Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Atria Books (2016), Edition: First Edition, 272 pages
Description
"This real-life The X-Files and Close Encounters of the Third Kind tells the true story of a computer programmer who tracks paranormal events along a 3,000-mile stretch through the heart of America and is drawn deeper and deeper into a vast conspiracy. Like "Agent Mulder" of The X-Files, computer programmer and sheriff's deputy Zukowski is obsessed with tracking down UFO reports in Colorado. He would take the family with him on weekend trips to look for evidence of aliens. But this innocent hobby takes on a sinister urgency when Zukowski learns of mutilated livestock, and sees the bodies of dead horses and cattle--whose exsanguination is inexplicable by any known human or animal means. Along an expanse of land stretching across the southern borders of Utah, Colorado, and Kansas, Zukowski discovers multiple bizarre incidences of mutilations, and suddenly realizes that they cluster around the 37th Parallel or "UFO Highway." So begins an extraordinary and fascinating journey from El Paso and Rush, Colorado, to a mysterious space studies company and MUFON, from Roswell and Area 51 to the Pentagon and beyond; to underground secret military caverns and Indian sacred sites; beneath strange, unexplained lights in the sky and into corporations that obstruct and try to take over investigations. Inspiring and terrifying, this true story will keep you up at night, staring at the sky, and wondering if we really are alone ... and what could happen next"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Willie3
While very engaging and well written, no secrets revealed and no truths exposed. In fact the last page is heavily redacted.
Enjoyable reading but no payoff. Frankly nothing discussed that hasn't been written about in a hundred other ufo books.
Enjoyable reading but no payoff. Frankly nothing discussed that hasn't been written about in a hundred other ufo books.
LibraryThing member Veronica.Sparrow
This book is basically the story of the journey of Chuck Zukowski who while working as a computer programmer and sheriff's deputy "moonlighted" as a self-trained UFO investigator.
I found the book to be a fascinating read as I have never read an account of anyone who was so dedicated to finding out
The writing was detailed and I found it difficult to put the book down. I would love to read more about Chuck Zukowski and also would really like to read a book by Mr. Zukowski. He has obviously seen some odd things (along with his fellow investigator who happens to be his sister). Highly recommended to those who are interested in this subject.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
I found the book to be a fascinating read as I have never read an account of anyone who was so dedicated to finding out
Show More
what is going on while also having the logic required of being a computer programmer. I was impressed by the fact that he never assumed that every anomaly was automatically UFO related but would try to debunk before accepting anything as unexplained.The writing was detailed and I found it difficult to put the book down. I would love to read more about Chuck Zukowski and also would really like to read a book by Mr. Zukowski. He has obviously seen some odd things (along with his fellow investigator who happens to be his sister). Highly recommended to those who are interested in this subject.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sparemethecensor
I like books like this one, but I can't recommend it. There are a couple reasons it falls far short of its brethren:
1. There is no resolution. There is no theory advanced. There is no content, basically. The last page, in which we might see the climax of the story, is heavily redacted to the point
2. There is no synthesis. This is essentially the story of a single man going on UFO quests, told in short snippit chapters. The author adds quite literally nothing to the story, so I wondered why he was even there. (Note also that another main player, according to the footnote, was never even interviewed for this book. No explanation for this is given, yet thoughts are attributed to this un-interviewed person. That is questionable at best and unethical at worst.)
3. Because this is the story of one man, everything that man says, does, and believes is taken at face value. Again, the reason that a journalist writes a book like this is to add that synthesis or content beyond what we could get. I could read any number of books written by UFO watchers themselves and get the same. There is no added value here.
4. It seems that #3 is because the author didn't bother to do any research. This is obvious in a couple of places, including his descriptions of the "Anasazi" -- an outdated and unwanted term, first of all -- and complete lack of knowledge about the Native populations of the US Southwest. In addition, the author never questions the obvious sampling bias inherent in a men from Nevada and Colorado predominantly seeing alien activity in that region of the country. This is never addressed. How are we to believe that the 37th parallel is real -- because the map does seem to indicate something could be happening -- if obvious threats to validity are never even considered?
Skip it. Read something better.
1. There is no resolution. There is no theory advanced. There is no content, basically. The last page, in which we might see the climax of the story, is heavily redacted to the point
Show More
that it is either useless or obviously fake. 2. There is no synthesis. This is essentially the story of a single man going on UFO quests, told in short snippit chapters. The author adds quite literally nothing to the story, so I wondered why he was even there. (Note also that another main player, according to the footnote, was never even interviewed for this book. No explanation for this is given, yet thoughts are attributed to this un-interviewed person. That is questionable at best and unethical at worst.)
3. Because this is the story of one man, everything that man says, does, and believes is taken at face value. Again, the reason that a journalist writes a book like this is to add that synthesis or content beyond what we could get. I could read any number of books written by UFO watchers themselves and get the same. There is no added value here.
