French-born UFOlogist Vallee, who has advanced degrees in astrophysics and computer science (Passport to Magonia), and UFOlogist Aubeck, who lives in Madrid and has compiled the world's largest collection of pre-1947 unexplained aerial sightings, team to produce this engrossing catalogue of pre–20th-century UFO accounts. They've selected more than 500 reports of sightings from antiquity to 1879, noting, "Every epoch has interpreted the phenomena in its own terms, often in a specific religious or political context." Attributions and sources are given for each entry. Most are several paragraphs long, but some are brief, such as, "27 September 1477, Japan.... A luminous object crossed the sky. A cotton-like substance fell for the next six hours." To show the impact of such sightings on culture, Part Two relates myths, legends, religious visions, optical illusions, and hoaxes, such as airships, angel apparitions, dragons, fiery discs and fireballs, "mock moons" and pyramids in the sky. The 75 illustrations have been chosen from a variety of ancient and arcane sources. Charles Fort, the famed writer on unexplained phenomena, would have been dazzled by this monumental compendium of curiosities. (Oct. 28)
