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by Whitley Strieber Tor Books, NY. 2007 • 319 pg. • ISBN: 0756318962 Reviewed by Dr. Greg Little I can't recall ever writing a review on a non-fiction book. But as soon as I read the first few chapters of Strieber's 2012, I knew I had to write about it. Strieber is an accomplished author of horror books and movie scripts, but he is perhaps more widely known for writing a series of books detailing his own encounters with alien entities. There are some skeptics who have dismissed Strieber's accounts about alien abductions as fictional, but there is a great deal of evidence that he actually reported what happened to him as best as he consciously knew. Many of us in the UFO field believe his accounts, although the real debate remains focused on what it all means as well as the source of the phenomenon. Even Strieber has considered many options. In recent years, Whitley has admittedly tried to make sense of his abductions and the strange happenings in his life by writing several fictional stories. Media reports relate that several of these fiction books are already in production as movies. 2012 is the most recently released book by Whitley, and it should make a terrifying and intriguing movie. In the plot of 2012, Whitley has pulled in every aspect of the UFO phenomenon—abductions, changing appearances of the abductors, implants, paranormal events, time travel, government conspiracy, parallel universes, other dimensions—you name it, it's there. So too are cattle mutilitaions as well as human mutilitations. And then there is archaeology. The book actually begins when an archaeologist narrowly escapes from the "pit" in the Great Pyramid at Giza—just before it explodes. And explosions rock a lot of other ancient archaeological sites too. Soon we understand that the book details two stories in what might be described as parallel realities that occasionally infringe on each other. Of course, in the UFO field, some people assert that the UFO phenomenon is actually a parallel reality that can pop in and out of "our" reality. One aspect to the book that many will find fascinating is Whitley's depiction of how the abduction experiences he has endured have affected him and his family. It is cleverly woven into the fabric of the ever-deepening plot. The book is partly about an author of books on UFO encounters, among other things. And the plot almost defies any sort of predictability. At the same time, the plot stays clear—if you pay attention to the details. No other writer I have encountered uses words and phrases to explain events and key issues as does Strieber. I found that the way in which these phrases are used produced a profound effect—stopping me in my tracks as my conscious mind was forced to consider one terrifying possibility after another—in ways I had never seen. For example, he relates, "Energy is indeed immortal. But could it be conscious in its own right outside of the body, or remain a coherent structure after death?" As we all know, energy can neither be created or destroyed. The key question pondered by many is whether our energy has a coherent structure after death. Then, as characters in the story watch souls being literally pulled from person after person, almost bubbling out from the pores, it becomes clear. The "coherent structure" each one of us identifies as the conscious self can be "dis-integrated"—pulled apart into individual units of energy at the most basic level of physics. The obliteration of the soul—the dis-integration of the coherent structure of consciousness—is described in terrifying clarity. Unsettling as it is, there are far more terrifying aspects to the story, including the obliteration of the human race. The story told in 2012 certainly relates to the end of the current Mayan era in 2012, but I'll leave that issue alone. If you have an interest in UFOs, abductions, conspiracies, and alternative views of ancient history, you will immensely enjoy 2012. 2012 is one of the most thrilling horror masterpieces of our time. ____________________________________________________________________ Witness to Roswell: Unmasking the 60-Year Cover-Up by Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt Career Press/New Page Books • 3 Tice Road • P.O. Box 687 • Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 USA 2007, 256 pages, $14.99 • ISBN-13: 978-1-56414-943-5 • ISBN-10: 1-56414-943-9 Reviewed by W. Ritchie Benedict Every so often a small American town or city will explode into the headlines. Possibly no one will ever top Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, if legend is to be believed, as the events in early July, may someday be recognized as humanity’s first direct contact with extraterrestrial life. The key phrase here is: “if legend is to be believed,” as the story was nothing more than a wisp until 1978, when Stanton T. Friedman met Major Jesse Marcel Sr., who was a key figure in the events that transpired on the Brazel ranch. Marcel had kept silent for over thirty years until he opened up to Friedman. There are a number of figures, both in the military and otherwise, who will not reveal what they know, if prodded and persuaded by researchers, as they still fear the consequences, even today. Marcel may have acted as sort of a fall guy under orders from superiors, due to his background in intelligence. The U.S. military, as late as the 1990’s still insists that the debris that were recovered were the remains of a Mogul weather balloon, instead of a flying saucer complete with aliens. After six decades, it is exceedingly difficult to uncover new information about something that was immediately slapped under a security blanket, but amazingly, the authors have succeeded in doing just that. What follows is the most intense documentation of the Roswell UFO crash that has yet appeared in print. For one thing, they discuss how the alien bodies were loaded on a plane to Fort Worth and have located “new” witnesses who guarded the shipment. One soldier assigned to the task of loading the bodies at the crash site was Sgt. LeRoy Wallace. He was so vexed by the smell, that he burnt all of his clothes, and then scrubbed his hands raw. A 26 year old army photographer also commented on the unearthly smell, when he took photographs of the remains laid out on tables. Interviewed