Hall Richard H. The UFO Evidence, Volume II. A Thirty-Year Report

Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2000. — 681 p. — ISBN 978-0-8108-3881-9.The reality of UFOs (down to very specific types and details) is well grounded in both observational and physical evidence. On the basis of recurring reports over many decades, UFOs are a real and unexplained phenomenon. Yet, the semantic problems and emotionally charged controversy involved in discussing UFOs often confuse the central issues.
The acronym "UFO" usually is taken to mean extraterrestrial spaceships. In other words, the public has tacitly converted UFOs to
IFOs-Identified Flying Objects, meaning craft visiting us from some other civilization in space. This popular belief is debunked by scientists, typically without any study, as "impossible." Various reasons are cited for why "UFOs can't be spaceships because... " Then the phenomena reported by credible witnesses worldwide are written off as somehow being illusions or delusions or both.
This volume presents a Natural History of UFOs. UFOs are something sighted in nature, sometimes photographed or tracked by scientific instruments, sometimes leaving traces of their presence. These specimens come and go, flying through the air. What kind of "birds" are they? Where do they "nest"? What have we learned about their appearance, their types, and behavior patterns?
Actually, we have learned a lot-descriptively-about these "birds" and their "habits." The traces they leave behind include a variety of physical evidence. They do appear to be a new "species," not merely misidentifications of known species. Now, the appropriate segments of society need to support scientific investigation, including formulation and testing of hypotheses about their origins and their significance in the natural world. A vital element of this program must be systematic data gathering and analysis, something for which adequate funding has seldom been available.
As you read the following compelling human testimony, you may be surprised by the degree to which human institutions apparently have let us down, how all branches and levels of government, the scientific enterprise, and major news media have (perhaps all too "humanly") failed to come to grips with and honestly study the UFO phenomenon. The military establishment overall, ironically, has been the most forthright in confronting the facts, but it has received little support from civilian agencies.
There is no need to invoke some convoluted conspiracy to account for these failures, as some zealots do. The unfolding of the UFO phenomenon clearly has been "mind-blowing," especially to those who have experienced it personally, literally incredible. For those charged with interpreting the reports for society, the potential implications unparalleled in human history-border on the indigestible. If UFOs are what they appear to be, they could make the Copernican revolution look like a Sunday picnic. And the fate of unwelcome "messengers," unfortunately, often is unpleasant.
The most victimized segment of the public in this matter is those unfortunate human beings who have been on the "front line" of experiencing UFO close encounters. They have been shocked, dismayed, sometimes badly frightened by what they have seen. Their lives often have been changed forever. This is especially true of socalled UFO abduction victims, but also of hundreds of individuals who have experienced intrusive and frightening close encounters in their vehicles.
Recognizing that it is important to alert authorities and fellow human beings to what they have experienced, UFO witnesses have made honest attempts to be "messengers," only to be greeted with laughter and ridicule in far too many cases. Their lives often have been disrupted, uprooted, sometimes destroyed. They deserve far better; at the very least they deserve to be heard. On one level, this report seeks a fair hearing for them. Ridicule has never been part of the scientific method.
This report is totally scientific in spirit, returning to the concept of "naturalistic" observational science that has served us well in the past.
Credibly reported human testimony is presented that-so far-has been rejected as literally unbelievable by key opinion makers who shape the beliefs of society.
UFOs are not a matter of faith, but of facts, evidence, and logic.
How unscientific individuals filter the data through their preexisting world views and reach unfounded conclusions is completely beside the point. It is essential to apply the best scientific resources in seeking valid answers.
An array of data is presented that strongly demonstrates a need for serious scientific attention to UFOs. One of the maxims of science is that "facts precede theory." Any given theory must be adjusted to accommodate the facts, not vice versa. The factual data presented here establish a surprisingly coherent and consistent picture of UFOs, demonstrating them to be a physically real natural phenomenon (in the literal sense). Examination of those data shows that this phenomenon, whatever it is, has potentially sweeping implications for humankind.Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Master Chronology
Overview and Guide to Other Sections
Military Witnesses
Pilot and Aircrew Sightings
Scientists and Technicians
Police Officers
Professionals and Citizens
Special Evidence
Sighting Waves and Concentrations
Structure, Lights, and Colors
Motions and Flight Patterns
The UFO Profile
Alien-Human Encounters
The Abduction Phenomenon
Roswell and Other Crash Retrievals
Historical Developments
Implications and Issues
Bibliography
Index
About the Author