As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(2)
4-6
Fleming deftly explores the enigmatic history of UFOs, extraterrestrials, and conspiracy theories related to the infamous events during the summer of 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico. Brisk chapters (with such evocative headings as "What's That in the Sky?" and "Could It Really Be a Flying Saucer?") cogently weave together how the now-ubiquitous story of a UFO crash-landing in the desert came to be. Yes, mysterious debris really was discovered by a sheep rancher near Roswell; however, a growing post-WWII fear of nuclear war combined with a highly publicized "flying saucer" sighting near Mount Rainier caught the public's imagination, spiraling into a convoluted tale of secret alien autopsies and interplanetary spacecraft. With four distinct parts spanning the last seventy years, Fleming documents the willingness of many well-known ufologists to accept unconfirmed evidence and hearsay ("saucer logic") as truth in the face of consistent discreditation. Notably, readers are provided with several "basic principles of critical thinking" to evaluate such extraordinary claims, including the Sagan Standard, burden of proof, and Occam's razor. A variety of visuals, including declassified government documents, photographs, and original illustrations, are effectively incorporated throughout. Fleming concludes with a brief overview of current-day perspectives on UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), including the U.S. government's public acknowledgment of documented sightings. Back matter includes an author's note, bibliography, source notes, and an index.
Reviewer: Patrick Gall
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2022