in 1993, photographer Benthal observed ruefully, that a short time after, he was shipped to Antarctica, obstensively to take photos of military equipment in order to study the effects of cold on them. A most effective way of insuring silence to be sure. A new piece of information surfaced from a former civilian paperboy named Richard Talbert. He actually saw a military convoy parade through the center of town about 3 p.m. in early July. There was an 18-wheel low-boy or flatbed trailer, protected by an escort of jeeps, each carrying armed MPs. A tarp covered what appeared to be an oval object underneath. It appeared impossible to silence broadcaster Frank Joyce until his boss Walt Whitmore Sr. was called in by the military authorities. Whitmore and Chaves County Sheriff George Wilcox may appear to be willing puppets of the Army at first glance, but it is entirely possible that they too were threatened with dire consequences if they didn’t help in the cover-up. In fact, intimidation appears to have been the watchword of the day. Remember this was 1947, and few people defied the government even then. It is known that the sheriff never ran again, and friends claim the events at Roswell “utterly destroyed him.” Such is the detailed research in this book that the authors have even managed to identify the soldier who threatened Frankie Dwyer Rowe, who was then a 12 year old girl. There appears to have been at least three crash sites, and attention was diverted to the lesser site with metallic debris, and away from the one with the main body of the crash and the alien bodies. Some witnesses have died without ever uttering a word about what they knew, presumably to protect their families from the wrath of the federal government. However, others have given definitive deathbed statements to establish the reality of the saucer crash for posterity. One such was Lt. Walter G. Haut, who was one of the founders of the Roswell Museum. He left behind a signed affidavit on December 26th, 2002, which says he had actually seen the craft along with the sheeted bodies. The earliest confession was that of Sgt. Melvin E. Brown, who passed away in 1986. He said over and over again that it was not a weather balloon. His daughter Beverly said that her father had lifted the canvas tarp on a truck and observed bodies with big heads and slanted eyes. A sitting U.S. senator during the 1970’s was a young lieutenant governor in 1947 by the name of Joseph (Little Joe) Montoya. He too saw the remains of the aliens, including one that was still alive and walking around, and it shook him to the core. A friend, Ruben Anaya picked Montoya up from the hangar and said afterwards that Montoya was shaking all over, and kept repeating: “They’re not human! They’re not human!” After the publication of this book, maybe the U.S. military should keep silent about any refutation. It is readily apparent that this is THE book about Roswell to date, with some absolutely amazing material. It is illustrated with period photos that in themselves must have been difficult to locate. An outstanding piece of research on one of the 20th Century’s greatest mysteries. ____________________________________________________________________ The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences By P.M.H. Atwater Hampton Roads Publishing Co., Inc. • 1125 Stoney Ridge Road • Charlottesville, VA 22902 2007, 473 pages, $18.95 US Reviewed by Brent Raynes This is a revised and expanded edition of P.M.H. Atwater’s book originally entitled The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Near-Death Experiences (2000). A virtual encyclopedia on the near-death experience, illustrated and easy to read, this comprehensive volume covers just about everything known to date on this fascinating and controversial subject. If you’re going to own or read one book on the near-death experience, then this should be it. A survivor of three near-death experiences herself, Atwater brings a sensitivity and awareness to the subject that seems filled with keen insight and deep understanding. This book is an extensive, well-researched, and highly informative compilation of thought-provoking facts, stories, findings, and theories. She has interviewed thousands of NDE percipients herself. Few authors are as qualified to write such a book. A must read and a book that I can highly recommend easily. ____________________________________________________________________ Heavenly Lights: The Apparitions of Fatima And the UFO Phenomenon by Joaquim Fernandes and Fina D’ Armada Anomalist Books • 5150 Broadway #108 • San Antonio, TX 78209 Website: www.anomalistbooks.com 2005, 264 pages, $14.95 US • ISBN: 1-933665-21-1 Reviewed by Brent Raynes Many UFO writers have, over the years, written about the incredible “Marian apparitions” of Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, where not only three children claimed on several occasions to see and speak with a feminine being dressed in white, but over 60,000 gathered eyewitnesses eventually observed an incredible flying disk in the daytime sky (an event well-known as “The Miracle of the Sun”), on a day that the being had told the children in advance that she would reveal her identity and what she wanted. One of those UFO authors, the acclaimed Dr. Jacques Vallee, has written the foreword to this book, which finally is a full-blown, indepth and thoroughly researched exploration of the facts in this extraordinary case. Not a few paragraphs devoted to some of the highlights of this astounding case, but a truly detailed presentation and compilation of the evidence and its similarities to the global UFO phenomenon. Originally published in Portuguese, the authors, Joaquim Fernandes and Fina D’ Armada, conducted an extensive amount of original research that should be loudly applauded. Also their close examination and comparisons to all of the case details and the parallels that they isolated from UFO cases in various parts of the world, establishes an even much stronger and greater case for what ufologists have been writing and saying about the extraordinary Fatima events for so many years now. Easy to read and filled with wonderful illustrations and graphs, this is a great addition to any ufologist’s or parapsychologist’s library. | ||
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