Futurism logo

11 Books About UFOs That Will Make You Think

If you're looking for the best and most intriguing books about UFOs, phone home and get ready to read.

By Eddie WongPublished 5 years ago 9 min read
2

When you see a UFO sighting story, do you pick up the book, or scoff and walk onward? If you're one of those who have decided to flip open the pages, you know that these books are great for enthusiasts, but also have some compelling stories that might just persuade skeptics as well. Books about UFOs typically present ideas and evidence that will get you thinking, whether you're binge rewatching Ancient Aliens or shaking your head whenever you hear an abduction story.

One of the biggest challenges that UFO-chasers face is that stories are a lot more debatable nowadays than they were 50 years ago. Even just 20 or 30 years ago, a recording taken on an old family camcorder left a lot more up to ambiguity than the HD cameras that most phones have now.

It's hard for something bizarre to happen without someone seeing it, recording it, taking a picture, and most likely tweeting about it. Nevertheless, there are still odd incidents happening, and many of them have startling plausible circumstances.

"When you read this incredible story,do not be too skeptical:somewhere in your own pastthere may be some lost houror strange recollection."

As Whitley Strieber tells the tale of his brush with extraterrestrials, he readily acknowledges that he was once a skeptic and realizes that many people who pick up this book would also have questions about a claimed alien encounter. Strieber describes the beings he saw as being a bit over three feet tall, and the painting on the original cover of the book is the most culturally well-known depiction of the "grey alien."

Strieber claims that his first time seeing extraterrestrials was in the middle of the night. It took place in a cabin that he was renting to enjoy the holidays with his family in a remote area of upstate New York. Before writing this book, Strieber was interviewed by three psychologists, three psychiatrists, underwent a battery of psychological and neurological tests, and all of his results came back remarkably normal. He worked on this book with feedback from professors of history, psychiatry, and space studies to give further credence to his theories.

This recent book by Lovelace tells the story of odd incidents that happened at Devils Nest, an infamous area with several disappearances. Beyond those happenings, the author finds an odd bit of metal implanted in his leg that wasn't due to surgical malpractice. Alien implants are pretty scary to think about and may seem farfetched, but Lovelace never had any kind of knee surgery that could leave a foreign object inside his body. This discovery prompted Lovelace to start deeply researching the possibility of otherwordly life and investigate the government conspiracy theories associated with it..

If you're not drinking the aliens' Kool-Aid yet, that's alright. One interesting frustration that Lovelace discusses in this book is how hard it was for him to report his supposed UFO sighting.

Now, I can sympathize with how emergency operators, Air Force base information centers, and local law enforcement call centers must feel when they get calls from people claiming they've seen UFOs. These are just ordinary people sitting at desks, sipping their coffee, and trying to get through the workday. However, the absolute disinterest in the presence of usual aircrafts is a bit concerning. Questions of aliens aside, what if there was simply a very large aircraft from a foreign nation that local airways authorities weren't aware of? Lovelace approaches this issue and others with a deep practicality in his writing that helps this book not feel too farfetched.

In The Alien Abduction Files, Marden and Stoner write about two very well-documented cases. Both situations involve multiple witnesses to give them more credibility. As the title implies, this book is all about alien abductions. The authors dismantle the most common explanations for the abductees' experiences, and explain why astral projection and sleep paralysis seem unlikely in these instances.

The book goes into what the witnesses saw of alien experimental procedures when they were taken. Since both authors have a strong background in research and science, they provide theories that can explain the aliens' advanced technology. Marden and Stoner collaborate regularly in their investigative pursuits, creating an enjoyable synergy throughout the book.

John A. Keel was a journalist and UFOlogist who is widely credited with being the man to coin the term "men in black." Keel had an interesting background before he became intrigued by the unusual and the strange, for he dropped out of school at the age of 16, feeling it had nothing else to offer him after he took all of the science courses. From there, he launched into writing for local newspapers, radio shows, and TV. After that, he found himself in the army during the Korean War.

Once battle was behind him and he was back to writing, Keel set out for West Virginia to investigate the strange tales of "Mothman." Sightings of a man-like figure flying around the state may sound more like an urban legend than an alien sighting, but Keel interviewed residents and asserted that they saw numerous unidentified flying objects, and had visits from threatening men in black as well. Mothman may not be one of Whitley Strieber's grey aliens, but it's still interesting to theorize that it came from somewhere else.

Keel shares his experiences in detail and writes about specific moments with dialogue and intriguing imagery. It's a fascinating book with such entertaining writing that it's guaranteed to hold your interest.

One of the biggest questions from skeptics is, "Where could UFOs possibly land on Earth without being stumbled upon by an average person?" After all, in most stories about alien abductions, the UFO is pretty close to the ground. If alien ships can survive space though, doesn't it make sense they would be just fine hiding out in our planet's salty oceans? When asked how much of the ocean they've explored, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration admits more than 80 percent has never been seen by human eyes.

