UFO Books

 

Listed in chronological order, here are over 50 the English-language books that I feel are important to a good understanding of the UFO phenomenon. There are many others, but this is not a comprehensive list; just a practical one. Although several of the authors have multiple books that are of value, I am trying to keep this list simple and so have generally included their best book only. In a few cases (including my own), I have included an author more than once due to the unique contributions of their multiple books. 

 

 

Frank Scully. Behind the Flying Saucers (1950). The first mass market American book on the subject, and still very insightful. Discusses the Aztec case, which was publicly debunked, but the recent book by the Ramseys offer much intelligent discussion on Frank Scully.

Donald E. Keyhoe. Flying Saucers from Outer Space (1953). Still a good read and in fact a great piece of investigative journalism. Keyhoe was able to obtain unique information about the UFO mystery. His other books are also valuable. 

Edward Ruppelt. Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1956). By a former head of Project Blue Book--the Air Force's official UFO investigative body, this remains among the most important books ever written about UFOs. 

Richard Hall. The UFO Evidence, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (1964 and 2001). Indispensible collection of UFO sightings and analysis. 

Ivan T. Sanderson. Uninvited Visitors (1967). A brilliant and unique scientific analysis of UFOs.

Jacques Vallee Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers (1969). Very important work which helped open up the study of ancient folklore and its possible connections to UFO phenomena. 

Ivan T. Sanderson.  Invisible Residents (1970). Another classic by Sanderson, an early study of unidentified submersible objects (USOs). 

J. Allen Hynek. The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry (1972). Very important book presenting many UFO cases through the perspective of a professional scientist who had started as a debunker, but became persauded otherwise.

Jacques Vallee. The Invisible College: What a group of scientists has discovered about UFO influences on the human race (1975). Where Vallee first suggested that UFOs were a kind of `control system' on human consciousness. Brilliant out-of-the-box thinking. 

Coral and James Lorenzen. Encounters with UFO Occupants (1976). Frankly, all of their books are worthwhile. This one is an indispensible collection of abduction and encounter cases. They were way ahead of the curve.

Budd Hopkins. Missing Time (1981). Groundbreaking study on the abduction phenomenon, arguing not only that it's real, but much more common than previously thought.

Cynthia Hind. UFOs: African Encounters (1982). A rare early study of African UFO encounters.

Paul Dong. UFOs Over Modern China (1983). Sheds light on many fascinating UFO cases that became available following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Very important study.  

Budd Hopkins. Intruders (1987). Extended study of one family experiencing apparent alien abductions, with the likelihood that bloodlines are of great importance.

Whitley Strieber. Communion: A Novel (1987). Historically significant first-person abduction narrative. Also recommend Majestic: A Novel (1989). 

Timothy Good. Above Top Secret: The Worldwide UFO Cover-Up (1987). A classic, and the book that brought me into the UFO subject. Good's many other books are also worthwhile. 

Linda Moulton Howe. An Alien Harvest: Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms (1989). An early and important study of the animal mutilation mystery.

David Jacobs. Secret Life (1992). A groundbreaking analysis of the alien abduction experience. Based on many cases, Jacobs put together a minute-by-minute recreation of a "typical" abduction. 

Karla Turner. Into the Fringe: A True Story of Alien Abduction (1992). Gripping account of apparent abductions, both alien and military. 

Jacques Vallee. Forbidden Science (1993). Fascinating diaries of Vallee during the 1960s, giving a glimpse into the UFO controversies of that era. 

Linda Moulton Howe. Glimpses of Other Realities, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (1993 & 1998). Should be more widely read than it is. Contains riveting detail of many of LMH's fearless investigations. 

John E. Mack. Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens (1994). A profound investigation and analysis of the alien abduction phenomenon. 

Paul Hill. Unconventional Flying Objects: A Scientific Analysis (1995). Classic analysis by a NASA scientist of how flying saucers might function.

Don Berliner. UFO Briefing Document (1995). A superb collection of many of the best documented UFO cases. Reprinted as paperback in 2000. 

Stanton T. Friedman. Top Secret/Majic (1996). This is Stan Friedman's fundamental statement on the UFO cover-up. Includes his analysis of the MJ-12 documents and much more. 