4. It seems that #3 is because the author didn't bother to do any research. This is obvious in a couple of places, including his descriptions of the "Anasazi" -- an outdated and unwanted term, first of all -- and complete lack of knowledge about the Native populations of the US Southwest. In addition, the author never questions the obvious sampling bias inherent in a men from Nevada and Colorado predominantly seeing alien activity in that region of the country. This is never addressed. How are we to believe that the 37th parallel is real -- because the map does seem to indicate something could be happening -- if obvious threats to validity are never even considered?
Skip it. Read something better.
Show Less
LibraryThing member wjohnston
Ultimately a disappointing read for me. I've never read Mezrich before, although I'm aware of some of his work. The subject of this one appealed to the X-Files fan in me, but there's no substance to it. The whole premise of a 'UFO Highway' isn't even addressed until the very end, and there's no
Show More
effort made to examine whether there's truth to it. I think there's an interesting story in here, but this book doesn't deliver it. Show Less
LibraryThing member drmaf
Not sure whether to take this book seriously or treat it as some kind of joke. It comes across as a pseudo-serious account of UFO sighting, animal mutilations, but the whole thing is written in such a overly dramatic fashion it almost reads like fiction. The ridiculously redacted last page is the
Show More
final straw. Show Less
LibraryThing member knightlight777
I've read a number of Mezrich's books and they all follow the same general flow. He takes a trendy topic with a supposedly nonfiction characters and spins a tale of wonder and intrigue. Well almost, here we have him taking on the lore of UFO-ology and runs with it.
The main character is a jack of
The main character is a jack of
Show More
all trades talker type who becomes a reserve police officer, but his hobby and/or life passion is investigating UFO incidents mainly from the distant past such as Roswell. He seems to have more going on with cattle mutilations however and the book constantly comes back to these. Nothing really to see here folks as most of the book is a snoozer. He leaves us with his great discovery which we won't spoil, but read the title. And it is left hanging there as we are suspecting secret government Ops or maybe a mysterious billionaire with his own space program and agenda. Stay tuned. Show Less
LibraryThing member PDCRead
Chuck Zukowski has been fascinated by UFO’s for years. A computer programmer and geek, he has managed to persuade his family to accompany him on the trips out to Colorado visiting the locations of sightings and reports. However, things are about to take a disturbing turn as he begins to read
What starts out as a weekend hobby though rapidly becomes an obsession that takes up all his free time and ever increasing amounts of his bank balance as he heads to locations across Utah, Colorado and Kansas seeking details and meeting the folks that have seen these strange lights and experienced strange things. The more he finds out the stranger things become. He starts working with the Mutual UFO Network, an organisation that his sister, Debbie, also is associated with and discovers that all suspicious sightings are reported to the Bigelow Aerospace Company, a mysterious organisation founded by Robert Bigelow to begin the private exploration of space, but who seem to have feelers into other pies now. His journey into the unknown takes us to sacred Indian sites, into forests seeking the source of strange lights in the sky, the infamous Roswell and to the very edge of Area 51.
There are moments of genuine bafflement as to what is going on; is it just government programmes or something of greater significance. He is trailed by SUVs with tinted windows and federal plates with the sinister ‘men in black’ guys who do their best to put him off continuing investigating the unexplained… I do like to read the odd conspiracy theory book, sometimes just for the entertainment factor. Mezrich thankfully lifts what could be a dull story about something that you really cannot get a handle on, to something quite readable and quite dramatic at times. Fairly sure there isn’t visitors from elsewhere, but there is definitely something happening with government heavies all over these reports and sightings.
Show More
about reports of horses and cattle that have been mutilated in very strange and inexplicable circumstances. Seeing the deceased animals on a ranch with a terrified owner adds a dramatic edge to the macabre scene.What starts out as a weekend hobby though rapidly becomes an obsession that takes up all his free time and ever increasing amounts of his bank balance as he heads to locations across Utah, Colorado and Kansas seeking details and meeting the folks that have seen these strange lights and experienced strange things. The more he finds out the stranger things become. He starts working with the Mutual UFO Network, an organisation that his sister, Debbie, also is associated with and discovers that all suspicious sightings are reported to the Bigelow Aerospace Company, a mysterious organisation founded by Robert Bigelow to begin the private exploration of space, but who seem to have feelers into other pies now. His journey into the unknown takes us to sacred Indian sites, into forests seeking the source of strange lights in the sky, the infamous Roswell and to the very edge of Area 51.
There are moments of genuine bafflement as to what is going on; is it just government programmes or something of greater significance. He is trailed by SUVs with tinted windows and federal plates with the sinister ‘men in black’ guys who do their best to put him off continuing investigating the unexplained… I do like to read the odd conspiracy theory book, sometimes just for the entertainment factor. Mezrich thankfully lifts what could be a dull story about something that you really cannot get a handle on, to something quite readable and quite dramatic at times. Fairly sure there isn’t visitors from elsewhere, but there is definitely something happening with government heavies all over these reports and sightings.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
272 p.; 6 inches
ISBN
9781501135521