Mirage Men
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs: The Weird Truth Behind UFOs for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Written in a lively, 'Can you believe this stuff actually happened?' style, the book is an absolute must-read for believers and skeptics alike. --Booklist
Pilkington leads us into a hall of mirrors where the shadowy intelligence officers may be the deluded fantasists, and the craziest ufologists may be the ones guarding the biggest secrets. As the rug of reality is pulled repeatedly from under our feet, one thing becomes clear: the standard narrative, in which governments and the military are concealing the existence of extraterrestrials, is the opposite of the truth. Mirage Men turns the baffling world of UFOs and their investigators into a master key for decoding the twentieth century s dreams and nightmares. --Mike Jay, author of The Atmosphere of Heaven
Totally absorbing - I couldn't put it down. Full of fascinating stuff I'd never heard before and beautifully written into the bargain, it reads like a thriller, or maybe a really good ghost story. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know. --Andrew Smith, author of Moon Dust
A good read. -- Total Sci-Fi
Informative as well as hugely entertaining.--The Times
Fascinating.--Choice
Great credit to Pilkington. --Daily Mail
Totally absorbing - I couldn't put it down. Full of fascinating stuff I'd never heard before and beautifully written into the bargain, it reads like a thriller, or maybe a really good ghost story. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know. --Andrew Smith, author of Moon Dust
Pilkington leads us into a hall of mirrors where the shadowy intelligence officers may be the deluded fantasists, and the craziest ufologists may be the ones guarding the biggest secrets. As the rug of reality is pulled repeatedly from under our feet, one thing becomes clear: the standard narrative, in which governments and the military are concealing the existence of extraterrestrials, is the opposite of the truth. Mirage Men turns the baffling world of UFOs and their investigators into a master key for decoding the twentieth century s dreams and nightmares. --Mike Jay, author of The Atmosphere of Heaven
Totally absorbing - I couldn't put it down. Full of fascinating stuff I'd never heard before and beautifully written into the bargain, it reads like a thriller, or maybe a really good ghost story. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know. --Andrew Smith, author of Moon Dust
A good read. -- Total Sci-Fi
Informative as well as hugely entertaining.--The Times
Fascinating.--Choice
Great credit to Pilkington. --Daily Mail
Totally absorbing - I couldn't put it down. Full of fascinating stuff I'd never heard before and beautifully written into the bargain, it reads like a thriller, or maybe a really good ghost story. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know. --Andrew Smith, author of Moon Dust
Product Description
Seeking the truth about UFOs in America, Mark Pilkington and John Lundberg uncover a 60 year-old story stranger than any conspiracy thriller. Through the fascinating account of their quest Mark Pilkington reveals the long history of UFOria and its parallels in little known tales from the murky worlds of espionage, psychological warfare and advanced military technology. Along the way he discovers that the truth about flying saucers is stranger and more complex than either the ufologists or debunkers would have us believe. As he crossed the US meeting intelligence agents, disinformation specialists and UFO hunters Pilkington was confronted with a dizzying array of ever more outrageous claims and counter claims. As a result he began to suspect that, instead of covering up stories of crashed flying saucers, alien contacts and secret underground bases, the US intelligence agencies had actually been promoting them all along. Meanwhile he has to deal with his own uncertainties, the suspicions of the UFO community and a partner who is starting to believe that conspiracy theorists might be right after all. With a fresh, funny and objective approach, Pilkington is the ideal guide to steer us through these strange territories, where nothing is quite as it seems and reality is just a matter of managing perceptions.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although I've long been interested in strange goings-on, the whole subject of UFOs has never really piqued my interest - it's all so...confusing. Then I read this and after about 20 pages could see what all the fuss is about; the difference between this and other such writings on the subject is that this is wonderfully lucid and intersperses the author's own involvement in the world of UFOlogy with a terrific history of the whole history of UFO encounters and the US Govt's role in them (or not!). Unlike a lot of writers about UFO/conspiracy theories in general, Pilkington doesn't come across as a gullible nutter - the odd occasions when he realises he might be getting "in too deep" are both reassuring and hilarious. Any subject can be compelling if it's approached with genuine enthusiasm, inquisitiveness and a decent amount of research, and Pilkington has all of these in spades. He's read all those nutty books so you don't have to.
Apart from the historical aspect, the story of his and his film-making partner John Lundberg's week at a UFO conference is genuinely gripping, as much as a good detective/spy novel, and he scores some real coups getting to spend considerable time with various bizarre, shadowy figures and major players. You also get a really good idea of why people devote their whole lives to chasing UFOs and the people who may or may not be piloting them.
With all the disinformation and paranoia surrounding it, this whole UFO thing may be complex and downright baffling at times, but Pilkington makes for a charming, enthusiastic and clear-headed guide.
But then I would say that; I work for the CIA. (Only joking.)
Apart from the historical aspect, the story of his and his film-making partner John Lundberg's week at a UFO conference is genuinely gripping, as much as a good detective/spy novel, and he scores some real coups getting to spend considerable time with various bizarre, shadowy figures and major players. You also get a really good idea of why people devote their whole lives to chasing UFOs and the people who may or may not be piloting them.
