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Very engaging!June 25, 2008 3 out of 8 found this review helpful
I have read other books and articles by Stan and they're all very enlightening. Although some of the concepts in this book are geared more towards the real science behind how the UFOs might operate, etc... Stan does a good job keeping the layman engaged throughout. I have exchanged e-mails with Stan on several occassions and he's always consistent in his answers and very well informed. To me, Stan is the ultimate authority in Ufology. Buy this book!
Been waitin' on this oneJune 20, 2008 13 out of 16 found this review helpful
Friedman is as engaging a writer as he is a "Talking Head". Always interesting and humorous. His comments on Roswell and its' constantly upgraded (?) explanations are tantalizing to our Science Fiction intellect *and* our rational mind. He goes into much detail and provides some nice, clean photo reproductions of some of the "fallout". Particularly fascinating are his thoughts on interstellar travel and how noted Scientists can sometimes not see the big picture, by thinking only in terms of conventional propulsion systems. At times, however, his writing is very difficult to absorb, as his Scientific descriptions will be more understandeable to those who have formally studied these subjects. He gets into some material covered in his MJ-12 book and provides some very convincing arguments that the relevant "Eyes Only" report/study was indeed not a hoax. It's refreshing when a real Physicist can say that he's really only interested in that tiny percentage of unexplainable other-worldly phenomena. Maybe "explainable"?
Truth right before your eyesJune 19, 2008 5 out of 10 found this review helpful
Ufology has all sorts of writers; those who create stuff and nonsense, and those who have substance, facts and intellect like Dr. Boylan, Maximillien de Lafayette, Dr. Michael Salla, Dr. Lynne Kitei, Dr. Greer, and Stanton Friedman. This book shows that Stanton Friedman researches his material and presents FACTS, no BS! The man is serious and meticulous. Are you looking for a reliable source of information? Then, go no further...get Friedman's book.
Questions, answers and some gray areasJune 12, 2008 29 out of 31 found this review helpful
The enthusiasm Stanton Friedman has for flying saucers comes through clearly in this book. His writing is lively and engaging. He takes no prisoners and skewers without mercy many as he develops his case for the existence and importance of flying saucers.
Stitching together many disparate topics he has investigated over a quite long career, he crafts a story that although not necessarily comprehensive and at times a bit repetitive, proceeds with reasonable continuity and coherence. He marshals the data and makes quite a number of solid points. Saving the best literally for last, his description of the "Majestic 12" documents in chapter 11 makes for some fascinating reading.
The greatest disappointment with Mr. Friedman's book is its complete lack of customary citations and attributions and a weak supporting index to the text. Despite being a tireless fact digger and a professional researcher who knows how a thesis is documented, this important aspect of his work was simply not up to his otherwise high standards. Although I am confident he is not attempting to mislead the reader, this omission is a great disservice to those wishing to assess the accuracy of assertions/interpretations or simply delve a bit deeper into the subject. For one who makes the case (repeatedly) that many of his critics and "debunkers" are uninformed about the facts and often neglect their homework, this is both a baffling oversight and the loss of golden opportunities to educate the public and let us do some homework of our own.
Also puzzling was the lack of a detailed outlining of the evidence in support of his remarkable identification of the zeta 1/2 Reticuli system as the origin for extraterrestrial entities visiting our planet. The star map recalled by Betty Hill is controversial, but virtually no information is provided that would let the reader gauge the relative merits of this hypothesis. Several stars in this constellation other than zeta 1 and 2 and much further away from earth have been noted to have large planets, but this situation was not addressed by Mr. Friedman. About the only tidbit we get is that SETI scanned these stars for a signal and found nothing.
Mr. Friedman works diligently to be factual, but many times it is impossible accept everything on offer. For example, his assertion (page 48) that Operation Morning Light to find and recover the Cosmos 954 satellite remnants after uncontrolled re-entry proved that the US government had access to teams that could immediately go into action and grab all items of interest. Yes, but in this case the government had months of advance notice, knew beforehand when the final hours had arrived and could track that satellite all the way until the end. If there is another Roswell crash that occurs without advance warning, I bet the MUFON team will get there first.
Another assertion that is just too far out appears on page 135, in which Mr. Friedman suggests Earth was a penal colony in which the "bad boys and girls" were left behind to fend for themselves and that explains why humans are so nasty to each other. This conveniently ignores the fact that humans are genetically and biochemically related to the multitudes of other life forms indigenous to Earth. Although maybe along with the bad boys came an entire cadre of convict criminal chimpanzees, gorillas, all other extant primates, lemurs ...etc. By such logic Australia would be one of the most dangerous places in our world by far.
Friedman pounds the SETI program and its major scientists without mercy and unfairly at times. Dismissive of its potential (page 140) and critical of their methods, he questions whether the SETI effort represents real science (page 143). But, although it is certainly valid to question assumptions, the SETI program has established falsifiable hypotheses that ultimately the data they gather may or may not support - the scientific method. For me, the recognition of a true signal by SETI, whether it is 1 or 1,000 light years distant would be an enormous discovery.
And just how concerned should any local civilizations be about this violent planet earth? (page 166). It looks like it will take a while for us to even recognize where our interstellar neighbors reside let alone make trips of many light years duration to menace them with our inferior technology. Hard to believe the word about us has been put out.
This entire field is racked with acrimony and Mr. Friedman is (in my opinion) sometimes too quick to disparage with whom he disagrees or elect to interpret data differently than he as liars. Perhaps relentless criticism has driven him to this, but it detracts from his effort.
An underlying credibility problem with the flying saucer phenomenon is that much of the information comes as personal testimony. Mr. Friedman addresses this issue head-on (page 32) noting that the "entire legal system is based on testimony" that many times cannot be corroborated with objective techniques such as DNA matching. True enough, but in light of the many instances of unreliable witness testimony that have now been uncovered through DNA testing performed under the auspices of the Innocence Project, this issue will continue to plague UFO investigators.
In fairness to Mr. Friedman, this subject area is vast and he is courageous to take it on. Although sometimes straying off course, he is attempting to focus on hard facts, insisting on thorough research to uncover facts and is willing to critique misguided believers and hoaxers. Whatever ultimate truths underlie the UFO phenomenon will be uncovered by such efforts.
Right to the pointJune 5, 2008 4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Mr. Stanton was the first scientist to defy and challenge SETI. Mr. Stanton is an established scientist who worked for major corporations in America in various capacities. His academic and on the job knowledge of science, and his direct rapport with the ufology community gave him an extra edge of deeper insight and privileged information. His current book is the product of such vast expertise. The book is the results of years of research and investigation. It is useful for the scientit, the apprentice and the serious inquirer. Mr. Stanton elaborated on various scientific theories that a priori explain the possibility of interstellar travel to the end of the universe. His arguments are convincing because he based his opinions on scientific facts and data.
