I have decided to create a little list of recommended resources for people who, for whatever reason, are interested in UFOs (but without having lost the ability to think rationally). So without further ado, here goes.
First, some websites and web pages:
Web resources
• The Condon Report (National Capital Area Skeptics)
• CSICOP
• Robert A. Baker, "A Skeptic's Notebook: An Alien Taxonomy," Skeptical Briefs, June 1997
• Tom Callen, "Faking UFO Photos for the Twenty-First Century," Skeptical Inquirer, September 2003
• Alan Hale, "An Astronomer's Personal Statement on UFOs," Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 1997
• David N. Keightley, "Space Travel in Bronze Age China?" Skeptical Inquirer, Winter 1978
• Paul Kurtz, "UFO Mythology: The Escape to Oblivion," Skeptical Inquirer, July/August 1997
• Joe Nickell, "Investigative Files: Siege of ‘Little Green Men’ - The 1955 Kelly, Kentucky, Incident," Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2006
• Joe Nickell, "Investigative Files: Mysterious Entities of the Pacific Northwest, Part II," Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2007 (a fresh look at the 1947 Kenneth Arnold 'flying saucer' sighting)
• James Oberg, "The Great East Coast UFO of August 1986," Skeptical Inquirer, Winter 1986-87
• James Oberg, "TNT's The Secret KGB UFO Files," Council for Media Integrity, September 13, 1998
• Yulii Platov and Boris Sokolov, "A History of State UFO Research in the USSR," Skeptical Briefs, December 2000
• David Clarke (also check out the bio)
• The Debunker's Domain, by Robert Sheaffer
• Ian Ridpath's UFO skeptic pages
• The Klass Files, by Philip J. Klass
• "The 'Rods' Hoax: Coming to a TV Station Near You," by Bob DuHamel
• The Skeptic's Dictionary, by Robert T. Carroll
• UFO Symposium 1968: Statement by Carl Sagan (National Capital Area Skeptics)
There is also a website called UFO Skeptic, which, unfortunately, is maintained by a person who is anything but a skeptic. It is always sad when names are hijacked in this way, and used for a dishonest and misleading purpose.
Next, here are some books intended to provide a general overview, mostly from a skeptical point of view:
Books
• David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Flying Saucerers: A Social History of UFOlogy, 2007
• Jason Colavito, The Cult of Alien Gods: H.P. Lovecraft And Extraterrestial Pop Culture
• William Dudley (ed.), Ufos (At Issue Series)
• Kendrick Frazier, Barry Karr and Joe Nickell (eds.), The Ufo Invasion: The Roswell Incident, Alien Abductions, and Government Coverups
• Philip J. Klass, Bringing Ufos Down to Earth (Young Readers)
• Philip J. Klass, The Crashed Saucer Cover-Up
• Philip J. Klass, UFO's Explained
• Philip J. Klass, UFO's Identified
• Philip J. Klass, Ufos: The Public Deceived
• James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth: Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist
• James Oberg, Ufo's and Outer Space Mysteries: A Sympathetic Skeptic's Report
• Curtis Peebles, Watch the Skies!
• Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, UFO's: A Scientific Debate
• Robert Sheaffer, Ufo Sightings: The Evidence
The rest of this post will be devoted to specific subjects:
Alien abductions
• Susan Blackmore, "Abduction by Aliens or Sleep Paralysis?" Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 1998
• Robert T. Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary
• Jeffrey B. King, "A Bridge Too Far," Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 1997
• Philip J. Klass, Ufo Abductions: A Dangerous Game
• Martin Kottmeyer, "The Eyes that Spoke," Skeptical Briefs, September 1994
• Joe Nickell - Aliens and Abductions, Point of Inquiry, February 17, 2006
• Joe Nickell, "Investigative Files: A Study of Fantasy Proneness in the Thirteen Cases of Alleged Encounters in John Mack's Abduction," Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 1996
• NOVA Online: Kidnapped by UFOs? Interview with Carl Sagan
• Robert Sheaffer, "Over the Hill on UFO Abductions," Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2007
• John C. Snider, "The Joe Nickell Files: UFOs and Alien Abductions," SciFiDimensions.com, October 2003
Alien autopsy
• Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction? (The Truly Dangerous Company)
• C. Eugene Emery, Jr., "'Alien Autopsy' Show-and-Tell: Long on Tell, Short on Show," Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1995
• Joe Nickell, "Investigative Files: 'Alien Autopsy' Hoax," Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1995
• Joe Nickell, "Investigative Files: Postmortem on 'Alien Autopsy'," Skeptical Briefs, June 2006
• Joe Nickell, "The Story Behind the 'Alien Autopsy' Hoax," LiveScience, May 7, 2006
Area 51
• Robert T. Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary
The Aztec UFO hoax
• Robert T. Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary
Face on Mars
• Martin Gardner, "The Great Stone Face and Other Nonmysteries," Skeptical Inquirer, Fall 1985
Flatwoods
• Joe Nickell, "Investigative Files: The Flatwoods UFO Monster," Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2000
Gulf Breeze
• Craig R. Myers, War of the Words
• Robert Sheaffer, "A Model UFO Debunking," Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2007
Majestic-12
• Philip J. Klass, "The New Bogus Majestic-12 Documents," Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 2000
Men in Black
• John C. Sherwood, "Gray Barker: My Friend, the Myth-Maker," Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 1998
The Phoenix Lights
• Phil Plait, "Why I don’t “believe” in UFOs: the Phoenix Lights," March 6, 2007
Rendlesham
• BBC Inside Out, "Rendlesham - UFO Hoax," June 30, 2003
Roswell
• Robert T. Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary
• Bernard D. Gildenberg and David E. Thomas, "Case Closed: Reflections on the 1997 Air Force Roswell Report," Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 1998
• B. D. Gildenberg, "The Cold War's Classified Skyhook Program: A Participant's Revelations," Skeptical Inquirer, May 2004
• Philip J. Klass, The Real Roswell Crashed-Saucer Coverup
• Kal K. Korff, The Roswell UFO Crash: What They Don't Want You to Know
• Joe Nickell, "Investigative Files: The Roswell Legacy," Skeptical Briefs, June 1997
• Karl T. Pflock, Roswell: Inconvenient Facts and the Will to Believe
• Benson Saler, Charles A. Ziegler and Charles B. Moore, UFO Crash at Roswell: The Genesis of a Modern Myth
• David E. Thomas, "Demolishing the Roswell `Alien' Myth," Skeptical Inquirer, May/June 1998
• Dave Thomas, "The Roswell Incident and Project Mogul," Skeptical Inquirer, July/August 1995
The Tunguska incident
• James Oberg, "Tunguska Echoes," 1982
More resources will be added to this post as I come across them in the future.
The wisdom of crowds
One comment
How, pray tell, can you possibly consider this a resource list for 'rationally' thinking people when nearly all of your resources include the word "skeptic" in them? Last time I checked the definition of "rational" it didn't seem to include the concept of dismissing a theory by default, through a skeptical (and usually half-closed) eye prior to examining the evidence. To the vast majority of rational-thinking engineers, scientists, military personnel and pilots who have witnessed a UFO firsthand, this list might look a tad insulting.
Do the research, examine ALL of the evidence and then formulate your hypothesis. That's what most rational-minded people do. If you think you don't need to be fully informed on a topic like this in order to dismiss it through logical reasoning, then you're just lazy.
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