Fun but factually shallowJanuary 15, 2007 The UFO Investigator's Handbook by Craig Glenday is exactly what it sounds like: A guide for investigating reports of UFOs. I find this review particularly difficult to write, because I'm very torn over how to rate the quality and utility of the book.
Let's start with the good things. The Handbook is easily the most beautiful UFO-centric book I've encountered to date. It is extremely colorful, and every page features high quality photographs or illustrations, all of which are annotated to provide context. From a technical standpoint, the book is well written and edited. It reads easily, and is quite frankly a fun tour of UFO research.
I think most books have two major qualities; their informational content and their enjoyability. Too much information may become dry and unpleasurable to read. As I've already discussed, the Handbook excelled on the emotional side of the scale. The problem is it seems to fall rather short when it comes to information. It's not a particularly heavy read at 130 pages, and when you account for the quantity of images and fancy layout within, you come to realize that the data just isn't there. As much as I enjoy reading texts on the paranormal, I always hope to learn something new each time. Sadly, the farther I went, the more obvious it became that I wasn't really seeing anything here that I hadn't seen before. The book seems to touch all the bases of UFO investigation successfully, but it touches them at such a high level that you're left wanting more. There's little to learn here that a combination of common sense and a couple of History Channel UFO specials won't also teach you.
I suppose with a book that considers itself to be a "Handbook," I really shouldn't expect copious amounts of information. But then I have to ask, who really needs such a handbook in the first place? If you know enough about ufology to be investigating in the field, you probably already know far more than you'll find here. On the other hand, if you know so little about the subject that you found this book to be a good source of information, you probably should not be out in the field taking on the responsibility of a UFO investigator!
As I said in the beginning, this review was hard to write. For some reason, I really did enjoy this book. Maybe it was the excellent visuals, maybe it was the easy writing style, or maybe I'm just a sucker for UFO books. But I would be amiss to turn a blind eye to the reality that the factual content was, ultimately, very shallow. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone other than the uninitiated readers in the UFO audience...or those of us who don't mind wasting a bit of time reading through some pretty pictures.
"Nothing in life is to be feared.It is only to be understood."-Marie CurieJanuary 22, 2006 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You don't have to be a confirmed UFO believer to find this a great book on the subject.You can't have been living and aware of what has been going on since the 1950's;without hearing about UFO's.This book puts order into all the things we've heard about;Spaceships from other Worlds,Strange Lights in the Sky,Alien Abductions,Objects from Space,Chariots of the Gods,Crop Circles,Nazca Lines,you name it. Most people think of spaceships from other worlds whenever they hear the term UFO.This book makes you think differently.What it really means is an object or anything in the sky that cannot be understood or explained.Therefore, a "Sun Dog" is a UFO to someone who sees one for the first time and has no idea of what it is.Once known and understood it is no longer a UFO. I have been interested in the 'unexplained' ever since a kid,over 60 years ago.For instance,I was about 10 at the time,sitting on my front steps,and noticed light flashes ,on the horizon,at the top of the mountain range about 15 miles.They looked like someone was flashing a huge light for a second or so,then a few seconds there would be another a mile or so along the range ,then another,etc.I seem to remember that there were 10 or so.I had no idea what they were,but I knew they were strange and unexplained to me and remain so today.As I remember they occurred at or near the top of the mountain range ,and were spread out across a few miles. This book is a great aid in helping you to know what to look for and how to record what you see.It is also a great aid to have at hand when reading about accounts of UFO's. Just about all the things you'll ever hear about are covered. Don't expect to find the final answr on Roswell,or Area 51,or for that matter the solution to the numerous Crop Circles.I have been following the stories on them for many years,and expect there will not be any resolution for many years to come. There is no limit to the things that still occur or have occurred in the past.Not all signs of possible visitors are recent and there are untold numbers of books written on ancient mysteries. For those who look at the unexplained and cry 'nonsense';and that science can answer everything,remember Lavoisier ,the renowned scientist ,and father of modern chemistry,who ,in 1772 was sent by the Academy of Sciences,to investigate a rock that had supposedly fallen from the sky.He pronounced superciliously,"There are no stones in the sky,therefore no stones can fall from the sky." "Years later ,as our knowledge of the sky became more advanced,these stones were,of course,shown to be meteorites.Lavoisier,in the meantime ,lost his head to the guillotine,and historians mostly chose to overlook this episode of scientific intractibility that,for many,epitomizes science's attitude to the unexplained." A great book for any reader or observer of the unexplained.
Color full and InterestingMarch 1, 2005 2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a great and powerful book for showing people the case on UFOs and what magnitude of a phenomenon the weird objects seen in the sky. I recommend this to any age group it very detailed and intellectual.
Hard evidenceDecember 9, 2004 2 out of 15 found this review helpful
Do you ever read stuff like this and wonder WHAT is going on in the minds of people who read this s--t and believe it? Most people read books in the privacy of their own abode and are fairly quiet when they're about it. Well, try driving up US 285 into Roswell and get past the UFO museum without hitting some sucker headed for the museum to hand over their eight dollars. Jaywalking numbskulls! Green light, red light, drive this way that way, downtown or the Mescalero Apache reservation, you CANNOT get through here without dodging imbeciles who wouldn't get out of the way of flying saucers if they DID exist. Maybe they've been impregnated by some E.T.'s! Anyway, there's your manifestation of the UFO believer's mental state.
Big helpJune 17, 2003 7 out of 14 found this review helpful
Big help, I've found 43 UFOs and met several alien races in the short 3-month span since I've purchased this book. Thank you Craig and Stanton!
