cover image UFO Headquarters: Investigations on Current Extraterrestrial Activity

UFO Headquarters: Investigations on Current Extraterrestrial Activity

Susan Wright. St. Martin's Press, $23.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-312-18530-5

""Something is happening in our skies. To discover the cause, we can only continue to use our eyes to see the world around us, record it faithfully, and work toward the next step in understanding humanity's place in the universe,"" veteran Star Trek book author Wright concludes at the close of this survey of the complex, confusing and contradictory world of ufology. Covering such topics as the Roswell incident and Area 51; government ""black projects""; and sightings, disinformation and abductions, Wright introduces us to some of the field's players and personalities, from Glenn Campbell, who maintains the unofficial Area 51 Research Center, to Bob Lazar, whose sightings in the area are legendary. She quotes extensively from a variety of sources; some seem quite knowledgeable and reasonable, while others obviously are from the other end of the spectrum, although not without their own sort of entertainment value. (Wright straightfacedly writes that ""Jarod-2 also claims the aliens speak `a higher form of Hungarian.' "") Making the point, however, that the trust of citizens is damaged by excessive secrecy--leading to rumor and paranoia--this neophyte's guide lightens the field's often murky terrain, though readers will be better and more entertainingly served by Phil Patton's Dreamland (Forecasts, July 20). (Sept.)