Synopses & Reviews
From Garrett M. Graff, New York Times bestselling author of Raven Rock, The Only Plane in the Sky, and Pulitzer Prize finalist for history Watergate, comes the first comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of our government's decades-long quest to solve one of humanity's greatest mysteries: Are we alone in the universe?
From the post-war Project Blue Book to the Pentagon's modern-day Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, bestselling author and historian Garrett M. Graff presents the first serious narrative history of humanity's hunt for alien life — including the military and CIA's secret, decades-long quest to study UFOs.
A thrilling story of science, the Cold War, Nazi research, atomic anxieties, secret spy planes, and the space race, UFO traces the real-life history of the U.S. government's hunt for "unidentified aerial phenomena" here on Earth, from Roswell to Rendlesham Forest, as well as the story of the small group of forward-thinking scientists — astronomers like J. Allen Hynek, Frank Drake, Carl Sagan, and Jill Tarter — who launched the search for extraterrestrial intelligence far from Earth. Drawing on original archival research, declassified documents, and interviews with senior intelligence and military officials, Graff's book traces the long history of our quest to understand one of the most profound and popular questions of all time: whether or not aliens exist.
Review
“A history of the decades long government involvement in reports of lights in the sky, odd flying shapes, and peculiar radar images. An entertaining tour through the world of flying saucers, aliens, and weird science.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“This probing report by journalist Graff (Watergate) delves into the "incidents, sightings, and reported encounters that changed" how people think about UFOs….It's a fascinating dive down the rabbit hole.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Author of the New York Times best-selling The Only Plane in the Sky, Graff moves from the Cold War to the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program to chronicle the U.S. government's hunt for life in space.” Library Journal
About the Author
Garrett M. Graff has spent nearly two decades covering politics, technology, and national security. The former editor of Politico and contributor to Wired and CNN, he's written for publications from Esquire to Rolling Stone to The New York Times, and today serves as the director of the cyber initiative at the Aspen Institute. Graff is the author of multiple books, including the FBI history The Threat Matrix, Raven Rock, about the government's Cold War Doomsday plans, and the New York Times bestsellers The Only Plane in the Sky and Watergate: A New History, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History.