Watch the Skies!

by Curtis Peebles and PEEBLES CURTIS

Book Overview

It's not your typical UFO book, though it is full of contactees, conspiracy plots, and cattle mutilations. With an in-depth, although skeptical scrutiny of the UFO phenomenon, Peebles doesn't address... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425151174
• ISBN13: 9780425151174
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Well documented history of the UFO in America

This book is a very well written history of the UFO in American society. Not only does it document the history of the UFO subculture itself, it also documents the relationship of that subculture with the broader American community. The UFO idea at various times commanded the attention of the military, intelligence, scientific, political, and entertainment complexes of the United States. All the famous and not so famous personalities which shaped this subculture over the decades are present - Palmer, Keyhoe, Adamski, Hynek, MacDonald, and others. Of course, the various important sightings are all there - the 1947 "classics" (no, not Roswell), the "invasion" of Washington, the Hill "adduction", etc. Author Peebles makes it clear from the start that he is skeptical of the reality of UFOs. Some might be put off by this. But this is a book about the development of the phenomenon itself. The objective reality of any sighting is secondary here. Only the effect on the course of the UFO movement is important. The book is well documented. And I encourage any reader to skim the notes at the back. There are any number of interesting nuggets there. The only downside to the book is that it is somewhat dated. Being published in 1994 the developments of the last 15 years are not included. With that caveat, I cannot recommend this book, whether to skeptic or believer, highly enough.

The best book on UFOs

Forgive me for being brief, but if you have only one book on UFOs, this should be it. A through examination of the history of UFOs.

One of the Best Books by a UFO "Skeptic"

"Watch the Skies" is simply one of the best books by a UFO skeptic that I've read. Unlike debunkers such as Philip Klass and Robert Sheaffer, who unnecessarily ridicule witnesses and often ignore evidence which contradicts their "explanations" (which, of course, is a failing of many "believers" as well) Peebles is fair to both sides. What makes this book especially appealing, to believer and skeptic alike, is that it is one of the few "historical" works on UFOs - it treats UFOs as a historical phenomenon and not simply a random series of sightings and photographs. The only other book to do this, to my knowledge, is David Jacob's "The UFO Controversy in America" which was published a quarter-century ago. My only complaint with this book is that Peebles' "explanations" for most UFO sightings lack depth and often are of the "armchair investigator" variety. Anyone who has read a great deal about the sightings he describes will find plenty to argue with. However, as a synopsis of the skeptic's viewpoint (that all UFO sightings can be explained as weather balloons, birds, mirages, stars, ball lightning, and, failing all else, hoaxes), this book is as about as good as it gets. Recommended.

Excellently Rounded Explanation of UFO Phenomena

Peebles is one of the few UFO authors who gives and suggests scientific and anecdotal explanations to the major events in the UFO world that have infiltrated into pop culture and the UFO religion as a whole. This is the only book that gives the full explanation and circumstances surrounding many famous UFO events, not just the part or version of the whole story that supports the suggestion that alien spacecraft and beings are among us. Although not written using strict scientific method, Peebles' book nonetheless debunks many popular UFO stories by merely providing information related to those events that always seems to be forgotten by many hardcore UFO followers. An excellent and thought-provoking read, also very well resarched and reasoned.

The truth is out there, but it's not what you think

Peebles' book is a refreshing alternative to the fevered productions of the UFO industry. He brings historical research and a healthy skepticism to a field overgrown with mass-market pop-culture faith and credulity. His "rational" explanations are sometimes pat and unconvincing, or he doesn't offer any. But of course this book will never sell as well as the alienist popular media, because the alien myth is so entertaining and for some, religiously fulfilling. As Peeble amply documents, belief in the alien origins of UFOs is a matter of faith, and a product of the human hunger for transcendence.