With all the disinformation and paranoia surrounding it, this whole UFO thing may be complex and downright baffling at times, but Pilkington makes for a charming, enthusiastic and clear-headed guide.
But then I would say that; I work for the CIA. (Only joking.)
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I lost interest in the UFO scene many years ago. The crazy theories were becoming the norm, logic had left the building. Along comes Mark Pilkington's 'Mirage Men', a book that has blown a hole through the disinformation and stitched together a coherent analysis of UFO history that makes sense. incredibly dense in parts but never overwhelming (Okay I did put the book down now and them to exclaim WOW!!!!) the book at times reminded me of Hunter S Thompson's writings (but without the drug use and a stable mind).
I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in UFO's. A very, very important book that really entertains and actually does answer some important questions.
Brilliant.
I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in UFO's. A very, very important book that really entertains and actually does answer some important questions.
Brilliant.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book a while ago and had it sitting on my shelf while I worked through some other books on my reading list (none of which I would I have given a 5 star review for). If I had realised what a fantastic read it was going to be I would have bumped it straight up the reading list.
This isn't just a good book about the genuinely mysterious subject of unexplained things seen in the sky, it's actually a really funny and gripping read, at times I wasn't sure if I was reading a book about UFO's or some sort of fictional spy thriller, except that Mark and John's trip to the US to attend a UFO conference and also meet the infamous government agent Rick Doty - is no piece of fiction.
Mark manages to navigate the difficult path between open mindedness and scepticism better than any other author I have ever read on this subject matter.
If you are interested in UFO's for any reason, and regardless of which side of the sceptical divide that you currently sit on - this book is a *must read*.
I don't know whether the theories laid out in Mirage Men about the extent of the intelligence community involvement in the UFO phenomena is close to truth or not but for those of us that don't feel comfortable with dismissing the subject, this is a welcome addition to the debate.
Make no mistake, this is not a debunking exercise - the heart of this mystery is as elusive and unexplained as ever but it does bring the debate back to a more rational place.
Well done Mark Pilkington, another well deserved 5 stars for you.
This isn't just a good book about the genuinely mysterious subject of unexplained things seen in the sky, it's actually a really funny and gripping read, at times I wasn't sure if I was reading a book about UFO's or some sort of fictional spy thriller, except that Mark and John's trip to the US to attend a UFO conference and also meet the infamous government agent Rick Doty - is no piece of fiction.
Mark manages to navigate the difficult path between open mindedness and scepticism better than any other author I have ever read on this subject matter.
If you are interested in UFO's for any reason, and regardless of which side of the sceptical divide that you currently sit on - this book is a *must read*.
I don't know whether the theories laid out in Mirage Men about the extent of the intelligence community involvement in the UFO phenomena is close to truth or not but for those of us that don't feel comfortable with dismissing the subject, this is a welcome addition to the debate.
Make no mistake, this is not a debunking exercise - the heart of this mystery is as elusive and unexplained as ever but it does bring the debate back to a more rational place.
Well done Mark Pilkington, another well deserved 5 stars for you.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A disinformation-fest
The Mirage Men
Mark Pilkington
Although this is a book about the `truth about UFO's', if you really believe we are being visited by Little Green Men (or perhaps... Read more
Mark Pilkington
Although this is a book about the `truth about UFO's', if you really believe we are being visited by Little Green Men (or perhaps... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. Hadfield
Mirage men
Muddled, repetitive, incoherent and inconclusive are sentiments that spring to mind after reading this gibberish, apart from the errors that indicate inadequate proof reading in an... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. B. J. Easton
Disinformation
I found this book quite hard going. Having purposely Not read literature about the UFO movement except for Project Blue Book and books by Vallèe, Streiber and Bergier, I... Read more
Published 13 months ago by K. R. Holliday
Pilkington the hoaxer gets conned by the mirage men
Some wit once observed: "The trouble with confirmation bias is that once you know about it, you begin to see it everywhere. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Dr. Trang
Essential reading
The other reviewers on this site have given more than enough information about the contents of Mark Pilkington's book, Mirage Men, so I will desist from reiterating. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Judith Jaafar
Makes you think
This has been the first book I have read which tries to explain many of the famous documented UFO cases of the world as government test flights of secret new aircraft and malicious... Read more
Published 18 months ago by P. Clark
Epistemological Pretzel
Mirage Men tackles at least in part, the sticky, controversial and exceptionally complex history of UFOs and government cover-ups. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Green Man Music
Mark among the madmen
Really enjoyed this book, as a firm sceptic I was relieved that the author approached this work in a well balanced way. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Grumpy bloke
UFOs just got a whole lot dodgier
I bought a copy of Mirage Men after reading a positive review in Fortean Times. Being a fan of fortean weirdness generally but not really UFOs I wasn't too sure how much I'd like... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Roderigo
Who Knows, You Might Learn Something!
Let me begin by explaining that I am skeptical of most UFO claims. I am not looking for what "I want to believe. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Brian Parks
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
