"Most Reasonable Book on UFO's"
There is sooo much garbage out there on the topic of UFO's, written by nutty ufologists or by arrogant debunkers. It was nice to get a book that looked at the subject from a logical, reasonable perspective. Credible witnesses presented with thoughtful analysis by the author, and no nutty claims one way or the other.
I really enjoyed the account of the Iranian Air Force pilot who played cat and mouse with a UFO back in the 70's (Iran was a close friend of the US back then). And I especially enjoyed the thoughtful analysis of our government's position on UFO's by two respected university political science professors.
Keep your mind open. Listen, like a juror would listen to testimony. You make the call. This is a book for peoplke who like to think through things, not make knee-jerk reactions based upon a mind that is already made up.
"Most thoroughly Footnoted Book I've ever read"
WARNING: If you are a deeply entrenched Neo-Conservative,you will not like this book. Ms Jacobsen is a liberal academic who does not hide her distain for the Atomic Energy Commission, General Curtis LeMay, or the disinformation spun by the CIA and USAF to hide their "blackest" projects. As a college educated, liberal thinker myself, I found Ms. Jacobsen's passion (both in writing and reading this book) to be delightful! I actually bought the hardcover book because I wanted to see if she verified her information with her sources in footnotes. There are 384 footnotes in the book. I personally only randomly checked out 8 of them, but they were accurate. This book covers many topics from the early Cold War era, some of which are only remotely connected with Area 51.
Her passionate distain for those leaders who mislead and likely endangered many US citizens in the early days of the Cold War comes shining through in her reading. (-:
I thought the theory that she presents on what really happened at Roswell was a bit far-fetched. But she is clear that this is the story of one man who was a source for her. Sometimes you have to be willing to read things like that account and give it some thought. That is the price of having an open mind. Very enjoyable audio book!
"Sheds insight to today's politics"
The book is a "sampler" of these three great documents. The book gives insight into the "political personalities" that were involved with them, and the changing dynamics of these men's relationships. It's makes me understand that the kind of antagonism that we see in today's politics is as American as apple pie. Lots of insight on Paine, Jefferson, Adams, Monroe, and Hamilton. A little on Franklin and Jay. Probably not the book for someone with a Masters in American Political History, but for an average reader interested in the subject, it's well worth the money.