I’ve been fascinated by UFOs since I was a kid, but it wasn’t until I met a Martian in 2016 that I started writing about them. To be more specific, I stumbled across a bizarre 1926 article about a man in telepathic communication with a Martian named Oomaruru. I then delved deeper into the beliefs about intelligent Martians at that time. It led to my writing The Big Book of Mars, which touched on the UFO phenomena in the 1940s and ‘50s. But knowing there was so much more to explore, I began writing We Are Not Alone, which is now my 8th book.
I wrote
We Are Not Alone: The Extraordinary History of UFOs and Aliens Invading Our Hopes, Fears, and Fantasies
Before Leslie Kean co-authored the 2017 New York Times article that brought the Pentagon’s secret UFO research program to the public and shared videos of unidentified aerial phenomena from Navy pilots, she wrote this book.
In it, you’ll find written accounts of UFO experiences from the type of people described in the book’s title. In other words, credible people worth listening to. I had the pleasure of interviewing Kean for my book, enabling me to share the behind-the-scenes of her remarkable UFO-based journalism.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Impeccably researched, this riveting journalistic investigation separates fact from fiction, and documents the existence of—and government reactions to—actual UFOs.
“A treasure trove of insightful and eye-opening information.”—Michio Kaku, PH.D., bestselling author of Physics of the Future
Leslie Kean, a veteran investigative reporter who has spent the past ten years studying the still-unexplained UFO phenomenon, reviewed hundreds of government documents, aviation reports, radar data, and case studies with corroborating physical evidence. She interviewed dozens of high-level officials and aviation witnesses from around the world. Among them, five Air Force generals and a host of high-level sources—including…
Fuller’s book captures the story of Betty and Barney Hill, who became the first nationally covered case of an alien abduction.
The book tells their tale and shares the hypnosis sessions they underwent to recall the many bizarre details of their experience. Fuller’s interviews with the Hills, along with the documented transcripts, make for a remarkable read.
TWO LOST HOURS ABOARD A UFO—THE ABDUCTION OF BETTY AND BARNEY HILL • One of the most extraordinary UFO tales of our time—a thrilling, otherworldly, and wildly entertaining adventure that enraptured America and stands as the quintessential extraterrestrial encounter
"True believers will see this as further evidence of the reality of UFOs" —The New York Times
On a summer night in 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving home through New Hampshire when a bright object appeared in the sky and began following them. When the couple finally pulled over to get a better look, the object vanished before their…
This was the first 1950s “contactee” book I read while researching my book. And it’s a fun one.
Contactees were a group of people in the fifties and sixties claiming to have been in contact with aliens—usually Venusians. Fry gives his account of stumbling upon a flying saucer in New Mexico in 1950 and flying to New York and back in 30 minutes. He flew alone, guided remotely from an alien far above.
In his conversations with the extraterrestrial being, he learned that they were visiting our planet to warn us about the dangers of the atomic age and the possible destruction of earth. It’s entertaining, and regardless of your beliefs, the alien makes a fair point.
Dr. Daniel Fry, an engineer at White Sands Proving Ground near Las Cruces, New Mexico, is whisked away on a 8,000 mile UFO ride from White Sands to New York City and back. Thus begins his instruction by the extraterrestrial A-lan who wants everyone in this world to understand the truth about our existence and how we can spiritually profit from the beneficence of extraterrestrial contact.
David Halperin is a Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. And an ex-teenage ufologist.
I spoke with him during my research for my book about possible Biblical references to UFOs and aliens. He offers a scholarly perspective on the subject, which you can read much more about in Intimate Alien. The book also follows his personal journey through the subject matter, which began in his youth, and offers fascinating thoughts and insights on this truly unusual phenomenon.
A voyage of exploration to the outer reaches of our inner lives.
UFOs are a myth, says David J. Halperin-but myths are real. The power and fascination of the UFO has nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. It's about us, our longings and terrors, and especially the greatest terror of all: the end of our existence. This is a book about UFOs that goes beyond believing in them or debunking them and to a fresh understanding of what they tell us about ourselves as individuals, as a culture, and as a species.
George Adamski was another contactee, like Daniel W. Fry. Adamski, however, was perhaps the most vocal of them all.
He’s the author of several books that recount his meetings with Venusians and other beings from the solar system, but this is my favorite. After all, in this book he gets to fly in several spaceships and describes them all, along with his learnings throughout his journeys. Enjoy the ride.
After decades of cover-ups and denials, in a June 2021 report, the US government finally admitted what many people already knew: yes, UFOs are real, and no, we don’t know what (or who) they are. Writer and historian Marc Hartzman separates fact from fiction and provides a comprehensive tour through the skies, including: UFO sightings, from the famous to the obscure; alien abductions, including the Betty and Barney Hill abduction and the Pascagoula abduction; ancient aliens, from Biblical astronauts to the alien architects behind the pyramids; scientific evidence, including the “Wow!” radio signal and the interstellar ‘Oumuamua object; cover-ups and conspiracies, including the Roswell Incident and Area 51; governmental and military findings, from Project Blue Book to reports of UFOs at nuclear weapons sites.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
