How UFOs Conquered the World

David Clarke. How UFOs Conquered the World (London: Aurum Press, 2015)

In How UFOs Conquered the World, David Clarke provides a clear-headed, even-handed, and critical overview of every major motif associated with the flying saucer phenomenon.

Foo fighters, crashed spacecraft, alien abduction—you name it, Clarke deconstructs it, revealing that, in most cases, the truth is rather more mundane than self-identified ufologists would have us believe.

A respected journalist and academic who has spent the best part of a lifetime elbow deep in UFO folklore, Clarke displays a keen attention to detail often lacking in similar studies. He is careful to put the opinions of sceptics and believers in context, while his in-depth knowledge of the aerospace and defence bureaucracy in the United Kingdom is ultimately both enlightening and impressive.

It is worth noting, however, that Clarke displays a pronounced Anglo-centrism. This is not necessarily a problem in and of itself, but I would like to have read a bit more about the United States Air Force’s Project Blue Book, which strikes me as a fascinating chapter in the history of strange things in the sky.

All in all, though, Clarke has written a very good book, one which I would recommend to anybody with a passing interest in the subject—even those X-Files enthusiasts who “want to believe.”

Image by Kecko