Bob Pratt. UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil--Where Next? (1996). Not very well known, but important for its discussion of Brazilian UFO/alien cases involving injury and death. 

Kevin Randle. Conspiracy of Silence (1997). My favorite book by Randle, a good overview for its time of the UFO coverup and discussion of internal debates among researchers. 

Nick Redfern. A Covert Agenda: The British Government's UFO Top Secrets Exposed (1997). Many good books by Nick Redfern, but this has always been my favorite. Great material on the UK government's role in the UFO cover-up. 

Jerome Clark. The UFO Book. Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial (1997). A good resource for serious researchers, although becoming a bit out of date as I was published in the 1990s.

Jim Marrs. Alien Agenda: Investigating the Extraterrestrial Presence Among Us (1997). Prior to my own UFOs for the 21st Century Mind, this was the best easy-to-read overview of the UFO phenomenon. Still a great book.

Illobrand von Ludwiger. Best UFO Cases: Europe (1998). An excellent compendium of some of the best European UFO cases through the 20th century. 

Ingo Swann. Penetration: The Question of Extraterrestial and Human Telepathy (1998). Discusses Swan's remote viewing experiences of the Moon, and his encounters with the mysterious "Mr. Axelrod." Famously rare and expensive; I was lucky to be given Ingo's personal copy. I did write about this book in V2 of UFOs and the National Security State. 

Helmut Lammer. MILABS: Military Mind Control and Alien Abduction (1999). Not very well known but important early study on the military abduction phenomenon. 

Terry Hansen. The Missing Times: Media Complicity in the UFO Cover-Up (2000). Classic analysis of mainstream media's role in the UFO Cover-up by a recently deceased friend. 

Richard M. Dolan. UFOs and the National Security State, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, (2000 & 2009). The most thorough treatment so far of the UFO cover-up. 

Steven Greer. Disclosure: Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History (2001). An invaluable collection of testimony from many military and government insiders relating to UFOs. I consider this a very important book with generally very compelling statements. 

Ryan Wood. Majic Eyes Only: Earth's Encounters with Extraterrestrial Technology (2004). The best collection and analysis of alleged crash retrievals of UFOs. 

Bill Chalker. Hair of the Alien: DNA and Other Forensic Evidence of Alien Abductions (2005). Fascinating analysis of one of the most bizarre apparent encounters with "Others" ever discussed. 

Joseph P. Farrell. The SS Brotherhood of the Bell: Nasa's Nazis, JFK, And Majic-12 (2006). Research and analysis of the Nazi connection, among other things, to UFOs. 

Kathleen Marden and Stanton T. Friedman. Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience (2007). The definitive account of the most famous UFO abduction. 

Robert Hastings. UFOs and Nukes. Extraordinary Encounters at Nuclear Weapons Sites (2008). Important collection of accounts of UFO incursions over nuclear installations. 

Donald Schmitt and Tom Carey. Witness to Roswell (2009). Probably the best of the Roswell books, benefitiing from years of research by many investigators, and very well put together.

Michael Salla. Exposing U.S. Governmental Policies on Extraterrestrial Life (2009). Often filled with very good analyses of the probable US government attitude toward UFOs and ET. 

Richard M. Dolan & Bryce Zabel. A.D. After Disclosure (2010). Analysis of the end of UFO secrecy and the likely repercussions. 

Leslie Kean. UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record (2010). A well-researched and put-together collection of UFO accounts from highly credible sources. 

Scott and Suzanne Ramsey. The Aztec Incident: Recovery at Hart Canyon (2011). An important book, persuasively making a case for the long-dismissed claims of a UFO crash in Aztec, New Mexico in 1948.

Michael Swords (ed.). UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry (2012). Detailed analysis by different researchers of official documentation on UFOs from several nations. 

Richard M. Dolan. UFOs for the 21st Century Mind (2014). Up-to-date appraisal and analysis of the entire UFO phenomenon. 

Christopher O'Brien. Stalking the Herd: Unraveling the Cattle Mutilation Mystery (2014). The latest and best analysis of the animal mutilation mystery. 

Roger Leir. UFOs Do Not Exist: The Greatest Lie That Enveloped the World (2014), Postumously published, Dr. Roger Leir's best statement on the reality of alien implants and much more.