No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the Publisher and the copyright owner. Illustration on page 21 by Keith Scaife. Models and photographs on pages 19B, 22, 93B, by Martin Bower. These compositions are artists impressions based on witnesses reports. Unidentified Flying Objects are experienced by people all over the world and the World Atlas of UFO s shows this continent by continent.
It becomes apparent that UFO reporting is confined to those areas that have UFO investigators to whom these events can be reported. Those of us involved in the study of this phenomenon are convinced that if there were more people to whom sightings could be reported, then more cases deserving of serious study would reach UFO researchers. During my twenty years at MUFON I have determined at least two important things: first, that the UFO subject is serious and deserves to be treated with greater respect by scientists, world governments and the public than it presently is; second, that this subject is bringing people together across the world, and in a way that brings out their best talents.
Thousands of people are donating hundreds of hours per year without fmancial compensation to helping those who do not seem to understand their own experiences or who may be unwilling victims of traumatic experiences. This book is part of that process.
U nidentified Flying Objects are a subject which is much misunderstood: partly because of poor media attention, partly because of inadequate support from the scientific community and partly because of the absurd claims of cult followers who attach themselves to the subject.
The end result is that authoritative data rarely gets to the general public and the UFO phenomenon as a whole attracts ridicule. Some UFO reports arc humorous and appear to be relatively unimportant while a great many have serious, often frightening implications for individual people and for the world as a whole.
