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UFO : the inside story of the US government's search for alien life here-and out there  Cover Image Book Book

UFO : the inside story of the US government's search for alien life here-and out there / Garrett M. Graff.

Summary:

'UFO' by Garrett M. Graff is the first comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of the American government's decades-long quest to solve one of humanity's greatest mysteries: are we alone in the universe? For as long as we have looked to the skies, the question of whether life on Earth is the only life to exist has been at the core of the human experience, driving scientific debate and discovery, shaping spiritual belief, and prompting existential thought across borders and generations. And yet, the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence has been largely seen as a joke, banished to the realm of fantasy and conspiracy. Now, for the first time, the full story of our national obsession with UFOs-and the covert, decades-long search by scientists, the United States military, and the CIA for proof of alien life-is told by bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff in a deeply reported and researched history. Drawing from original archival research, declassified documents, and interviews with senior intelligence and military officials, Graff brings every moment of this extraordinary quest to life, transporting readers from secret military meetings and congressional hearings, where the validity of the search is debated, to the cluttered offices of UFOlogists and hoaxers determined to see the truth revealed, remote observatories where astronomers monitor the stars, and even the halls of the White House, where staffers and presidents alike eagerly await answers. Filled with twists and turns, and populated by an unforgettable cast of characters, UFO is a thrilling story of science, national security, the secrets of space, and the enduring mysteries of the universe.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781982196776 (hardcover)
  • Physical Description: 518 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour) ; 25 cm
  • Edition: First Avid Reader Press hardcover edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Avid Reader Press, 2023.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Prologue : war of the Worlds -- Introduction -- Part 1. The saucer age -- Flying saucers -- The Foo Fighters -- The rocket age -- Project sign -- The classics -- Project grudge -- Captain Ruppelt arrives -- The mysterious death of Captain Mantell -- The Washington merry-go-round -- The Robertson panel -- Saucer-mania -- Frost's flying saucer -- The contactees -- The men in black -- Sputnik -- Briefing Capitol Hill -- Part 2. The space age -- Fermi's paradox -- Project ozma -- Phantom signal -- The Drake equation -- The search expands -- The Socorro incident -- Exploring Mars -- Swamp gas -- The UFO gap -- The Condon report -- The Byurakan conference -- The Arecibo message -- Close encounters of the third kind -- The Dick Cavett duel -- The Tehran incident -- The wow signal -- Situation red -- Exploring the cosmos -- The alone theory -- Voodoo warrior -- MJ-12 -- Crop circles -- The Belgian wave -- Interrupted journey -- Sex with aliens -- Roswell revisited -- "Who killed JFK?" -- The Mars rock -- The Phoenix lights -- Part 3. The interstellar age -- Cometa -- Skinwalker ranch -- StarChips -- The TicTac incident -- Life science -- Breakthrough listen -- Epilogue : the truth is out there.
Subject: Extraterrestrial beings.
Government information > United States.
Human-alien encounters.
Unidentified flying objects.
Unidentified flying objects > Government policy > United States.
Unidentified flying objects > Sightings and encounters > United States.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Cookstown Branch 001.942 Gra 31681010349272 NONFIC Available -

  • Baker & Taylor
    This thrilling story of science, the Cold War, Nazi research, atomic anxieties, secret spy planes and the space race draws on original archival research, declassified documents and interviews to present a narrative history of humanity's hunt for alien life, including the military and CIA's secret, decades-long quest to study UFOs.
  • Baker & Taylor
    This thrilling story of science, the Cold War, Nazi research, atomic anxieties, secret spy planes and the space race draws on original archival research, declassified documents and interviews to present a narrative history of humanity’s hunt for alien life, including the military and CIA’s secret, decades-long quest to study UFOs. Illustrations.
  • Simon and Schuster
    “One of the rare books on the topic that manages to be both entertaining and factually grounded.” —The Wall Street Journal

    From the bestselling author of Raven Rock, The Only Plane in the Sky, and Watergate (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history) comes the first comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of our government’s decades-long quest to solve one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: Are we alone in the universe?

    For as long as we have looked to the skies, the question of whether life on earth is the only life to exist has been at the core of the human experience, driving scientific debate and discovery, shaping spiritual belief, and prompting existential thought across borders and generations. It’s one of our culture’s favorite conversations, and yet, the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence has been largely banished to the realm of fantasy and conspiracy. Now, for the first time, the full story of our national obsession with UFOs—and the covert search by scientists, the United States military, and the CIA for proof of alien life—is told by bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff in a deeply reported and researched history.

    It begins in 1947, when two headline-making sightings of strange flying objects prompt the US Air Force’s newly formed Department of Defense to create a series of secret programs to determine how unidentified phenomena may pose a threat to national security. Over the next half-century, as the atomic age gives way to the space race and the Cold War, the mission continues, bringing together an unexpected group of astronomers, military officials, civilian contactees, and true believers who bring us closer, then further, then closer again, to answering one of our most enduring questions: What exactly is out there?

    Drawing from original archival research, declassified documents, and interviews with senior intelligence and military officials, Graff brings readers a story that’s “Loads of fun…[a] fascinating deep dive down the rabbit hole” (Publishers Weekly).

Additional Resources