Tuesday 12 May 2015

Further Recommended Reading

It's been six months since my last post. Aside from other life distractions and wanting to take a break from writing this blog, I wanted to focus on finding my dream part-time job - something that has yet to happen unfortunately!

I've been keeping an eye on the relevant news sources over that time and - thankfully for me - nothing particularly earth-shattering seems to have happened on the UFO/UAP front which I might have missed an opportunity to write about (in any case, if it had, I'm sure all of you reading this would have found out about it from other sources).

However, I have been continuing to read extensively on the UFO/UAP phenomenon and would briefly like to share some of my recommended reading material with you.

This is further to my post of 8 April 2012 (is it really three years already?)

First up is...

...On the Trail of the Saucer Spies  
by Nick Redfern

Nick Redfern's introduction to his book makes clear that it does not speculate as to the exact nature of UFO sightings. The book does however cite cases suggesting how the (mainly US and UK) authorities and their respective agencies closely watch UFO witnesses and UFO focus groups.

Aside from the expected examples of paranoia-inducing cases concerning mysterious government spooks and men-in-black, there are those which give a fascinating insight into the whole field of 'PsyOps' and disinformation. The tragic case of Paul Bennewitz, for example, is covered in this book in some detail (it is also covered in the second of the two books below).

Another case, halfway through the book, concerns how the UK's Special Branch (now Counter Terrorist Command) took an interest in and dealt with a potentially dangerous ultra right-wing group which was using UFO bodies and meetings as a cover for its activity (something I would not have considered could happen before reading this book). It is a real eye-opener and perhaps a warning to anyone interested in the subject of UFOs to be especially cautious in their dealings with others if they decide to join any such interest group.

So - definitely worth a read in terms of offering another facet to the history of the UFO phenomenon.

Otherwise, I would highly recommend the two following weighty tomes.


UFOs and the National Security State: 
Chronology of a Cover-up 1941-1973 
and
UFOs and the National Security State: 
The Cover-up Exposed 1973-1991
both by Richard M. Dolan


Anyone with any interest at all in UFOs/UAP (in the UK at least) will no doubt have read one of UK author Timothy Good's books at some point. After having read UFOs and the National Security State volumes one and two, I would personally regard Richard M. Dolan as Timothy Good's equivalent in the U.S.

In the case of both authors - and irrespective of whether you subscribe to their views about 'what is really going on' or not - between them their books provide a massive
repository of information on UFOs across the decades since the start of the modern UFO phenomenon.

Richard M. Dolan's books are similar to Timothy Good's in terms of their methodical, straightforward and non-sensational writing style and have a depth and breadth of content not found in other publications on the subject.

Consequently they serve, in my view, as must-have reference material for anyone with a serious interest in the subject.

Dolan's books give the reader as thorough an overview as possible of the history of the modern phenomenon, particularly from a U.S. perspective, for fifty years starting from 1941. My understanding is that Dolan is now working on a third book to cover the last 25 years to date which, I for one, am very much looking forward to reading.

Disclaimer

None of the above authors are personally known to me and consequently none of them have asked me to endorse their books. I am promoting these of my own volition and purely out of wish to signpost interested parties to well-written material by (in my view) serious and credible authors.