UFOs have been in the news lately, with Congress set to be briefed on new information obtained by the US Navy. Whether you're a true believer or a skeptic, take a look at this booklist, which includes both non-fiction and novels that explore the possibilities of UFOs and extraterrestrial life.
|
|
Making contact : preparing for the new realities of extraterrestrial existence
by Alan Steinfeld It's not a question of if but of when will we meet the other beings that most certainly inhabit the rest of the cosmos. How can we prepare for an event that is literally beyond anything humanity has ever faced? The idea of UFOs is not as simple as merely crafts from other worlds. Rather the whole field is an ongoing and expanding enigma of strange effects and subtle possibilities. Gathered here are some of the leading minds in the UFO community. This collection lays out a complete framework for understanding what "making contact" with extraterrestrials could mean for the future of humanity. The book showcases cutting edge information from twelve of the leading and most respected experts in the field of UFOlogy. |
|
|
Nine shiny objects : a novel
by Brian Castleberry June 26, 1947: Headlines across America report that an aviator from Idaho witnessed nine pulsating lights flying over the Cascade Mountains at speeds surpassing any aircraft built by humankind. Days later, a desperate Chicago pool hustler, inspired by the news, hitchhikes west in a fever-dream search for a possible extraterrestrial sign. A chance encounter with Saul Penrod, an Idaho farmer, and his family sets in motion the birth of "The Seekers," a collective of outcasts, interlopers, and idealists devoted to creating a society where divisions of race, ethnicity, and sexuality are a thing of the past. Believing in their utopia, The Seekers attempt to settle in a community of their own creation. But one night their purpose is revealed in the wake of a horrific crime. In the decades that follow, the perpetrators, survivors, and their children will be forced to face the consequences of what happened. |
|
|
They are already here : UFO culture and why we see saucers
by Sarah Scoles We meet the bigwigs, the scrappy upstarts, the field investigators, the rational people, and the unhinged kooks of this sprawling community. How do they interact with each other? How do they interact with "anomalous phenomena"? And how do they (as any group must) reflect the politics and culture of the larger world around them? We will travel along the Extraterrestrial Highway and visit the UFO Watchtower, where seeking lights in the sky is more of a spiritual quest than a "gotcha" one. We meet someone who, for a while, believes they may have communicated with aliens. Where do these alleged encounters stem from? What are the emotional effects on the experiencers? |
|
|
Noir : a novel
by Christopher Moore A mad-cap noir set on the streets of post-World War II San Francisco follows a smitten barkeep and unofficial fixer-for-hire as he investigates his paramour's disappearance amid a series of weird events involving an unidentified flying object and a mysterious plane crash. |
|
|
American cosmic : UFOs, religions, technology
by Diana Walsh Pasulka More than half of American adults and more than seventy-five percent of young Americans believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life. This level of belief rivals that of belief in God. Pasulka examines the mechanisms that foster a thriving belief in extraterrestrial life. Her work takes her from Silicon Valley to the Vatican Secret Archive and reveals how media has supplanted religion as a cultural authority that offers believers answers about non-human intelligent life. |
|
|
Solar express
by L. E. Modesitt In this science fiction thriller, several nations of the world race to see who can study and control what was believed to be a previously undiscovered comet, but it is in reality an alien structure, that is on a trajectory towards the sun. |
|
|
The 37th parallel : the secret truth behind America's UFO highway
by Ben Mezrich This documents the true story of the author's investigations into paranormal UFO events in America's heartland, detailing a baffling case involving mutilated and exsanguinated livestock and how it was tied to unexplained sightings in Roswell, Area 51, and other regions associated with alien activity. |
|
|
Journal of a UFO investigator : a novel
by David J. Halperin Coming of age in the turbulent 1960s, Danny Shapiro copes with family troubles and loneliness by inventing a fantastical alternate life in which he falls in love with a beautiful thief and protects a half-alien child destined to save the world. |
|
|
The Presidents and UFOs : a secret history from FDR to Obama
by Larry Holcombe A lesser-known history of U.S. presidential involvement in and control of the UFO phenomenon since the 1940s draws a range of sources to discuss Robert Emenegger's documentary and the discoveries handled by each administration. |
|
|
Saucer : an adventure
by Stephen Coonts Rip Cantrell, a seismic surveyor in the Sahara, and beautiful ex-Air Force test pilot Charley Pine take on the U.S. Air Force UFO investigation team, a ruthless Australian billionaire, and the Libyan military as they seek to unravel the mystery of a 140,000-year-old flying saucer that they find entombed in the desert. This is the first novel in a trilogy. |
|
|
Encounter in Rendlesham Forest : the inside story of the world's best-documented UFO incident
by Nick Pope An in-depth look at the Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident includes coverage of its 1980 tracking by military radar and the experiences of witnesses who came in contact with the landed object's hull. |
|
|
The best of Connie Willis : award-winning stories
by Connie Willis A fan's collectible anthology by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee contains each of the author's 10 Nebula Award- and Hugo Award-winning tales. Look for the included novella "All Seated on the Ground," a romantic comedy that explores what happens when a UFO lands in Colorado and the people nearby try to figure out the mysterious aliens who were inside it. |