The Big Book of UFOs

Chris A Rutkowski. The Big Book of UFOs. Dundurn Press, 2010.
Clearly marketed as an introductory account, rather than a book for the seasoned ufologist, this book does that task admirably. It is mainly a chronological account with representative reports from the various decades, including old favourites and the less well known, interspersed with first hand eyewitness accounts. There are also sections on abductions, crop circles and cattle mutilations, the latter two being treated with the appropriate scepticism.

Unlike many other writers in this field, Rutkowski is very willing to discuss the numerous complexities associated with many of these cases, and to present the multiple sides, rather than indulging in breathless promotion of the ETH or knee-jerk debunking. One thing which discerning readers will detect from the various cases is the absence of anything like a unitary ‘UFO phenomenon’, rather the term has become a sort of cover term for lots of different experiences, and the probability that even the most puzzling cases are generated by many different things. |  P.R. |