UFOs and the National Security State: Chronology of a Coverup, 1941-1973

By: Richard M. Dolan

Narrated by: Andrew Baldwin

Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Richard Dolan's UFOs and the National Security State (Volume 1) has become a classic work of UFO history, a must for all students of this often confusing subject - or simply for those who want a deeper understanding of a key part of 20th-century history. This is the first volume of a two-part detailed chronological narrative of the national security dimensions of the UFO phenomenon from 1941 to the present. Working from hundreds of declassified records and other primary and secondary sources, Dolan centers his investigation on the American military and intelligence communities, demonstrating that they take UFOs seriously indeed.

Included in this volume are the activities of more than 50 military bases relating to UFOs, innumerable violations of sensitive airspace by unknown craft, and analyses of the Roswell controversy, the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel, and the Condon Committee Report. Dolan highlights the development of civilian anti-secrecy movements, which flourished in the 1950s and 1960s until the adoption of an official government policy and subsequent "closing of the door" during the Nixon administration.

©2002 Richard M. Dolan (P)2002 Red Wheel Weiser (Hampton Roads Publishing)

Comprehensive History of UFO

The stories and examples in this book represent Mr. Dolan’s time and research into this field. It’s the best guide and history of this subject I’ve ever listened to. What do these things mean for everyone? Friend or Foe? Unlike most books in this field, I left with more answers instead of more questions. Thanks Richard Dolan!

this is absolutely the definitive book on the subject

Years of my own research have led me to conclude that Richard Dolan is the definitive researcher in the UFO field, because of his historian perspective. And this book is clearly his Magnum Opus. Anyone interested in this subject must read this book first. This is a “red pill” sort of book, because it will leave no doubt in the reader’s mind that the US military and secret services, i.e. the components of the national security state, have been systematically lying on this subject for more than 70 years and continue to do so, with lies of both commission and omission.

Unfortunately, the narrator was unfamiliar with the subject matter, unfamiliar with the names and acronyms, unfamiliar with common English idioms and conventions of pronunciation, and even unfamiliar with hundreds of ordinary English vocabulary words. The rate of wrong pronunciation and other narration errors, such as errors in emphasis, exceeded one per page, making it somewhat distracting. Don’t give up! The content of the book is worth ignoring this shortcoming.

Quite good

What a researcher! I learned more about stories with which I was already familiar and I learned about many more that I'd never before heard. There's a second volume covering more recent years and I hope it comes out on Audible soon.

I didn't have a problem with the narrator like some have mentioned. Yes, he pronounces some words oddly but it's not a deal breaker. I had to change the speaking speed to 0.9 as he does speak a bit fast but that's not a problem either. It would've been a problem only if I couldn't adjust the speed.

GREAT

Good narrator good story good outline loaded with information packed solid with information from start to finish. Definitely want this one in your collection.

A thoroughly enlightening and entertaining book

This book was a fun and informative listen. Although some of the information was repeated throughout the book,there was a lot of new information presented. I am hoping that there will be a followup book. My only complaint is with the “Narrator”, although he seemed to be quite enthusiastic about the material which he was presenting, he read it at quite a quick pace, more of a “jog” through the material than a nice “stroll”, this caused me to rewind on several occasions to make sure of what he just said. And his mispronunciation of some historic names such as the former V.P. of the U.S.A.“SPYRO” instead of Spiro, or locations such as the lake/reservoir in New Jersey gave a minute to pause,and when he kept pronouncing N.I.C.A.P. By each letter throughout his narration until chapter seven, when he suddenly declared that from that point on he was going to pronounce it as “NYCAP” I wondered what took him so long,and why the change at that point. Other than those minor “nits” it was quite a good listen and I’d recommend this book to anyone with an interest in this subject.

Narrator constantly mispronounces common words.

The narrator has a good voice and does a good job overall but constantly mispronounces words.

One of the best UFO chronicles !

Very detailed with great narration. Many good background details that give context to some important UFO occurrences.

A great overview of the first 30 years of ufology

Dolan's two volumes, UFOs and the National Security State, are exhaustive and well researched. I'm happy to now have it in audiobook form. Baldwin's pronunciation of some names is cringe worthy, but his voice is enjoyable and worth the power through. If you're interested in the UFO topic, this is a great place to start.

Those who have power are afraid to lose it.

That’s the general gist of this book. Admittedly I grow tired of books that state case after case as anecdotal evidence supposing to bowl over the reader to conclude that there’s ETs on Earth. But with the sheer quantity of it all (and more that have gone unreported) it’s hard not to raise one’s eyebrow at this ongoing social and political phenomenon of UFOlogy.

Side note: the narrator needs to research the subject’s names a little better. Spiro Agnew is pronounced SPEE-ROW Agnew, not SPY-ROW. Next time he narrates a book he needs a little more preparation and a little less literary emotion.

Poor Narration

Where oh where does Audible find these narrators? Baldwin has a pleasant, well-modulated voice, but the positives end there. He doesn't so much speak the lines as sing them. Example: MILL-yuns of people report STRANGE objects that were SEEN throughout the country and seemed to DE-FY the standard rules of flight. (Chapter 2) This sing-song presentation continues throughout the book.

And the pronunciation: where to begin? YOW-man for yeoman, ob-fee-us-cated for obfuscated,
ve-HEE-mently for vehemently, proov-nance for provenance, SKIN-tillating for scintillating, and strangely, indeliably. (I have no idea what word he was going for here.) And so much more.

He sounds like a youngish man, and therefore did not live through the tenure of Secretary of State Dean Acheson, (which he renders as ACK-sun) Adlai Stevenson (AD-lee), Clare Boothe Luce, which he mysteriously conjures into Loo-SAY, and even the celebrated Chuck Yeager, whose name he mangles into YEE-ger. (You-Tube could help with all this.) Perhaps he would understand if we changed his name to Baldwini. He seems to have a shallow level of general knowledge, seemingly unaware of the Azores (Azoreeze), the Zuider-Zee River, (Zoo-i-der) Bogota so that it rhymes with pagoda, and even good old Shreveport LA, becomes Shrooveport. And so much more. Add to that his habit of pronouncing words containing the consonant blend "str" as "shtr" and we get hybrids such as shtrange, ec-shtreme,
ec-shtra-terresh-trial, and so on.

Much of the material in this book is compelling so I resisted the frequent urge to pack it in, but it was a struggle.