy. I mean that when you find someone who sees UFOs and it is in their family, it is highly likely that they also experience other abnormal phenomena (presence, psi, ghosts, esp, precognition, outlier behavior). This is all part of it and normal.

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Its about you. You participate in the phenomena itself. We don't know how or why yet, but i would recommend you start meditation practices and research Robert Monroe if you have not already. It seems separate from UFOs, but it is not.

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https://www.amazon.com/Journeys-Out-Body-Out-Body/dp/0385008619

The cow mutilations were tests related to a primitive, experimental form of fracking.

It's covered in this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mirage-Men-Adventure-Espionage-Psychological/dp/1602398003

Making Contact. Bought this on sale back in '98 as a novelty purchase but it was a fairly decent book. Consider it a guide for what to do should you see a UFO or lifeform.

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Contact-Handbook-Communicating-Extraterrestrials/dp/0380731541

Dimensions, Confrontations and Revelations by Jacques Vallée. It's a trilogy, but can almost be thought of as one book.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/1933665580/R228NHW67AWU2V/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_3?ie=UTF8&cursor=3

There's a great documentary on Amazon that really shows how absurd the claims are from so-called skeptics attempting to debunk the idea of abduction. It's what prompted me to watch the new Travis Walton documentary (also on Amazon Prime). I recommend the one I linked above first as it's a little faster paced and covers more topics, especially pointing out the very intentional deception in debunker arguments. The Travis documentary is just about that particular incident, but both the incident and the Travis documentary are discussed in detail in the video I linked above.

I also don't understand the point of that site.

FWIW, one time I was buying a book at a bookstore. "Incident at Exeter" by John Fuller. And the checkout girl (older gal) said, "You're not one of those conspiracy nuts, are you?"

I said, "I SURE AM!" and then I told her about my sighting. The other girl (also older) who had been listening told me her husband used to work air traffic control and saw things that went much faster than our airplanes.

So one girl was a 'believer' and the other was not. But there wasn't any real ridicule.

Forgot to add the quote, but its quite long so heres a seperate post.

Christopher "Kit" Green, CIA Scientist involved in "Phenomena" research (Remote Viewing, ESP, psychokenisis, UFOs/visitation)

>"In a country that has a large, educated population there is a large subset of individuals who suffer from what's called paraphrenia. Paraphrenia is a form of mental illness that doesn't interfere with your everyday life. It means that you can have a delusion and not be crazy, a delusion that you can confine and control. Many of us have one corner of the mind that is delusional - I bet you that I do.

>'I might, for example, be religious - I'm an Episcopalian, though as such, I am protected from diagnosis, as are all the UFO buffs, because a large social structure of shared beliefs, like a religion, cannot be a delusion. So all those people who believe that they are being beamed at by the government can no longer be diagnosed as crazy - there are just too many of them.

>'But, if there is a condition that is threatening to the social structure - like the idea that the aliens are here and they are taking our babies, or that God hates people of a certain creed or colour - and if people who believe in that kind of delusion band together, they can end up encouraging each other to get a lot sicker, or they strap on belts and make themselves human bombs. So we have to know how to deal with these people and how to prevent them from being dangerous to others.

>'This applies to the UFO problem. If something really strange in the area of UFOs is true, then what do we do about conveying that information to the public? First we consider what may be the basic facts: maybe there are civilised lifeforms elsewhere in the universe; maybe they visited us in their spaceships a couple of times and then went back home; perhaps they left a vehicle or some technology behind and we've spent a lot of time and money trying to figure out how to use it. And there may be people in the government who believe that this did happen, and believe that the information needs to be public knowledge, because perhaps someone outside of the government will be able to make sense of their technology. But there's another group of people in power who say, "No, it will make them sick to know all this, we can't let the story out, it's too dangerous." '

>John and I glanced at each other. My mouth was dry...Things were getting strange again. Did Kit just tell us that these things happened? Was that a hypothetical scenario he had just presented us with, or one that he believed to be real? Kit continued.

>'So, what do we do? There are studies on both sides of the problem. Some show that people will go crazy and jump of bridges when they're presented with this information. Others, however, say that if you don't want them to go crazy, what you do is systematically desensitize their fears.

>'If you are a psychiatrist with a patient you can do that in a very methodical way. If you are a sociologist working with a group of students at a university you can do this in a very structured and experimental way. But if you are a government with a population it's a lot more complicated. Sure, there are those who are just going to shrug and say, "I always knew the aliens were real, it's no big deal." But you also know that some of them are nuttier than a fruitcake and could cause a lot of trouble. So we have to ask ourselves how we can tell people what they deserve to know and, maybe, what they need to know?

>'The way to do it is to construct a framework whereby they can parse out the things that they've heard that are not true, and you whittle it down to a manageable story. A story like this: "There were three spaceships that came here over thirty years, and we've got one of them. We can't figure out how it works, we've crashed it because there's a lot of physics that we've still got to learn. We do have something that's like a magnethydrodynamic toroid, and it really did get a craft of the ground, but it smelled bad and it killed a couple of pilots. And we're really sorry about that, but we did it because we've got this machine that came from another planet, and we need to know how it works." '

>Oh god, he just did it again. I tried to slow my breathing to prevent the giddiness from becoming a full-on panic attack.

>Kit carried on, oblivious to my inner struggle. I was glad not to be inside one of his MRI machines.

>'How do you tell people that story? If it's true?' he added, almost parenthetically.

>"If you were to give them the core story right off the bat, they'd get sick, so you do it slowly over ten or twenty years.You put out a bunch of movies, a bunch of books, a bunch of stories, a bunch of Internet memes about reptilian aliens eating our children, about all the crazy stuff that we've seen recently in Serpo. Then one day you say, "Hey, all that stuff is nonsense, relax, it's not that bad, you don't have to worry, the reality is this..." - and then you give them the real story."

http://www.amazon.com/Mirage-Men-Adventure-Espionage-Psychological/dp/1602398003