UFOs AND THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE

by Ronald D. Story ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 1981

Author Story's recent Encyclopedia of UFOs was a commendably objective attempt to set forth everything of significance regarding the subject; but those whose interest in UFOs isn't inexhaustible will find his latest effort a much crisper piece of analysis that's engrossing beyond his simple stated premise of attempting to establish that our science, in its present state, is not capable of illuminating the phenomenon. Revealing that he became a ""cautious proponent"" of UFOs (as a real, unexplained phenomenon) during the course of putting the encyclopedia together, Story reasons that if one could debunk, say, the ten ""best"" cases for this position--as derived from a poll of avid, yet fully credentialed, UFO proponents--there would be no reason for anyone to waste further time investigating the pesky things. The book, then, is essentially a lucid, detailed discussion of the ""ten best"" with the conclusion that they, indeed, stand up as unexplained. Fortunately, this is prefaced--for two-thirds of the book--by a thoughtful discussion of UFO patterns and commonalities, dwelling on those that have been explained by scientific consensus, whether pro or con. Thus armed, readers with no previous background in UFOlogy can take on the ten cases with impunity and come to their own conclusions. With combinations of multiple-witness sightings, visual contacts confirmed by simultaneous radar and photographic record, etc., the ten are grist indeed for a logical objectivist. Story's careful approach--assigning validity to the sighting aspect of the 1961 Betty and Barney Hill case, for example, while completely discounting their subsequent claim of capture as obvious trauma--is as engaging as his marshaling of detail. With his Encyclopedia of UFOs and Allan Hendry's UFO Handbook, a current UFO trilogy is on hand to at least give scoffers some second thoughts.

Pub Date: March 17, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1981

Categories: NONFICTION