Providing ample detail of the players and programs and primary source material ... Interspersed with the chapters about UFOs are chapters about the largely unrelated searches for life in the universe: seeking alien radio signals, researching Mars’s habitability, understanding the initial appearance of water on Earth. Nothing in the evidence Graff provides connects the two faces of the book together. They simply sit side by side, separate hemispheres that Graff can’t quite weld into one orb.
The government’s prickly paternalism—and its annoying habit of rechristening flying objects every few decades, most recently as UAPs—generated countless conspiracy theories, which Graff soberly investigates, down to the last crop circle and cattle mutilation.
...the perfect guide for readers interested in learning how that discussion has evolved. Graff offers an authoritative and objective look at the history of UFO sightings and research into the possibility of extraterrestrial life over the past 75 years ... Graff is unlikely to convert firm skeptics, but he may at least convince them to keep an open mind the next time they read about UFOs or UAPs.
Probing ... The UFO history is loads of fun, and Graff’s agnosticism has the potential to appeal to skeptics and believers alike. It’s a fascinating dive down the rabbit hole.
Graff admires the open-mindedness and imagination of these researchers, although he concludes that their work has yet to produce substantial returns. He avoids taking a firm stand on the existence of UFOs but acknowledges that it is a big universe and there are plenty of inexplicable phenomena. An entertaining tour through the world of flying saucers, aliens, and weird science.
