Told in chronological order, this fascinating book documents fifty years of UFO history since the Roswell incident in New Mexico in 1947. Jenny Randles, one of the world's most respected UFOlogists, has compiled a sparkling collection of both classic and lesser known events from UFO history. Randles begins her compendium with a recap of where modern UFO history began--the June 24, 1947 UFO sighting by American pilot Kenneth Arnold. From there, she expands to the Roswell crash two weeks later.

Randles relates incredible but true stories, such as the event over Michigan in 1953 when a jet closed in on a UFO. Radar showed the two blips coming together and then suddenly, both blips disappeared from the radar screen. Where did the jet go? Where did the UFO go? Randles asks intriguing questions which have no answers.

In contrast with true stories are the alien hoaxes. Randles recalls the infamous hoax of Germany's miniature alien. She also probes cases such as the 1948 burned alien corpse which later proved to be a case of misidentification rather than fraud.

Classic icons such as George Adamski gained notoriety in 1954 with his alleged contact with aliens and his remarkably clear photographs of UFOs. Randles discusses the implications of Antonio Villas Boas, the first known man seduced by an alien woman. The world's fascination with aliens surfaced in the first UFO movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still, which appeared in 1951. In 1959, NASA selected its first crew of astronauts thus launching the American space program.

Another strange but true account involves the Templeton family in May 1964 when they photographed their daughter in a field of flowers. Though the family sensed an electric charge in the air that day in the field, they believed they were alone until the photographs were developed. In one of the photographs, a spaceman in white is standing behind the young girl. Randles does a superb job relating these phenomenal stories.

Readers will enjoy the liberal use of glossy photographs including the 1973 photograph of an alleged alien taken by an Alabama chief of police. A 1974 photograph of a UFO filmed over France clearly shows four beams of light emanating from the underside of the UFO. The UFO Incident made for American television in 1975 portrayed the Betty and Barney Hill abduction case.