With that relatively reasonable line of inquiry in mind, Dennett explores the frequent sightings of UFOs appearing before diving deep underwater. Dennett has written over 100 articles and many books about UFOs. This book covers dozens of different accounts where people have seen unfamiliar ships rise up out of the waters and fly into the sky. The Santa Catalina Channel in California is the most active area in terms of unidentified submersible object sightings, leading to the term USO used in conjunction with UFO.

It's harder to ignore stories of unexplained UFOs when they come from respected majors and colonels from different militaries in different countries. Writing off the experience of one odd cookie who lives in the woods and says he or she has been abducted by aliens is one thing, but this book tells tales with much more substance.

Kean is an investigative reporter and dedicated years to studying government documents, aviation reports, case studies, and radar data that corresponds to the incidents discussed in her book. There are few books about UFOs with the witness lineup that Kean has, despite the number of UFO sightings declassified by the CIA. She tells the stories of a US Air Force major, a Belgian Air Force colonel, and a retired chief of the US Federal Aviation Administration Accidents and Investigations Division.

With movies like Independence Day presenting the idea of reverse-engineering alien space crafts, it's not a surprise that theorists will gather up as much evidence as possible to suggest that the government has done such things in real life. Greer goes into great detail in his book about reported crashed alien space crafts.

Greer states that in 1981, an Air Force scientist passed away and left behind many autopsy photographs of apparent extraterrestrials that died in a UFO crash in Corona, NM. While sorting through the photos, Greer talks about how their bodies had just one organ that functioned as both heart and lungs, as well as eleven lobes in their brains. With details like these, it's a tantalizing read for a hardcore UFOlogist.

This book argues that there's more to alien sightings than near-death experiences and hallucinations. Written by Philip J. Corso, a lieutenant colonel with the Foreign Technology office, this book offers the unique perspective of someone who worked in Army Research and Development in the Pentagon. While Corso investigated foreign technology by day, when he was off the clock, he researched technology that was a lot more foreign than anything found on Earth.

If you're worrying about reasons why aliens would invade earth, don't be too worried. The incident at Roswell happened all the way back in 1947, and there haven't been many incidents as well documented since then. Roswell lives in such infamy that simply saying the word is enough to evoke thoughts of aliens. If you've been intrigued by Roswell but don't know that much about it, The Day After Roswell has every last detail you could want.

A surprising thing in books about UFOs is that they're not usually written by conspiracists wearing tinfoil hats. Instead, the preface of almost every story will say something about the author's hesitation to go public since they expect so much doubt and skepticism. It's reassuring to read, for it's a good reminder that these books are usually written by logical, sensible people who have encountered bizarre circumstances.

The Midwest is a hotbed of UFO sightings, and if you think about it logically, it makes sense. If there's anything out there with the technology to travel through space and make it to Earth, they'd also be able to see what areas are less populated, and thus easier to potentially land in. Bird's book covers different UFO sightings and reported encounters with extraterrestrials in Montana.

I couldn't resist tossing this one on the list as well. Even though Ancient Aliens has spawned some very hilarious memes and is treated like a bit of a joke on the internet, it's actually a very interesting series. A lot of the theories described in the episodes have some fascinating realism and plausibility. The first two seasons of the series covered some of their most compelling ideas.

History holds many mysteries, many huge feats of human accomplishment and construction that are difficult to explain from societies that lacked advanced technology. While it's possible that ancient civilizations managed to have building techniques that are more adept than we give them credit for, Ancient Aliens has some fascinating assertions about the pyramids, Stonehenge, and many other historic landmarks.

If you want to learn about their theories but don't want to sit down and watch the series, you can grab an ebook, hardcover, or an audiobook of this title to listen to on the go. This book takes a step back from alien abductions to investigate a very different approach to investigating UFOs.

When you're ready to step back from complicated theories, Young's book provides stories of eerie, unexplained disappearances.

The hard part about cases of disappearance from remote areas it that there a lot of alternate explanations that skeptics can provide. However, at the beginning of this book, Young immediately acknowledges that serious accidents can happen fast to hikers in the woods. She's identified cases where there was no evidence of natural predators or simple accidents to explain the disappearances of hikers. While many of these cases didn't garner government interest or have Keel's aforementioned men in black knocking on peoples' doors, they're still compelling reads.

Ultimately, any of the books about UFOs on this market will make someone wonder if humanity is really alone or not. There are scientific theories, odd stories, and plenty of speculation on government coverups. Keel's men in black don't investigate everything, but there are people out there who recall their experiences with the real men in black. When you want to step out of your usual headspace and think about outer space instead, give one of these titles a read.

book review
2

About the Creator

Eddie Wong

Lives in Malibu, California. Loves movies. Cutting expert, lover of Final Cut Pro 7. Parents wanted him to be a doctor, but he just wants to edit.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.